Sam Morrell
@smorrell.bsky.social
Devonian astrophysicist / ecologist at University of Exeter, UK. Aspiring science educator. Crafter of fine code. Musician and music lover. Ex astris, scientia. (he/him).
Reposted by Sam Morrell
Well that's fun.
First time I've been asked to do an interview with the opening line "you must bring your own Colander!"
First time I've been asked to do an interview with the opening line "you must bring your own Colander!"
August 11, 2026 at 2:07 PM
Well that's fun.
First time I've been asked to do an interview with the opening line "you must bring your own Colander!"
First time I've been asked to do an interview with the opening line "you must bring your own Colander!"
Reposted by Sam Morrell
The UK will experience a partial solar eclipse on Wednesday 12 August.
The extent of the Sun's coverage and the timing of maximum obscuration will differ across the country.
Never look directly at the sun; use a pinhole projector or certified eclipse glasses to view it.
The extent of the Sun's coverage and the timing of maximum obscuration will differ across the country.
Never look directly at the sun; use a pinhole projector or certified eclipse glasses to view it.
August 8, 2026 at 7:30 AM
The UK will experience a partial solar eclipse on Wednesday 12 August.
The extent of the Sun's coverage and the timing of maximum obscuration will differ across the country.
Never look directly at the sun; use a pinhole projector or certified eclipse glasses to view it.
The extent of the Sun's coverage and the timing of maximum obscuration will differ across the country.
Never look directly at the sun; use a pinhole projector or certified eclipse glasses to view it.
Reposted by Sam Morrell
A nice paper by @asborlaff.bsky.social showing that launching telescopes to space doesn't necessarily solve the light pollution issue from satellites.
These are satellite trails seen by NASA's SPHEREx space telescope, which appear in 73% of all its images. Eek.
arxiv.org/abs/2605.27501
These are satellite trails seen by NASA's SPHEREx space telescope, which appear in 73% of all its images. Eek.
arxiv.org/abs/2605.27501
May 28, 2026 at 5:46 AM
A nice paper by @asborlaff.bsky.social showing that launching telescopes to space doesn't necessarily solve the light pollution issue from satellites.
These are satellite trails seen by NASA's SPHEREx space telescope, which appear in 73% of all its images. Eek.
arxiv.org/abs/2605.27501
These are satellite trails seen by NASA's SPHEREx space telescope, which appear in 73% of all its images. Eek.
arxiv.org/abs/2605.27501
Reposted by Sam Morrell
U.S. President Donald Trump has fired all 24 members of the National Science Board, the body that oversees the National Science Foundation. https://scim.ag/4cxQWhl
Trump fires NSF's oversight board
Dismissal of the National Science Board is widely seen as latest move to erase NSF’s independence
scim.ag
April 25, 2026 at 10:31 PM
U.S. President Donald Trump has fired all 24 members of the National Science Board, the body that oversees the National Science Foundation. https://scim.ag/4cxQWhl
Reposted by Sam Morrell
Sooo the left photo is illuminated by the Sun and the right one by the *moonlight*. It’s the dark (night) side of the Earth! If you look closely you can see the lights of cities in Spain, Africa, and South Americas. The poles have visible Aurora.
Didn’t stop shining. Biodiversity is important.
Didn’t stop shining. Biodiversity is important.
April 9, 2026 at 8:14 PM
Sooo the left photo is illuminated by the Sun and the right one by the *moonlight*. It’s the dark (night) side of the Earth! If you look closely you can see the lights of cities in Spain, Africa, and South Americas. The poles have visible Aurora.
Didn’t stop shining. Biodiversity is important.
Didn’t stop shining. Biodiversity is important.
Reposted by Sam Morrell
Hey, I wrote a thing about AI in astrophysics
ergosphere.blog/posts/the-ma...
ergosphere.blog/posts/the-ma...
The machines are fine. I'm worried about us.
On AI agents, grunt work, and the part of science that isn't replaceable.
ergosphere.blog
March 30, 2026 at 1:54 PM
Hey, I wrote a thing about AI in astrophysics
ergosphere.blog/posts/the-ma...
ergosphere.blog/posts/the-ma...
Delighted to be able to share our latest #ALAN journal article. We use our radiative transfer model to simulate in 3D the street lighting of the city of #Exeter and probe its environmental and ecological effects at metre scales.
The spatiotemporal extent of #ALAN is decreasing, but becoming bluer.
The spatiotemporal extent of #ALAN is decreasing, but becoming bluer.
Mitigating the environmental and ecological impacts of evolving city-scale streetlighting installations royalsocietypublishing.org/rsif/article... | #JRSocInterface #Biophysics #EnvironmentalScience
February 24, 2026 at 10:44 AM
Reposted by Sam Morrell
📣 Are you an RAS Fellow or Friend? 📣
We're calling on our members to help force the Government to reconsider its proposed cuts to astronomy and space science, which would be the most drastic in a generation.
Send our template letter to your MP and seek their support 👉️ ras.ac.uk/news-and-pre...
We're calling on our members to help force the Government to reconsider its proposed cuts to astronomy and space science, which would be the most drastic in a generation.
Send our template letter to your MP and seek their support 👉️ ras.ac.uk/news-and-pre...
February 11, 2026 at 11:14 AM
📣 Are you an RAS Fellow or Friend? 📣
We're calling on our members to help force the Government to reconsider its proposed cuts to astronomy and space science, which would be the most drastic in a generation.
Send our template letter to your MP and seek their support 👉️ ras.ac.uk/news-and-pre...
We're calling on our members to help force the Government to reconsider its proposed cuts to astronomy and space science, which would be the most drastic in a generation.
Send our template letter to your MP and seek their support 👉️ ras.ac.uk/news-and-pre...
Reposted by Sam Morrell
Wonderful writing on the proposed catastrophic cuts to UK curiosity-led research. This type of research is one thing the UK is currently genuinely excellent at
I hope the government can be convinced that knowing the price of everything doesn't mean you know the value of anything
🧪🔭⚛️
I hope the government can be convinced that knowing the price of everything doesn't mean you know the value of anything
🧪🔭⚛️
Or not. This has been removed for review by the University. (Who asked me to write it in the first place). You can find it here while they sort themselves out: docs.google.com/document/d/1...
Funding piece
Modern astronomy is full of marvels. In recent years we have rejoiced in the success of the James Webb Space Telescope, and been puzzled by the surprisingly vibrant early Universe it is showing us. We...
docs.google.com
January 30, 2026 at 6:04 PM
Wonderful writing on the proposed catastrophic cuts to UK curiosity-led research. This type of research is one thing the UK is currently genuinely excellent at
I hope the government can be convinced that knowing the price of everything doesn't mean you know the value of anything
🧪🔭⚛️
I hope the government can be convinced that knowing the price of everything doesn't mean you know the value of anything
🧪🔭⚛️
Good news! #Devon County Council have implemented part-night lighting and dimming for their streetlights. This provides money and carbon savings, but also reduced temporal and spatial extent of #ALAN, likely reducing ecological pressure on organisms at nighttime.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Council to make decision over future of Devon street light trial
Devon County Council says a decision over whether to make the trial permanent will be made in 2026.
www.bbc.co.uk
December 10, 2025 at 10:04 AM
Good news! #Devon County Council have implemented part-night lighting and dimming for their streetlights. This provides money and carbon savings, but also reduced temporal and spatial extent of #ALAN, likely reducing ecological pressure on organisms at nighttime.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Anyone looking for an #astrophysics #PhD? Particularly in the #SouthWest of the #UK? My colleagues in the Astrophysics Group at @universityofexeter.bsky.social are advertising funded PhD projects now. Please reach out if you're interested and would like more info.
www.exeter.ac.uk/research/gro...
www.exeter.ac.uk/research/gro...
Current opportunities | Astrophysics | University of Exeter
www.exeter.ac.uk
December 4, 2025 at 2:22 PM
Anyone looking for an #astrophysics #PhD? Particularly in the #SouthWest of the #UK? My colleagues in the Astrophysics Group at @universityofexeter.bsky.social are advertising funded PhD projects now. Please reach out if you're interested and would like more info.
www.exeter.ac.uk/research/gro...
www.exeter.ac.uk/research/gro...
Reposted by Sam Morrell
Myself and @asborlaff.bsky.social feature on the Nature Podcast chatting about this paper on planned satellite constellations and their impact on astronomical research.
We are also very concerned about satellites impacting star gazing for everyone and losing the shared wilderness of the night sky.
We are also very concerned about satellites impacting star gazing for everyone and losing the shared wilderness of the night sky.
By 2040, ~40% of the images from Hubble Space Telescope, and more than 96% from new and future space telescopes like SPHEREx, ARRAKIHS, and Xuntian will be contaminated by internet satellite constellations.
Read our new NASA article in Nature:
nature.com/articles/s4158…
Read our new NASA article in Nature:
nature.com/articles/s4158…
December 4, 2025 at 12:31 AM
Myself and @asborlaff.bsky.social feature on the Nature Podcast chatting about this paper on planned satellite constellations and their impact on astronomical research.
We are also very concerned about satellites impacting star gazing for everyone and losing the shared wilderness of the night sky.
We are also very concerned about satellites impacting star gazing for everyone and losing the shared wilderness of the night sky.
It's new paper day! This time #astrophysics.
🌟 doi.org/10.1093/mnras/staf2063 🌟
This paper was originally a chapter of my thesis. But since then, thanks many years of sharpening thinking, and the incredible work of my co-authors, it has taken on a life all of its own.
🌟 doi.org/10.1093/mnras/staf2063 🌟
This paper was originally a chapter of my thesis. But since then, thanks many years of sharpening thinking, and the incredible work of my co-authors, it has taken on a life all of its own.
Validate User
doi.org
November 26, 2025 at 10:59 AM
It's new paper day! This time #astrophysics.
🌟 doi.org/10.1093/mnras/staf2063 🌟
This paper was originally a chapter of my thesis. But since then, thanks many years of sharpening thinking, and the incredible work of my co-authors, it has taken on a life all of its own.
🌟 doi.org/10.1093/mnras/staf2063 🌟
This paper was originally a chapter of my thesis. But since then, thanks many years of sharpening thinking, and the incredible work of my co-authors, it has taken on a life all of its own.
Reposted by Sam Morrell
Government has published one of those quiet but important documents that might get overlooked as it is not 'newsy'. The headline finding is that £1 of public R&D investment generates £8 in net economic benefits for the UK over the long term
www.gov.uk/government/p...
www.gov.uk/government/p...
The value of public R&D
www.gov.uk
October 30, 2025 at 1:28 PM
Government has published one of those quiet but important documents that might get overlooked as it is not 'newsy'. The headline finding is that £1 of public R&D investment generates £8 in net economic benefits for the UK over the long term
www.gov.uk/government/p...
www.gov.uk/government/p...
Reposted by Sam Morrell
On the night of Jan. 29, I remotely observed the
Gaia
spacecraft using the SPIRIT 3 telescope at
@icrar.bsky.social's Mardella Observatory (IAU code E29). Farewell to this incredible mission that revolutionized our understanding of the Milky Way!
#Gaia #GBOT #astro
Gaia
spacecraft using the SPIRIT 3 telescope at
@icrar.bsky.social's Mardella Observatory (IAU code E29). Farewell to this incredible mission that revolutionized our understanding of the Milky Way!
#Gaia #GBOT #astro
January 31, 2025 at 12:40 AM
On the night of Jan. 29, I remotely observed the
Gaia
spacecraft using the SPIRIT 3 telescope at
@icrar.bsky.social's Mardella Observatory (IAU code E29). Farewell to this incredible mission that revolutionized our understanding of the Milky Way!
#Gaia #GBOT #astro
Gaia
spacecraft using the SPIRIT 3 telescope at
@icrar.bsky.social's Mardella Observatory (IAU code E29). Farewell to this incredible mission that revolutionized our understanding of the Milky Way!
#Gaia #GBOT #astro
Reposted by Sam Morrell
everyone this week
January 13, 2025 at 11:46 PM
everyone this week
A huge congratulations to @stellarplanet.bsky.social. An incredibly well deserved honour indeed! 😀
Next up is the Fowler Award, named after pioneering physicist Dr Rosemary Fowler…
Dr Hannah Wakeford, of the University of Bristol, receives the Fowler Award (A), awarded to individuals who have made a particularly noteworthy contribution to astronomy within 10 years of completing their PhD. 👏🎉
Dr Hannah Wakeford, of the University of Bristol, receives the Fowler Award (A), awarded to individuals who have made a particularly noteworthy contribution to astronomy within 10 years of completing their PhD. 👏🎉
January 11, 2025 at 11:16 AM
A huge congratulations to @stellarplanet.bsky.social. An incredibly well deserved honour indeed! 😀
Reposted by Sam Morrell
Congrats to astronomers Wendy Freedman and Keivan Stassun for being awarded a National Medal of Science! 🔭
Amazing list of scientists, engineers and vaccine makers recognized with the NMS and NMTI, thank you for your contributions to the nation and the world 🙏
www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-roo...
www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-roo...
President Biden Honors Nation’s Leading Scientists, Technologists, and Innovators | The White House
Today, President Biden announced the latest recipients of the National Medal of Science and the National Medal of Technology and Innovation—our nation’s
www.whitehouse.gov
January 5, 2025 at 8:02 PM
Congrats to astronomers Wendy Freedman and Keivan Stassun for being awarded a National Medal of Science! 🔭
Reposted by Sam Morrell
In honor of all the new arrivals, I'm sharing one of my favorite videos.
It shows 24 hours of Earth's rotation, with the camera locked to the sky instead of the ground. We're all hanging out on this spinning rock.
Brilliant work by Bartosz Wojczyński. 🧪
artuniverse.eu/gallery/1907...
It shows 24 hours of Earth's rotation, with the camera locked to the sky instead of the ground. We're all hanging out on this spinning rock.
Brilliant work by Bartosz Wojczyński. 🧪
artuniverse.eu/gallery/1907...
November 15, 2024 at 4:21 AM
In honor of all the new arrivals, I'm sharing one of my favorite videos.
It shows 24 hours of Earth's rotation, with the camera locked to the sky instead of the ground. We're all hanging out on this spinning rock.
Brilliant work by Bartosz Wojczyński. 🧪
artuniverse.eu/gallery/1907...
It shows 24 hours of Earth's rotation, with the camera locked to the sky instead of the ground. We're all hanging out on this spinning rock.
Brilliant work by Bartosz Wojczyński. 🧪
artuniverse.eu/gallery/1907...
Reposted by Sam Morrell
Data released today by Copernicus Climate shows:
🌡️ It is now virtually certain that 2024 will be the warmest year on record. It is also virtually certain that the annual temperature for 2024 will be more than 1.5°C above the pre-industrial level, and likely that it will be more than 1.55°C above.
🌡️ It is now virtually certain that 2024 will be the warmest year on record. It is also virtually certain that the annual temperature for 2024 will be more than 1.5°C above the pre-industrial level, and likely that it will be more than 1.55°C above.
November 7, 2024 at 6:59 AM
Data released today by Copernicus Climate shows:
🌡️ It is now virtually certain that 2024 will be the warmest year on record. It is also virtually certain that the annual temperature for 2024 will be more than 1.5°C above the pre-industrial level, and likely that it will be more than 1.55°C above.
🌡️ It is now virtually certain that 2024 will be the warmest year on record. It is also virtually certain that the annual temperature for 2024 will be more than 1.5°C above the pre-industrial level, and likely that it will be more than 1.55°C above.
Reposted by Sam Morrell
From the Astrobites collaboration: There is a tradition in Astronomy to post silly science papers to the arXiv on Aprils Fools day. We’ve collected them all for 2024 and provided some “peer review". 🔭🧐
astrobites.org/2024/04/01/a...
astrobites.org/2024/04/01/a...
The April Fools Paper Review Process – 2024
There is a tradition in Astronomy to post silly science papers to the arXiv on Aprils Fools day. We’ve collected them all for 2024 and provided some “peer review”
astrobites.org
April 1, 2024 at 5:52 PM
From the Astrobites collaboration: There is a tradition in Astronomy to post silly science papers to the arXiv on Aprils Fools day. We’ve collected them all for 2024 and provided some “peer review". 🔭🧐
astrobites.org/2024/04/01/a...
astrobites.org/2024/04/01/a...
Reposted by Sam Morrell
It's baaaaaack
February 19, 2024 at 11:59 AM
It's baaaaaack
Reposted by Sam Morrell
Super nervous to post this video but extremely grateful to the amazing @smorrell.bsky.social for interviewing me about my research
youtu.be/_Aus842EZWk
youtu.be/_Aus842EZWk
Meet an Exoplanet Climatologist -- with Dr Denis Sergeev
Dr Denis Sergeev is an exoclimatologist - an expert at taking climate models designed for Earth and applying them to exoplanets. Denis has recently been lead...
youtu.be
November 4, 2023 at 8:43 AM
Super nervous to post this video but extremely grateful to the amazing @smorrell.bsky.social for interviewing me about my research
youtu.be/_Aus842EZWk
youtu.be/_Aus842EZWk
Reposted by Sam Morrell
Self-plug - If you'd like to have press release images for your papers, keep me in mind for commissioning!
I'm happy to work with you to create a bespoke visualisation of your work.
Here are some of the artworks I've created that have been featured on Washington Post, BBC, NYT and more.
🐡🧪🔭
I'm happy to work with you to create a bespoke visualisation of your work.
Here are some of the artworks I've created that have been featured on Washington Post, BBC, NYT and more.
🐡🧪🔭
August 27, 2023 at 1:15 PM
Self-plug - If you'd like to have press release images for your papers, keep me in mind for commissioning!
I'm happy to work with you to create a bespoke visualisation of your work.
Here are some of the artworks I've created that have been featured on Washington Post, BBC, NYT and more.
🐡🧪🔭
I'm happy to work with you to create a bespoke visualisation of your work.
Here are some of the artworks I've created that have been featured on Washington Post, BBC, NYT and more.
🐡🧪🔭
Well, that’s the training finished for this year’s #LettersToAPreScientist. Looking forward to seeing if I get matched up again.
Huge kudos to the team for providing training and resources for pen-pal safeguarding this year. Really valuable work!
Huge kudos to the team for providing training and resources for pen-pal safeguarding this year. Really valuable work!
August 27, 2023 at 1:14 AM
Well, that’s the training finished for this year’s #LettersToAPreScientist. Looking forward to seeing if I get matched up again.
Huge kudos to the team for providing training and resources for pen-pal safeguarding this year. Really valuable work!
Huge kudos to the team for providing training and resources for pen-pal safeguarding this year. Really valuable work!