Tessera
Folgen

Michael Merrifield

@astromikemerri.bsky.social

Emeritus professor of astronomy at the University of Nottingham. Too frequent appearances on YouTube. All my own views.

4005 Posts5608 Follower599 Folgt
Michael Merrifield@astromikemerri.bsky.social · 2d ago

Inspired by the recent HEPI report, “The invisible majority: Professional and support staff and the future of UK higher education”, to do a little analysis of the costs of these benefits. astromikemerri.substack.com/p/the-cost-o...

The Cost of Academic Administration

I was just reading the Higher Education Policy Institute’s report, The Invisible Majority: Professional and support staff and the future of UK higher education, which, perhaps unsurprisingly given its...

astromikemerri.substack.com

Michael Merrifield@astromikemerri.bsky.social · 2d ago

Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #BirdBuddies, so here’s a heron chilling with some geese. 🪶

Bild
Helen Bennett 🌿@helenbennett.bsky.social · 2d ago

Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme challenge is #BirdBuddies ! Can you find two 'different' bird species sharing the same space!? Here's a lovely Dunnock and Wren perched together on a bramble stem 📷 🪶 🤎 Alt. #BirdsInGreen Any shade of green on a birds plumage 😊 Happy Tuesday everyone 🕊️👋 #Birds #ECK

A vertical photograph of two small, brown birds perched along the same horizontal thorny stem of a bramble on the edge of a rural field. The background is softly blurred, transitioning from a warm, golden-brown field in the middle ground to a deep green foliage layer at the very top from distant woodland. The bird on the left is a tiny, compact Eurasian wren in slight side profile facing left. It features mottled brown plumage with subtle dark barring across its back and wings. Its short, pointed tail is slightly upturned, and a prominent pale stripe runs just above its dark eye. To the right, a slightly larger Dunnock perches higher on the same stem also facing toward the left but more with its back towards the camera. It has a more elongated body with heavily streaked dark brown and tan feathers across its back and wings. The bramble stem cuts horizontally across the lower third of the frame, lined with sharp, reddish thorns and clusters of green, serrated leaves. In the immediate foreground, and just in front of the birds are out-of-focus stalks of wild grasses creating a natural frame.
Michael Merrifield@astromikemerri.bsky.social · 7d ago

Not sure “Burnham makes sure that Manchester does alright” is really news at this point. It would be depressing if this were the only positive outcome of the pressure to save STFC science. 🧪🔭 www.timeshighereducation.com/news/burnham...

Burnham vows to save Jodrell Bank research following outcry

Physicists welcome prime minister’s pledge but warn that telescope is ‘only one part of a much bigger picture’

timeshighereducation.com

Michael Merrifield@astromikemerri.bsky.social · last wk.

Today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme is #Contrast, so here is a blackbird against a cloudy white sky 🪶

Bild
Atlantic Birding@atlanticbirding.bsky.social · last wk.

Morning, Happy Thursday Everyone! Today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme is: #Contrast; light birds against dark backgrounds or vice versa Alt. is #Thrushes; any bird from the thrush family - Flamingo against a dark wall - Song Thrush on a sunny day #birds #ECK #birdphotography #naturephotography

A Flamingo taken in captivity. The bird is centre of frame, visible from the knees up; in side profile, facing left, so that its left side is visible. It is a tall, long legged bird with a long neck. It has pale pink feathers all over with more red at the end of the wings and tail, an almost banana shaped beak (pointing downward) that is whitish with a black tip. The bird is standing against a dark grey wall of stone, large droplets of water are frozen against it from a waterfall. In the foreground, at the bottom, some out of focus flamingos with their heads tucked into their wings can be seen
Michael Merrifield@astromikemerri.bsky.social · last wk.

Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #ItsAllWhite, so here are a couple of chilly egrets. 🪶

Bild
Rob Crank Photography@robcrank68.bsky.social · last wk.

Good morning folks. Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #ItsAllWhite, birds main colour is White. The Alt theme is #RedHeads, birds with heads that are any shade of Red. #birds #ECK #naturephotography #CanonR5mkii #photography #ukbirding #birdphotography #BirdLife @wwtworldwide.bsky.social #White #Red

A Great Egret in flight at WWT Martin Mere.
Michael Merrifield@astromikemerri.bsky.social · last wk.

Of course it was a mistake — it creates the impression that astrophysics is simply stamp collecting, where deciding what page to display each stamp on is what matters, rather than the complex multi-dimensional interplay of similarity and difference. 🔭🧪 www.theguardian.com/science/2026...

Forbidden planet: was Pluto’s 2006 demotion a big mistake?

Since it was stripped of planetary status, Pluto’s defenders have been fighting the decision – and they’re only getting more passionate

theguardian.com

Michael Merrifield@astromikemerri.bsky.social · last wk.

There’s a lot of nonsense talked about the peer review of telescope time. There is really only one gold-standard test, which is to give the same set of applications to two independent panels, and see how closely their results correlate. It is an expensive but necessary test. 1/4 🧪🔭