Martin Bourne 🏳️‍🌈

A beagle laying on a green blanket on me on a sofa

Very glad of my hot water beagle 🐶

#dogsofbluesky

A tomato pasta dish on a blue white patterned plate

Dinner time 😋

a cake in a cardboard box with the letter c written on it ALT: a cake in a cardboard box with the letter c written on it

And there I was thinking that it was the honey monster

a cartoon drawing of a potato with a battery on its head ALT: a cartoon drawing of a potato with a battery on its head

At least it’s Friday…

Our paper, led by Giulia Ortame (PhD student @cambridgeastro.bsky.social), is up on the arXiv today. Here, Giulia explores simulations following the growth of low-mass black holes in dwarf galaxies using different accretion and feedback models.

#astro #astrocoding

Not sure about team yet but Pombon is definitely my starter 🐶 🔥

As will I 😍

Pokemon at 30!

#pokemon30

QTP with the game you’re currently playing 🎮

Couldn’t decide between my two favourites - Mew and Ampharos - so here are both!

One thing is for sure, Pokemon being 30 sure does make me feel old 😅

Maybe find your favourites too!

#Pokemon30

A cute beagle peering up from under a table

Got something for me? 🐶

#dogsofbluesky

Also going unanswered is the fact that many STFC facilities serve researchers funded across multiple UKRI councils. Why is it STFC's research community alone bearing the cost when those facility costs rise? 4/

The STFC Funding Crisis – Guest Post by George Efstathiou The following guest post by George Efstathiou is a response to the current STFC funding crisis I blogged about here, and specifically to a letter by the Executive Chair of STFC, Professor Michele D…

The structural problem that George Efstathiou identifies goes completely unaddressed. STFC's Executive Board is dominated by facility and lab directors. Is there a guarantee that facilities won't be prioritised over PPAN science grants? 3/

telescoper.blog/2026/02/06/t...

Paused funding opportunities at BBSRC, MRC, and EPSRC are listed with reassurances that they will return. STFC Large Awards are also paused. They don't get a mention. 2/

UKRI CEO updates the research community on areas of uncertainty Following an open letter of 1 February, Sir Ian Chapman responds to feedback and provides an update.

The UKRI CEO has released a follow-up letter to the research community. While seemingly reassuring for other research councils, with specific commitments on paused grants, it remains vague on STFC and offers little that wasn't in the original letter. 1/

#astro

www.ukri.org/news/ukri-ce...

Cutest beagle sat in a doorway with a pineapple toy in his mouth

“Hey, you’ve been working for a whole 20 minutes, play with me now!” 🐶 🍍

#dogsofbluesky

A very sleepy beagle

Realised that I haven’t done an Otis post for a while, so here is a very chill beagle 🐶

#dogsofbluesky

A bearded person making a Lego Notre Dame

Front view of Lego Notre Dame with lights

Angled view of Lego Notre Dame with lights

Side view of Lego Notre Dame with lights

After a busy week the missing bricks finally arrived to finish my Lego Notre Dame!

I decided to add some lights and I think it works pretty well 💡

Yes, exactly this! I need to write it out by hand on paper or a board ✏️ 📐

UK ‘could lose generation of scientists’ with cuts to projects and research facilities Researchers say best scientists are taking posts overseas because of lack of job stability at home

Glad to see pushback picking up in the media about the proposed massive cuts to UK particle/astro/nuclear physics 🧪🔭. Everyone understands that tough choices have to be made, but not investing in your future is a surefire way of, well, not having much of one 🤷‍♀️

www.theguardian.com/science/2026...

@ognimaeb.bsky.social, just in case you haven't seen this and would like to sign

I, along with many other UKRI, STFC and RS fellows are signing this open letter on the STFC cuts. The proposed reductions will devastate UK astronomy and the researchers who make it possible. Please read, share, and, if a fellow, sign.

advancedfellows-openletter-stfc.github.io/index.html

#astro

George Efstathiou explains why PPAN grants are bearing the brunt of STFC’s funding crisis. A must read on what’s happening to UK astronomy.

#astro

New X-GAP paper on arXiv led by Ramananda Santra (NCRA-TIFR), studying old AGN plasma in galaxy groups with uGMRT, LOFAR & XMM-Newton.

Found beautifully messy radio morphologies, showing the important role that group environment plays in the AGN feedback process.

#astro #extragalactic #radioastro

Oh dear, oh dear 🫠

Not wanting to intentionally use a BT slogan from my childhood and show my age, but it’s good to talk 💙☕️

Expert Comment: Cuts to fundamental research will hurt the UK’s Chris Lintott, Professor of Astrophysics at Oxford’s Department of Physics, responds to the news that University funding for astronomy and physics research will be cut by almost a third.

This from @chrislintott.bsky.social nicely captures exactly what’s at stake with STFC cuts to fundamental science in the UK

www.ox.ac.uk/news/2026-02...

#astro

UK physicists raise alarm over planned funding cuts Research chief tries to quell alarm as government reshapes science funding in effort to boost growth

IOP President-elect Paul Howarth CBE warns of a "devastating blow to the foundations of physics" in the @financialtimes.com today following news of planned STFC cuts last week: www.ft.com/content/5732...

And there’s this…

I’m sure this does very little to assuage the concerns of people reliant on STFC funding, quite the opposite in fact.

#astro