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Leigh Fletcher

@leighfletcher.bsky.social
2.4K followers 512 following 459 posts

Planetary scientist, Dad-in-training, space enthusiast, Professor based at the University of Leicester linktr.ee/leigh.fletcher orcid.org/0000-0001-5834-9588

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Reposted by Leigh Fletcher
Heidi B. Hammel @hbhammel.bsky.social · 8h
The Cycle 6 JWST 🔭 Call for Proposals deadline has been extended to October 1, at 5 pm Eastern Time (US) due to APT server issues. For updates, please check: “Late Breaking News” at the Call for Proposals jwst-docs.stsci.edu/jwst-opportu...
static.klipy.com
Me Using James Webb Telescope To Find Who Asked
ALT: Me Using James Webb Telescope To Find Who Asked
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Reposted by Leigh Fletcher
ESA Space Science @science.esa.int · 30/09/2026
Inspector Smile is ready for science! 🫡 This is Smile’s first ultraviolet view showing an auroral substorm. With the ultraviolet camera now operational, Smile becomes the first spacecraft since 2008 to capture the full ring of northern lights around the north pole in ultraviolet light. 🔭 🧪 ☀️
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Beatriz Sánchez-Cano @bscredrojo.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
www.space-park.co.uk/2026/09/aste...
space-park.co.uk
Leicester planetary scientists receive out of this world honour
Two Leicester planetary scientists have had asteroids named after them, recognising their contributions to planetary science.
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Leigh Fletcher @leighfletcher.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Brilliant, #ESAJuice got itself an XKCD! #planetsci
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Leigh Fletcher @leighfletcher.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Happening today: #ESAJuice inbound! Our Jupiter-bound spacecraft will fly high over the Indian Ocean in a few hours, picking up speed, with closest approach at 1145UT = 1245BST = 1345CEST = 0745EDT
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Leigh Fletcher @leighfletcher.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Long week. Happy Friday. Make it so.
Star trek beer can with a next generation glass.
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Reposted by Leigh Fletcher
Ars Technica @arstechnica.com · 25/09/2026
arstechnica.com
NASA green-lights billion-dollar infrared observatory for launch in early 2030s
NASA's PRIMA mission will use spare parts from Webb to do major science at a lower cost.
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Leigh Fletcher @leighfletcher.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Trying to divide my attention between a Juno team meeting, an OPAG meeting, and the bats circling my back garden on a warm autumnal equinox evening. It's late, the bats may be winning.
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Reposted by Leigh Fletcher
Lee Billings @leebillings.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Now on @sciam.bsky.social: As NASA’s new Roman Space Telescope opens its cosmic eye, its home base on Earth is spiraling. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center built Roman, but workers there say deep cuts threaten Goddard’s ability to handle future big space science projects.
scientificamerican.com
NASA Goddard built the Roman Space Telescope. Workers there worry it couldn’t happen again
2025 was a brutal year of budget cuts and workforce attrition at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, the home base for the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. Experts worry Goddard—and NASA’s space sci...
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Leigh Fletcher @leighfletcher.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Everything you needed to know about #ESAJuice returning to Earth for a flyby next week! Our spacecraft is now 41% of the way through its long journey to Jupiter. #planetsci
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Reposted by Leigh Fletcher
Jonathan Fortney @jjfplanet.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
*8* postdoctoral positions in atmospheric physics, from the Earth to Exoplanets: aas.org/jobregister/... This is part of the Multiscale Physics of Clouds Across Planetary Atmospheres collaboration, funded by the Simons Foundation, led by Prof. @astrocaroline.bsky.social!
aas.org
Postdoctoral Researchers — Multiscale Physics of Clouds Across Planetary Atmospheres | American Astronomical Society
The Multiscale Physics of Clouds Across Planetary Atmospheres collaboration, funded by the Simons Foundation, is seeking 8 postdoctoral researchers to develop new approaches to understanding clouds ac...
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Royal Astronomical Society @royalastrosoc.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Calling all early-career scientists!🧑‍🔬 We're delighted to announce that we're now accepting applications for two RAS Research Fellowships. The fellowships provide up to three years of support, with an expected start date of 1 October 2027. Find out more at www.ras.ac.uk
Graphic promoting the RAS Research Fellowships with text on a starry background.
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Reposted by Leigh Fletcher
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
'At the start of the year, Elsevier said it would close Researchfish in July 2027, leaving the scores of funders who rely on it for tracking grant outcomes scrabbling for alternatives. UK Research and Innovation, one of the biggest users of Researchfish, renewed its contract in July 2025.'
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Leigh Fletcher @leighfletcher.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
The #EPSC2026 meetings have always had a strong presence of amateur astronomers, and a session dedicated to pro-am collaboration. Right now, Ricardo Hueso is sharing our hopes for observational support for #ESAJuice in the 2030s, following the success of Juno collaborations.
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Leigh Fletcher @leighfletcher.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
A lot of the coffee-discussion here at #EPSC2026 has been about European-led future exploration of the outer solar system, for Saturn and beyond. This would be a game-changer.
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Leigh Fletcher @leighfletcher.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
As someone involved in EJSM nearly 20yrs ago, sitting in #EPSC2026 talks and learning how #ESAJuice and #EuropaClipper are now doing science during cruise is pretty mind-bending: tracking solar ejections, radar scans of Mars, detecting Earth’s lightning from above, and even an interstellar object.
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Leigh Fletcher @leighfletcher.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
The @physicsuol.bsky.social planetary team headed for #EPSC2026 in the Hague. This was the view near the immense Europoort Rotterdam and the Hook of Holland. Looking forward to catching up with colleagues this week
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Reposted by Leigh Fletcher
AAS Nova @aasnova.org · 04/09/2026
The original plan for an upcoming flagship mission to Uranus called for a slingshot around Jupiter. Now that the planet won’t be in the right position at launch time, the spacecraft will need to follow a different path. aasnova.org/2026/09/04/w... 🔭🧪
aasnova.org
Who Needs Jupiter?
The original plan for an upcoming flagship mission to Uranus called for a slingshot around Jupiter. Now that the planet won't be in the right position at launch time, the spacecraft will need to follo...
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Reposted by Leigh Fletcher
European Space Agency @esa.int · 03/09/2026
Mercury Transfer Module separation confirmed! 📡 ✅ Signal acquired via our Cebreros deep-space antenna confirms the spacecraft is healthy and operating as expected. The MPO and Mio spacecrafts are now on their way to Mercury orbit insertion on 21 November. Farewell, MTM. Mercury awaits. ☀️🛰️
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ESA Operations @operations.esa.int · 03/09/2026
📶Preliminary #BepiColombo Doppler separation signal detected. Initial tracking data are consistent with the planned MTM separation sequence. Now awaiting acquisition of signal at 15:53 CEST for full confirmation. @esa.int #JAXA #Mercury
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Leigh Fletcher @leighfletcher.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Glowing #Saturn in the thermal infrared from the @eso.org VLT/VISIR instrument last August, a few months after equinox and ring-plane crossing. These data were used to derive Saturn's temperatures and windshear near the newly-discovered #decagon wave pattern, published today: doi.org/10.1126/scia...
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Thomas Carpentier @thocarp.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
That's the first time that I am happy with my processed image of an observation of Neptune by Hubble, so I am sharing it here too! 🔭 This observation was done yesterday around 6pm UTC. The data come from the 17964 proposal led by Mariarosa Marinelli.
A picture of Neptune as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope. The planet appears in dark blue, with some storms near the poles and the equator looking like white spots and streaks.
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Reposted by Leigh Fletcher
Nick Stevens @nick-stevens.com · 29/08/2026
New animation! (Well, heavily updated). Uranus flyby. Camera rotated 90, rings tuned. vimeo.com/1222276261?s... Made with #Lightwave3d More details on the link.
vimeo.com
Uranus Flyby 2 - rotated and tuned.
This is "Uranus Flyby 2 - rotated and tuned." by Nick Stevens on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.
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Leigh Fletcher @leighfletcher.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
New video from Nature interviewing members of the @physicsuol.bsky.social team at Perpetual Atomics and Space Park Leicester, working on Americium-based space nuclear power sources for future exploration(RPS for electricity generation, RHUs for heating). www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYb_...
youtube.com
Nuclear waste: space's next power source
YouTube video by nature video
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Reposted by Leigh Fletcher
Riding With Robots @ridingrobots.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
From NASA: It happened again! Here's Phobos passing in front of the Sun as seen by the Perseverance rover from the surface of Mars on Aug. 12. science.nasa.gov/photojournal...
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Leigh Fletcher @leighfletcher.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
It's taken a few weeks, but my new #CassiniHuygens model is finally complete. This was the first mission I got involved with, and I still frequently revisit the datasets from CIRS and other instruments. Now atoms and memories within #Saturn's heart, 9 year on from the Grand Finale.
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Leigh Fletcher @leighfletcher.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Nice overview of Swift's achievements, but sad news for the @physicsuol.bsky.social team: @uniofleicester.bsky.social provided the key system designs for the X-ray Telescope, built the low-temperature CCD focal plane camera and Telescope Alignment Monitor, and host the UK Swift Science Data Centre.
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Reposted by Leigh Fletcher
Space Telescope Science Institute @stsci.edu · 17/08/2026
OPPORTUNITY: The Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, MD, is seeking astronomers for the European Space Agency office. These astronomer positions are three-year term contracts, renewable, with salaries and benefits commensurate with those of AURA employees at STScI: bit.ly/4bUlEAE
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Planetary Research Jobs @jobs.planetary-research.org · 14/08/2026
Job Announcement Category: Tenure and tenure-track faculty SENIOR LECTURER IN FLIGHT DYNAMICS. University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK jobs.planetary-research.org/628c-fa…
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Leigh Fletcher @leighfletcher.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Still looping majestically around the inner solar system, gathering speed, until it finally travels across the void to Jupiter between 2029 and 2031.... #ESAJuice
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Reposted by Leigh Fletcher
Meg Schwamb @megschwamb.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
The Guardian view on the Lovell telescope: budget cuts to physics are bad science and worse politics www.theguardian.com/commentisfre.... 🔭
theguardian.com
The Guardian view on the Lovell telescope: budget cuts to physics are bad science and worse politics | Editorial
Editorial: Funders have picked a damaging fight with scientists and the public. They should reconsider their plans
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Ryleigh Davis @import-astrory.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
My new paper is out in Science Advances! Neptune's inner moons preserve clay minerals from the deep interiors of ancient icy worlds, exposed by Triton's catastrophic arrival. Here's the story and what it tells us about the violent history of the Neptunian system. 🧵 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
science.org
Neptune’s inner moons and rings are exposed icy body interiors
Triton’s destructive wake exposed clay-like minerals from within ancient icy worlds, now reaccreted as Neptune’s inner moons.
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Reposted by Leigh Fletcher
Richard Alexander @richardalexander.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
It's going to be very hard for UKRI to stick to their mantra that there aren't any cuts at STFC, when the impact of "no cuts" includes closing the most iconic telescope in the country.
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Reposted by Leigh Fletcher
Chris Lintott @chrislintott.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Short-sighted, stupid cuts to the UKRI budget include shutting down Jodrell Bank, the icon of British astronomy. (Many other cuts too, including 20% to our brand new @vrubinobs.bsky.social). Interesting politically to shut down a major facility in...um..Manchester 🔭 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Jodrell Bank's Lovell telescope faces axe in science cuts, BBC understands
Astronomers warn it would tear the heart out of UK science, and leave a generation untrained.
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Reposted by Leigh Fletcher
Bleddyn Bowen @bleddb.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
The UK Space Agency had just been folded into DSIT (only as of April!) to merge a lot of backroom admin and cut down on duplication between it and DSIT space directorate. Further changes before the dust has settled for UKSA/DSIT is probably not what most in the space sector wanted to hear.
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Leigh Fletcher @leighfletcher.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
Spending a couple of weeks in Denmark 🇩🇰 on holiday, and I just can't escape from some beautiful #AtmosphericPhysics.
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Keith Smith @drkeithsmith.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
Are Neptune and Uranus really 'ice giants'? @hannah-richter.bsky.social speaks to researchers who have proposed alternative interior compositions. Current data cannot distinguish between them - a spacecraft mission to Uranus is required. ☄️🔭 #planetsci #exoplanets www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
science.org
Uranus and Neptune may not be ‘ice giants’ after all
A growing number of theories propose Uranus and Neptune are rocky worlds
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Leigh Fletcher @leighfletcher.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
Announcing a 4pm meeting on critical funding cuts with 2hrs notice, in July. <<Chef's kiss>>
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Randall Munroe @xkcd.com · 03/07/2026
Holes xkcd.com/3266/
Comic: Holes. Elevation is to scale relative to sea level and ground level. Land shapes and horizontal distances are not to scale. [Lines for every 1k meters starting from -12k up to +4k: Bingham Canyon Mine (US), Veryovkina Cave (Georgia), MPONENG Gold Mine (South Africa), Sanford Laboratory (US), Giant Crystal Cave (Mexico), Derinkugo Underground City (Turkey), WIPP (US), Restof Salt Mine, with an arrow pointing at the bottom that reads “oops” (US), San Andreas Fault Observatory Borehole (US) CFB North Bay (Canada), Woodingdean Water Well (dug by hand) (United Kingdom), Diefen-Bunker (Canada), Deep Underground Command Center (Canceled in 1965) (US), Lake Peigneu, with another oops arrow next to it (US), Sydney Opera House Parking (Australia), Onkalo Spent Nuclear Fuel Repository (Finland), Hudson River, Delaware Aqueduct (US), Raven Rock (US), Wieliczka and Bochina Salt Mines (Poland), Atchison Storage Facility (US), Snolab (Canada), Detroit Salt Mine (US), Hongyancun Subway Station (China), Nuclear Test Shafts (North Korea), Super Kamiokande Neutrino Detector (Japan), Gran Sasso Laboratory (Italy), Peak above Gran Sasso, Modane Laboratory (France), Peak above Modane Laboratory, Gotthard Tunnel (Switzerland), Peak above Cheyenne Bunker and Gotthard Tunnel, Cheyenne Mountain Bunker (US), Kola Superdeep Borehole (Russia) - deepest artificial point below surface at -11917m, Lake Baikal (Russia), sediments under Lake Baikal, IDDP-2 Borehole (Iceland), Dead Sea (multiple countries), Ryfylke Tunnel (Norway), Pantal Remis Mine with another oops arrow (Malaysia), Great Blue Hole (Belize), Joides Resolution Expedition 307 (Atlantic Ocean), Deepwater Horizon Borehole (Gulf of Mexico) - deepest artificial point below sea level at -11944m, Glomar Challenger Hole 504B (Pacific Ocean), Mohole (Pacific Ocean), Joides Resolution Expedition 329 (Pacific Ocean), Mariana Trench (Pacific Ocean)]
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Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans @astroroyalscot.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
At today's UKRI board meeting, the fate of UK particle physics and astronomy will likely be decided. Have we done enough to convince the powers-that-be to halt the proposed funding cuts? 🤞 Read Prof. Hiranya Peiris in Nature today eloquently explaining why these cuts are wrong.🧪🔭⚛️ 📖: rdcu.be/friwM
Restructuring research funding as a choice between discovery and application gets the economics wrong, the evidence wrong and the people wrong.

A premise is gaining traction in science policy on both sides of the Atlantic: that fundamental and applied research are competing claims on the same budget, and that the balance must shift towards application. In the USA, the current administration has proposed cuts of billions of dollars to the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. In the UK, the national funding agency UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is restructuring its portfolio around government growth priorities, with curiosity-driven research nominally protected but the grant lines that actually fund investigators under severe pressure. The language varies — ‘doing fewer things better’, ‘aligning research with industrial strategy’ — but the underlying logic is the same. Fundamental science, the argument goes, is a luxury that becomes dispensable when budgets are tight. This premise is wrong, and the consequences of acting on it are already visible.
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Leigh Fletcher @leighfletcher.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
With the new Outer Solar System gallery opening Tuesday, @spacecentre.bsky.social is asking for #planetaryscience #astrophotography images (and the inspiration behind them) to be part of their new display. Surely bluesky astronomers can help? 🔭🪐☄️ Upload here: astrophotography.spacecentre.co.uk
astrophotography.spacecentre.co.uk
National Space Centre - Astrophotography Submission Form
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Leo Hickman @leohickman.carbonbrief.org · 24/06/2026
Letter in today's Times by climate scientist Sir Brian Hoskins: "The discourse around net-zero is increasingly decoupled from…science and our changing weather. "Net-zero is not an arbitrary slogan, rather it is dictated by the laws of physics."
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Leigh Fletcher @leighfletcher.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
The irony of today is not lost on me: meeting in London about Habitable Worlds Observatory #HWO on a day when London is pushing beyond the edges of our own habitable zone (at least for this Brit).
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Tom Wilson @feedthedrummer.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
British PM: Vacant James Bond: Vacant Doctor Who: Vacant If the King disappears in the next couple of weeks I think we may sink into the ocean.
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Leigh Fletcher @leighfletcher.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
Popped into @spacecentre.bsky.social to see their new Outer Solar System experience. As a member of the "Space Crew" 25 years ago (rocking the denim shirts), I'm delighted to see this gallery brought bang up to date with the latest #planetaryscience & some wonderful nods to the past.
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Leigh Fletcher @leighfletcher.bsky.social · 21/06/2026
A Father's Day treat: "May the toys be with you" at New Walk Museum Leicester. The exhibit celebrates Coalville's Palitoy factory, responsible for the most significant toys of the 70s/80s: He-Man, Star Wars (UK license), Play-doh, Care Bears
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ESA Exploration @exploration.esa.int · 20/06/2026
"Day 127, orbit 1968 — That aurora was absolutely spectacular… shimmering and dancing beneath us, stretching as far as the eye could see, and so intense it lit up the Station in shades of green 💚", says @esa.int astronaut Sophie Adenot.   📸 ESA/NASA – S. Adenot #εpsilon
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Leigh Fletcher @leighfletcher.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
International or UK researcher looking for a #fellowship in #astrophysics, #planetaryscience, and/or space instrumentation? Leicester @physicsuol.bsky.social is inviting expressions of interest for this year's STFC 5-year Ernest Rutherford Fellowships (deadline June 25th): le.ac.uk/physics/rese...
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Leigh Fletcher @leighfletcher.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
An excellent meeting, well-organised and in a very special place (even if you don't play golf). Well done #BPSC2026
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Leigh Fletcher @leighfletcher.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
Extended my stay in St Andrews by a day to give a seminar on Jupiter's atmosphere for the School of Maths & Statistics. Hadn't realised John Couch Adams (of Neptune prediction fame) was here, albeit briefly. Thanks to Daphné Lemasquerier, Hamish Hay, and Tom Elsdon for hosting me.
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