iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Andy Lawrence @e-astronomer.bsky.social · 3h

Yup, 56N here. But the winters here are pretty mild. This morning it was +11 first thing. When winter comes +5 is about normal . Our latitude only shows itself by the lack of hot summer…

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Andy Lawrence @e-astronomer.bsky.social · 5h

Crikey. That’s impressive, even for Canadialand. What is your latitude?

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Andy Lawrence @e-astronomer.bsky.social · 5h

Hmm. If LLMs really are solving maths problems, this must mean the answers were already out there, and so could be statistically assembled from the Internet? Or have I missed something?

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Andy Lawrence @e-astronomer.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

Check out my podcast: Slices of Shakespeare. Each episode takes a famous quote, performs the scene, and chats about the play. Many groovy guests. Astro-prof does the Bard. Trailer live now, full launch Oct 16th. rss.com/podcasts/sli... #Theatresky #shakespeare #shakespearesunday

rss.com

Slices of Shakespeare | Podcast on RSS.com

Join Professor Andy Lawrence to explore famous lines and phrases from Shakespeare.

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Andy Lawrence @e-astronomer.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

cookie not the same as a biscuit. You have to put biscuits in a tin so they don’t go soft. You have to put cookies in a tin so they don’t go hard

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Andy Lawrence @e-astronomer.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Hypotheses I have heard. (1) AI extinction worry is real (2) Everything is fine. (3) The industry wants to slow down so they have time to achieve the things they promised (4) They want to encourage regulation so only the big boys get to play and pesky startups won't get in. Do we have any evidence?

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Andy Lawrence @e-astronomer.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

More office archaeology. Twenty six years ago, these were the consortium votes for the name of what then became the UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey (UKIDSS). I think the acronym won because it was unique in a Google search. Anybody want to own up to voting for the others?

Extract from email. Says
(1) UKIDSS=23 (3113323313)
(2) UNIS=18 (3332322)
(3) UKISS=12 (222222)

(4) UDIS=8 (1313)
(5=) DISCovery=6 (33)
(5=) DISCO=6 (1131)
(7) SCUDS=5 (23)
(8) DISCUSS=1 (1)

WUSSIES and COSSIES nil points (sorry Laurence)

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Reposted by Andy Lawrence

Chuck Darwin @cdarwin.c.im.ap.brid.gy · 12/09/2026

Astronomers spent decades designing the Square Kilometre Array Low (SKA-Low) to hear the faintest whisper in the observable universe — neutral hydrogen signals from the cosmic dawn, when the first stars flickered on roughly 13 billion years ago. What they’re picking up instead is electronic […]

c.im

Original post on c.im

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Andy Lawrence @e-astronomer.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

oh I like this so much. I especially like “weighted networks”. I hadn’t understood why the term “neural networks” has always made me uncomfortable

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Reposted by Andy Lawrence

Emily M. Bender @emilymbender.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

5. Finally, beware of mathiness. If some Anthropic defector gains notoreity for claming a 10% chance of "AI" annihilating humanity within the decade ... I mean this shouldn't be news, but at the very least someone should ask him how he calculated that. >>

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Andy Lawrence @e-astronomer.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Groin Pub and Beach Cafe. I like living here.

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Andy Lawrence @e-astronomer.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Just discovered - if you have press reader app, and U.Ed. email, can read loads of newspapers free, cos library already subscribes. Ditto City Library. Presumably true for other Universities and Libraries. Amazing! But I will carry on paying for the Guardian. They deserve it. www.pressreader.com

pressreader.com

PressReader - Connecting People Through News

Get an unlimited stream of top news stories in your home feed — no sign up required.

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Andy Lawrence @e-astronomer.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

empty office!! There are now five names on the door. This must be the professor-pdra exchange rate

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Andy Lawrence @e-astronomer.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

A likely goal of launching so many satellites is a land grab, in anticipation of tighter regulation. SpaceX are now showing their hand. Biggest overcrowding problem is not collisions, but interference. Viasat have long argued that LEO constellations interfere with long established GEO systems

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Reposted by Andy Lawrence

Dr Space Junk (Alice Gorman) @drspacejunk.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Starlink is trying to block its geostationary competitors. We should be monitoring this very closely. 🧪 🔭

satnews.com

SpaceX Petitions FCC to Block Viasat Satellite Authorization Over Starlink Interference Concerns – SatNews

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Andy Lawrence @e-astronomer.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Haven’t read the paper, but I assume the significance is estimated from Poisson stats - prob of 1 or more given expected value equal to 0.01 or whatever - but quoted as a Gaussian equivalent sigma

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Andy Lawrence @e-astronomer.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

One event, but still 2.6 sigma. Funny old thing, statistics

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Andy Lawrence @e-astronomer.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

In case my previous post seemed too self important, I note that also on my office wall has been my donkey derby winner’s certificate from Mawgan Porth, Cornwall 2008

pink cardboard mounted under glass. Bottom left, cartoon sketch ofcdonkey. Top says “Rotary Club of St Columb. Donkey Derby CERTIFICATE. This is to certify that” Then written in biro underneath is “ANDREW LAWRENCE”. Under this says “Who rode the winning donkey in the Rotary Club’s annual Donkey Derby, held at Mawgan Porth, Cornwall”. Under that is signed “Alex Shapland” then “President, St Columb Rotary Club, 2007/2008”

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Andy Lawrence @e-astronomer.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

More office clearance. Ahem, my royal warrant as Regius Prof. @astroroyalscot.bsky.social will have something similar. This front page ends “… abilities and good endowments of Our”. On the next page, under the glass, it continues “trusty and well beloved Andrew Lawrence”. Me Mum loved that.

wooden frame around glass case for containing typed document tied with green ribbon. At top is signed “Elizabeth R”.Typed words say “ELIZABETH THE SECOND, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of of our other Realms and Territories QUEEN, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith, to all whom these presents do or may concern GREETINGS.

Forasmuch as We, taking into Our Royal Consideration that the Office and Place of Regius Professor of Astronomy in the University of Edinburgh became vacant on the 31st day of December 1990 and is at our Gift and Disposal through the resignation of Professor Malcolm Sim Longair and We being well informed of the abilities and good endowments of Our”

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Andy Lawrence @e-astronomer.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

No, but I used to have friends who insisted that was the right way to code.

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Andy Lawrence @e-astronomer.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

I used Fortran and punch cards at Uni in the 1970s. But before this at Grammar School I wrote Algol 68 on hole-punched paper tape rolls

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Andy Lawrence @e-astronomer.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

I was honing my programming skills of course

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Andy Lawrence @e-astronomer.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

I have a deck of cards which if fed into a Cyber 72 will make a line printer picture of Snoopy

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Andy Lawrence @e-astronomer.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

Lets keep this pan-European. How about Galician bagpipes? I recommend a visit by Carlis Nunez m.youtube.com/watch?v=C1bf...

m.youtube.com

Carlos Nunez - Jigs and Bulls

YouTube video by Orlan Charles

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Reposted by Andy Lawrence

Dr Space Junk (Alice Gorman) @drspacejunk.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

The US and SpaceX are going to destroy Earth orbit, the atmosphere, and the night sky for every living thing on Earth. 🔭🧪

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Andy Lawrence @e-astronomer.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

claimed pragmatic argument for more drilling is to keep companies/skills in place that will be part of green transition. Can we hold them to this by making license conditional on a timed concrete plan of additional renewable build? #ClimateSky Lets see the whole plan @andyburnham.bsky.social

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Andy Lawrence @e-astronomer.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Here is my grid of eclipse progress plots from yesterday at the event on Calton Hill organised by @astronomyedinburgh.bsky.social #astronomy There were thoosands of people! All taken with Seestar S50.

grid of ten pictures of the Sun during the eclipse, proceeding from full sun top left to 90% coverage bottom left and then halfway out by bottom right. Patchy cloud on most of the pictures, but makes it look more dramatic.

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Andy Lawrence @e-astronomer.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

My Seestar practice pic. Scudding clouds but at least you can see sunspots #astronomy

orange disc of Sun with patchy clouds. Two sunspot groups lower left

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Andy Lawrence @e-astronomer.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

Do you think this might be worth some money soon?

picture of 15 piece chicken nuggets sliding tile puzzle featuring picture of Jodrell Bank Mk I telescope

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Andy Lawrence @e-astronomer.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

Arrrggghhh. Depressingly familiar brush offs. “We are not authorised to do an environmental review” and “Its not our job to consider optical properties”. Well whose job is it??

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Andy Lawrence @e-astronomer.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

I lied -only 49 years. Save up the party for next year

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Andy Lawrence @e-astronomer.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

As we await the bad news in this afternoon's STFC "Town Hall" webinar, we are thinking fondly of PPARC days. (Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council). However, we did not always think so kindly of PPARC. In my ongoing office clear-out, just found this ancient viewgraph #astronomy

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Reposted by Andy Lawrence

emmalawrence.bsky.social @emmalawrence.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

The scale, the amounts, the neck. Clacton you deserve better.

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Andy Lawrence @e-astronomer.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

I can't quite comprehend what all those structures are! BTW, the radio lobes are enormous. If you could see them with your eyes, they'd spread across the southern sky. Much bigger than M31 or the LMC.

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Andy Lawrence @e-astronomer.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

My first paper on Cen A is fifty years old this year. Gulp. But it keeps on giving!

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Andy Lawrence @e-astronomer.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

The UK Infrared Telescope (UKIRT) is finally hitting the end of the road. I have spent many many nights inside that dome! End of a glorious history #astronomy www.hawaii.edu/news/article...

hawaii.edu

System: UPDATED VNR WITH VIDEO: UH continues UKIRT decommissioning; science operations to end this fall | University of Hawaii News

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Reposted by Andy Lawrence

Leila Belkora PhD, astrophysics @leilabelkora.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

Came across this gem today: a replica of Isaac Newton’s telescope, placed on a pedestal below the 200-inch Palomar telescope, for comparison. (Look closely!) 🔭 1958 photo from the Observatories of the Carnegie Institution for Science collection at the Huntington Library, San Marino, CA.

A minuscule-looking telescope dwarfed by one end of the Palomar telescope. The inside of the Palomar dome is visible in the background.

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Andy Lawrence @e-astronomer.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

came into my office today to find this on my table. I trust it refers to the furniture not the occupant

picture of sticker on office table. Says “Corporate Moves. Location U13. TO BE DISPOSED OF”

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Andy Lawrence @e-astronomer.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

just realised I have access through university login- excellent

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