I wish I hadn't made this - it's grim. STFC Ernest Rutherford Fellowship success rates over time. I found conflicting data on the STFC website, so there could be a mistake, but last year the success rate was <4%

Planetary Science Job Announcement Ph.D. 18 Ph.D. positions on Habitability as a fundamental planetary process. Freie Univ. Berlin, TU Berlin, DLR, RUB Boschum, Univ. Wien, TU Dresden, Germany https://jobs.planetary-research.org/9dce-7703

Planetary Science Job Announcement Postdocs and fellowships 6 postdoc positions on habitability as a fundamental planetary process. Freie Univ. Berlin, TU Berlin, DLR, RUB Boschum, Univ. Wien, TU Dresden, Germany https://jobs.planetary-research.org/f511-f16b

Day 3 of the British Planetary Society Conference starts with a keynote by Joseph m McNeil (Natural History Museum, London): 'Technicolour Mars: seeing the red planet in new light' #BPSC26

My talk at #BPSC2026 is showing our study of active dust devils at the ESA Rosalind Franklin rover landing site. Take home message: although they are difficult to see, we found 37 active dust devils. But... We predict a clearing event once every ~4000 sols. Which, er, isn't great for solar power!

A sunny start in St Andrews for #BPSC2026 Looking forward to hearing all the exciting new science from around the Solar System!

'Purple Rain' Earth's atmosphere revealed by a Himawari satellite study of water vapor in the infrared, an extended look at the turmoil in the water-filled skies of planet Earth. Each minute covers one day. Each shot covers one month. The 7h15m40s 4K video is not looped. youtu.be/bjvmUL_A20A

There are 15 (!) PhD positions available to join the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin mission science team. Funded through the MSCA EXODOCS doctoral network: www.exodocs.eu Apply here: euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/432752

EXODOCS

Are we alone in the Universe? The search for life beyond Earth is one of humanity’s most profound scientific quests. Mars, our closest planetary neighbour, offers unique conditions to explore this qu...

exodocs.eu

New crater just dropped. Wait. Large meteor just dropped. Then the crater. Another stunner from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

Corey S. Powell@coreyspowell.bsky.social · 4mo ago

A new 225-meter (740-foot) crater appeared on the Moon while nobody was looking. NASA's lunar orbiter imaged the dramatic aftermath. Such large impacts are once-in-a-century events. This one happened in the spring of 2024. 🔭🧪 www.sciencenews.org/article/moon...

Oh but the light was so lovely leaving work today.

UK undergrads - UK Space Agency Internships Programme is running this summer. Is paid too (£5k for 8 weeks). web-eur.cvent.com/event/2a6caf...

5 days left to apply for a postdoc job with me, working on Martian glaciation! Advert: tinyurl.com/6rzzk5d4 Relevant for glaciologists, geomorphologists, ice flow modellers, GIS or deep learning folks. Closes 19th Jan. Queries via email. 📸HiRISE / @theseaning.bsky.social

We have an STFC-funded PhD project at the @nhm-london.bsky.social. Work with me, @joemcneil.bsky.social, @katie-h-joy.bsky.social, and Gareth Collins, and share in the fun of secondary impact craters and landing sites! tinyurl.com/nez8dzsy

Our website for the British Planetary Society Conference 2026 is now live! 📅 9-11 June, 2026 🎯 St Andrews, Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Our website contains details on how to get to St Andrews and the conference accommodation. Registration details will be added soon. bpsc2026.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk

Looking to start a PhD in Physics & Astronomy in 2026? The team @physicsuol.bsky.social have announced their STFC-funded projects on offer next year, spanning astrophysics, planetary science, and space instrumentation. Deadline: Jan 18th, contact us to learn more! le.ac.uk/study/resear...

Happy Halloween nerds 🎃

I’ve worked at @nhm-london.bsky.social for a while now, and yet still have my mind blown on a regular basis. Today, 2 rocks from the collection: Fulgurite (created by a lightning strike) collected by Charles Darwin. Fossil leaf collected by Robert Falcon Scott (on the Terra Nova expedition).

Lovely light on the half-term-drag-the-kids-outside walk.

@chrislintott.bsky.social Got it!

ESA Space Science@science.esa.int · 10mo ago

First images of comet #3I/ATLAS from Europe's Mars orbiters 😍 Observing the comet from 30 million km away, #ExoMars reveals the halo of gas and dust surrounding the comet's nucleus. Read more 👉 www.esa.int/Science_Expl... 🔭🧪

The Apollo mission's latest discovery has been made - more than 50 years after it ended! A recently opened sample is revealing more about one of the Moon’s most unusual structures - the Light Mantle. Discover what's been uncovered 👇 www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/new...

Apollo Moon sample opened after 50 years contains evidence of extraterrestrial landslide | Natural History Museum

Moon rock collected on the last Apollo mission is revealing more about one of the Moon’s most unusual structures, the Light Mantle.

nhm.ac.uk

The atmosphere of Mars is too thin to effectively shield it from small meteors hitting the surface. Here, a new, small (10 m) impact crater formed some time between 2010 and 2019. Although the crater is small, the effects are widespread, with the seismic energy triggering lots of dust falls!

Never won a raffle in my life, until now! Signed by Harry Brook. Just wish his century hadn’t been in vain. #ENGIND

New dust devil tracks at the Spirit landing site in Gusev crater, Mars. CTX images, taken just 65 days apart at the end of 2006 / beginning of 2007.

To anyone looking for a #postdoc at #LPSC2025 my university has just announced a Postdoctoral Fellowship Program. The program “incorporates the principles of equity, diversity, and inclusion”. Reach out if you’re interested. uwo.ca/research/fun...

Western Postdoctoral Fellowship Program

Western University, in vibrant London, Ontario, delivers an academic and student experience second to none.

uwo.ca

Come and join us in @nhm-london.bsky.social's Biodiversity Futures Lab! We're looking for a geospatial analyst to join the #PredictsProject team for 12 months (with possibility to extend) to help us further develop the Biodiversity Intactness Index. #job deadline 3 Mar jobs.nhm.ac.uk/internal/Job...

Geospatial Analyst:South Kensington

jobs.nhm.ac.uk

Do other people have a favourite landslide? If not, consider adding this one on Mars. The colour from the CaSSIS instrument is just amazing. CREDIT: ESA/TGO/CaSSIS/Peter Grindrod

This is what a dust storm on Mars looks like. As seen by the Curiosity rover in 2018. Images taken over nearly a month, with roughly the same view. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/Peter Grindrod

Interested in some #Mars news this Monday? The origins of more than 15,000 mysterious mounds on the red planet have been revealed, having been carved out of the surface by water billions of years ago. Find out what they reveal about the red planet 👇 www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/new...

Mysterious Martian mounds formed by ancient water

Over 15,000 mounds are scattered across Mars’ lowlands – but until recently, no one knew how they got there.

nhm.ac.uk

A 33-images mosaic acquired two days ago by Curiosity, capturing an impact crater named “Rustic Canyon” Check out this post by @emmaharris.bsky.social describing the science program and operations of the rover on that day: science.nasa.gov/blog/sols-44... #Mars Jan. 16, 2025 (Sol 4425) 🧪🔭

Here's what plate tectonic movement looks like on Europa. Part of the Northern Falga region, centred ~50N. Animation, incredible work and data are all by Geoffrey Collins and co-authors (open access) doi.org/10.1029/2022...