iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans @astroroyalscot.bsky.social · 3h

Extremely loud squeals of excitement chez-Heymans.... that is the actual CERN Director General holding a copy of my book in front of the actual LHC tunnel 🥰 🤩 Huge thanks to @pippawells.bsky.social for taking the book on a little site tour before it joins its friends on the CERN library shelves 🙏⚛️🔭

A bespectacled man in a suit (the CERN Director General Mark Thomson) with a large long tunnel behind him (the Large Hadron Collider Tunnel) is smiling holding a copy of "How to Design a Universe"

7888

Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans @astroroyalscot.bsky.social · 5h

😎 Sunny in Scotland! To my UK friends - the Met Office are here! Give them a follow.

2171

Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans @astroroyalscot.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

😡 I have a similar internal black list, but for academics..... indeed I think all female academics keep such a list 💪

100

Reposted by Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans

Rubin LSST:UK @lsstuk.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

"I have to emphasise how lucky I was. Because when we started this project, everybody realised this was maybe a good idea, but very few thought it would work, including myself." A wonderfully modest quote from Nobel Prize winning Prof Francis Halzen. 🔭 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

bbc.co.uk

'Ghost particles' from space telescope wins 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics

Belgian physicist Prof Francis Halzen has won for his pioneering work on an observatory that detects particles from space.

0305

Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans @astroroyalscot.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Oh wow - but now you've got to feel for the people who were told they were successful, who have now told the decision has been suspended..... what an utter mess. Full kudos to @resprofnews.bsky.social for covering this important story. We'll be lost without them when they close ☹️

210

Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans @astroroyalscot.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Fear not I will make yours and am excited to finally meet in the real world 🥳

010

Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans @astroroyalscot.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

🔊Alright #London! Some Queens & Kings from BlueSky 🔭Astro are coming to visit y'all next week! #NewScientistLive 😎 Sa 10 Oct: @chanda.blacksky.app & @chrislintott.bsky.social 😎 Su 11 Oct: @dreochapman.bsky.social, @jimalkhalili.bsky.social et moi 🤗 ℹ️: live.newscientist.com/2026-talks-p...

New Scientist Live "One week to go"
10-12Oct 2026, Excel London and online
A man looking slightly nervous in goggles and a microphone is experimenting with a large flame of fire.

Join me at New Scientist Live
The Universe: Reality or Simulation?
Catherine is looking unusually glamorous while laughing at the camera.

4309

Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans @astroroyalscot.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

I don't have a mobile phone - so this is with my laptop.... The train is now super full!

190

Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans @astroroyalscot.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

A member of the train catering staff just made a special trip to our carriage, because the other staff told her about our friendly train-dog. Dog has been rewarded for his awesomeness with a piece of LNER ham. He is very pleased with himself - the wagging tail is moving so fast it's a blur 😍

3614

Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans @astroroyalscot.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

I heard about this trick! Apparently once dropped, one never drops them again though 😃

110

Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans @astroroyalscot.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Train dog update: I am now covered in dog slobber, as he decided he needed to rest his head in my lap for 10 whole mins and then decided I needed my entire hand licked..... He's now walking up and down the aisle with his tail wagging so hard it's bashing all the chairs on the way 😂

2632

Reposted by Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans

Dr Lori-Ann Foley @lafoley.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

And finished! This is a really great book that explains the physics so well — easy to understand for all levels. An interesting and fun read. (I lol’ed when the programming chapter started with CH saying she wasn’t old enough to have ever used computer cards … but I am and did 👵 😆)

3134

Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans @astroroyalscot.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Oh wow - that was fast reading! I'm so v happy it got the Dr Foley seal of approval! @mikechristie.bsky.social also spat his tea out in disgust when I said that punch cards were from the Middle Ages 😂

120

Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans @astroroyalscot.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

On the "Highland Chieftain" heading south back to Edinburgh after a lovely 4-day book tour around the 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿North East and there is the most loveliest of dogs on board who is greeting everyone in turn. The whole train carriage is smiling. 🥰

211010

Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans @astroroyalscot.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

In tales of managing life in a world of AI-slop: Publisher: "What great news about the book club - can you reply asap" Me: 🤷‍♀️🤔 I'm just on auto-delete now as the book club AI-spam e-mails are relentless. Turns out there are some genuine ones out there though... who knew 🫠

3181

Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans @astroroyalscot.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

💯 - I'm now super suspicious when people have a ridiculous number of papers....

020

Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans @astroroyalscot.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

As arXiv announces a new submission rate limit policy, I refer anyone who is up in arms about it to👇Hogg 2026👇. I'm so confused who would want to submit so much slop? For me (both writing and hiring) it's always been about quality over quantity, every single time. 🧪⚛️ blog.arxiv.org/2026/10/01/u...

blog.arxiv.org

Fair Moderation, Equitable Access, and AI: arXiv’s Updated Rate Limit Policy

arXiv, and the scientific community at large, are facing a watershed moment. Scholarly publishing is currently changing at a rapid pace, and we are seeing a…

98213

Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans @astroroyalscot.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Who is regularly submitting 2 papers a month? That is clearly going to be low quality 😵‍💫

120

Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans @astroroyalscot.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

🥳 New Observatory alert! (Yes, she cuts ribbons!) Huge congratulations to Dr Charles Wang and all the wonderful #Aberdeen University team who have built the brand new Anne Cruickshank Observatory! 🔭🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 ℹ️: www.abdn.ac.uk/news/26204/ 🎥: Dave Galloway NorthSound1

710020

Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans @astroroyalscot.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Just heading off to meet P6 of Hillside Primary in Aberdeen this morning. I'll be helping them get ready for tonight's 100hours stargazing challenge. Amazingly the weather Gods appear to be on our side with clear skies forecast up North tonight!🤞🔭 👇Join in with stargazers across the entire globe!

73913

Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans @astroroyalscot.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

It's been 7 months since I gave evidence at the UKGov select committee hearing, on the policy changes at UKRI which have had a catastrophic impact on funding for UK astronomy and particle physics. When asked if we thought we were the "canary in the coal mine", we said yes..... we weren't wrong. 🧪🔭⚛️

35321

Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans @astroroyalscot.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

🥳 Alfredo has finished the book & he liked it ☺️ On pitching the idea, most replied "could you write a book about just the things you're the expert on, you know Dark Matter - Lean more into the traditional pop-sci genre?" So glad Bloomsbury allowed me to write and style the book I wanted to read!🙏

2294