@stephenserjeant.bsky.social
Astronomy Prof at Open University. 26.2. #RejoinEU. Views not OU’s and often not even mine. He/him 🐘 https://mas.to/@stephenserjeant 🧵 https://www.threads.net/@prof.stephen.serjeant ORCID 0000-0002-0517-7943 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0517-7943
Hopeful news about the STFC Crisis
I've just got time this evening to pass on news that the Chair of the Parliamentary Select Committee looking at he current STFC debacle (see this account), Chi Onwurah, has responded to the events in extremely frank terms. Here is an excerpt: The full response -…
This is the entire budget of NASA's Planetary Science Division for *four years*
Given that every 'evidence review' under Labour is conducted to 'build the evidence case against' can there be any real doubt about how this ends?
The complete removal from the NHS, and possible criminalization, of all medication for trans people.
The @axisprobe.bsky.social team learned that the phase A concept study report of AXIS (the Advanced X-ray Imaging Satellite) will not be reviewed because the lost personnel at NASA Goddard and government shutdown impacted our schedule and budget. 🔭 Here is the PI's e-mail with the explanation.
The NHS has now stopped all medication - puberty blockers and hormones - for trans minors. For most, unless they get drugs from other sources, this means a lifetime, in an increasingly violent and transphobic society, unable to pass. Under Wes Streeting NHS policy is harm and death for trans people.
Just fascinating to see Blair, a man whose reputation was ruined by the Iraq war, advocate joining a war that is exponentially stupider and more chaotic. How is it possible to learn nothing from the worst mistake of your life?
Useful reading for anyone trying to keep up with the #STFC funding crisis, including links to evidence that the Drayson review partition (that safeguarded PPAN science from facilities cost fluctuations) existed until last year. Why it went is still unclear 🔭🧪
AND INTRODUCING
JOHN HURT
AS
THE WAR QUEER
AI translated articles swapped sources or added unsourced sentences with no explanation, while others added paragraphs sourced from completely unrelated material.
The stats for Reform UK supporters tell a story that should have been obvious to everyone in @labouruk.bsky.social for years: chasing Reform voters is strategically, catastrophically stupid. McSweeney+ have driven the party into the ground and Mahmood+ still show no signs of having learned anything
Astronomer Nevil Maskelyne racked up a £141 alcohol bill during his 18 month expedition to observe the 1761 Transit of Venus.
That’s over £26,000 ($35,000) in today’s money.
Or almost £50 per day.
He claimed it on expenses and would go on the become Astronomer Royal.
#astronomy #histsci 🧪
Counterpoint: no it isn’t
I've seen madder headlines
Pleased to see this. The current system regressively, hideously entrenches generational financial advantage. I have an academically brilliant friend from a single-parent family, and she has a HUNDRED THOUSAND POUNDS of student loan debt. But rich kids start life with their debt paid by parents.
I'm constantly trying (/failing) to get this point across.
If you're a trained expert in a field, then it may be worthwhile to question the scientific consensus of your peers.
If you're not, the scientific consensus is absolutely the best you can do and it's arbitrary foolishness to disregard it.
Very well referenced & well argued summary of where we are on the latest STFC funding crisis. I'd only add two more: George Efstathiou's analysis of STFC's governance problems telescoper.blog/2026/02/06/t... and @ersatzben.com's forensic analysis of the 'buckets' 🔭🧪 www.ersatzben.com/p/the-bucket...
Ten Hours of Boing Sound Effects used to be my go-to YouTube background soundtrack for coding, but I can't find it any more, so I use this instead 🧪 www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6wL...
It never ceases to confound me just how many folks think the point of essays is to provide teachers with essays. That teachers just like, collect them, or need them for sustenance or something. Rather than the point of them being the *actual fucking act of learning how to think about shit*
Unpopular opinion: the outcome appears to be good. Badenoch undertook on air to review the student loans policy with Martin Lewis. If this happens, Labour will need to raise their game too. And about time. Student loans are a catastrophic policy scandal. Well done to Martin Lewis for his initiative
Totally appalling way to treat anyone but in this case this woman had not broken any immigration rule at all. And the British consulate were completely and inexcusably useless. Awful and I think deserves some response from the Foreign Office.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Okay, this is quite outstanding from Bedford Council.
Meanwhile, here's the terribly boring ceiling in the room next to where the ELSA meeting is happening. Why are university rooms and buildings always so dull dull dull?
At our f2f meeting today we decided to delete our dormant Twitter/X account, following the excellent example of @ec-euclid.bsky.social. 🧪🔭
The ELSA @ec-euclid.bsky.social team meeting this week in beautiful Bologna. Amazing things being done with Euclid spectroscopy - watch this space :) 🧪🔭
I laughed out loud reading this.
So much for the Large Hadron Collider too. It's a lie, they're really tiny. And don't get me started on submillimetre galaxies
For running inspiration (or, in my case, for monitoring from under my duvet), the Barkley Marathons have just started #BM100 - updates at @keithdunn.bsky.social
Bucket theory is unglamorous but very important. @ersatzben.com is forensic here - a must read for those interested in UK research policy
www.ersatzben.com/p/the-bucket...
