bobreflected

Quite right

Oh go on then 😉
Duly subscribed.

Image shows the front cover of the official conference programme together with my attendee's lanyard.

Last Saturday I spent the day at this year's European Astrofest in London. I learnt a lot, eat too much and tried not to spend a fortune on new toys. These are my reflections on the day ...

bobreflected.blogspot.com/2026/02/the-...

Nice wide-field view

Nice job!

That sounds grim. I start early with tree pollen as well. Unpleasant isn't it.

Let's hope for more and for bigger 🙂

I have no words and you'll neither see nor hear the sadness in my sighing.

I've read innumerable books during our long, wet, cloud-covered ongoing winter.
It's always my aim to write a brief review of a book after I finish it - but I now have a daunting backlog, and the compressing greyness has undermined all motivation.

Wow - big temperature swings!

Fun aren't they. I've tried twice, attaching them to the downpipe from a south-facing gutter. Sadly, in year 2, some rain got in and I have added weird effects.

I'm disappointed to have missed it behind interminable clouds.

On Saturday, yes - with a few of my local astro society. I'm sorry we didn't meet! This was my first visit, but I'm definitely going to try to go again next year.

You looked completely booked out when I wandered by - excellent, but also tiring I imagine 🙂

@jdhowgego.bsky.social
Just listened to your talk at Astrofest - lovely 🙂. Thank you.

Changing seasons perhaps 🙂

I have breaks in my writing as well. I tend to rely on a 'stimulus' - like providing supportive/reflective content for a u3a course or a primary school visit - and they are increasingly sparse and random events 🙂

The 'Earth calculation' is of course trickier since one would need to account for where the Earth is in its orbit with respect to Voyager's position in space. Using the Sun is more tractable, although I can understand the desire to use Voyager's launch pad 🙂

Let's hope others follow in their steps.

I'm angered.

😂

It so is!

As I have heard people say through many administrations. Let's hope wisdom finally prevails; there is always hope 🙂

Naturally 🙂

I.e. show government what it'll look like if they cut off chunks of the UK's research base. Crude, but effective.

In a former life I spent several years as a member of the STFC's Science Board - including during a period of proposed severe cuts.
Prof. Dougherty is, rightly and wisely, following a playbook established in the past. To quote one of her predecessors in the role: "show them the bloody stumps". I.e.

Frustrating isn't it 🙄

I'm guessing that, as the oceans warm, we can expect more and more clouds - especially as a northern hemisphere island east of an ocean.
It'll hide the various satellite mega-constellations being thrown into low Earth orbit though 😉

I had a wonderful time at a local primary school's space evening. I was there as a member of a local amateur astronomy club - sekas.co.uk
A couple of hundred children and parents - and many committed teachers - engaged enthusiastically, despite the clouds.

Cloudy here too - both nights.

(However, the chronic light pollution from Thanet Earth's glasshouses reflected from the underside of the clouds and covered the NE sky in red. SE had an accentuated 'normal' skyglow from my nearest town, with a lesser skyglow from towns to the NW 🙁)