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Leo Enright

@ollopa11.bsky.social
346 followers 262 following 586 posts

"The Guy from Irish TV" at NASA for 50 years (and counting)! Ex Foreign Hack at BBC News & RTE News; now see/hear me live on space on BBC, RTE, Newstalk FM @aljazeera.com etc

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Reposted by Leo Enright
Elizabeth Tasker @elizabethtasker.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
11 days until the launch of MMX 🚀 MMX will launch on the JAXA H3 rocket (flight 10!) with two first-stage main engines and four solid rocket boosters (24L configuration), the MAX POWER set-up to deliver MMX onto the deep space Mars trajectory. Diabolically spooky.
A small Halloween display in a garden with some plastic ghosts and pumpkins. The letters M M X have been written over the top of the picture.
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Leo Enright @ollopa11.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
How about some lunar homework?
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Leo Enright @ollopa11.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
How to access all the data? It's all here: assets.science.nasa.gov/content/dam/...
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Leo Enright @ollopa11.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
TBH: I shall read the Operations Report first. This is the document a future Science Officer called Spock will certainly read to learn how humans began integrating science into crewed spaceflight. assets.science.nasa.gov/content/dam/...
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Leo Enright @ollopa11.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Enfin ! assets.science.nasa.gov/content/dam/...
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Leo Enright @ollopa11.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
It is 53 years since I last saw a fresh Preliminary Science Report of astronauts at the Moon. ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citation...
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Reposted by Leo Enright
Claire Mitchell @clairemitchell.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
🚨 Open letter from people of Protestant backgrounds concerning the Garvaghy Road 🚨 We feel compelled to speak publicly about what is happening in Portadown 🚨Over the past few hours we have collected over 140 signatures
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Leo Enright @ollopa11.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Rob Lillis: the Irishman leading NASA's ESCAPADE mission.
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Leo Enright @ollopa11.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
This is v. interesting from @keithcowing.bsky.social Stoer Group is a really clever analogue for Jezero Crater's Bright Angel formation, predating plant life. We have nice reduction spots in Dingle's Devonian Old Red Sandstone - but 500 MY younger. astrobiology.com/2026/10/01/n...
(A) Location of study area in NW Scotland and position of Outer Hebrides thrust fault (OHFZ). (B) Geological map of NW Scotland showing Stoer Group and location of geochronology sample locations. (C) Geologic map at Bay of Stoer showing location of Stac Fada Member sample 14SF03 used in this study. Latitude and longitude are given in decimal degrees (WGS84). Samples GY96-2, GY96-11, GY96-55, and GY96-62 (Rainbird et al., 2001), samples 15BSK001, 15BSK006, 15BSK008, and 15BSK009 (Kenny et al., 2019), and samples LL-02 and LL-09 (Lebeau et al., 2020) are also denoted as white circles. Ar-Ar samples reported by Parnell et al. (2011) are denoted as green circles.
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Leo Enright @ollopa11.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Sad to hear of the death of my friend and colleague @news.rte.ie Andy Sheppard - a survivor of the (Allied) blitz of Berlin. An intensely serious journalist, peerless in his analysis of European affairs. Yet he had a childlike delight in mischief of all sorts. www.rte.ie/news/ireland...
rte.ie
Former RTÉ Foreign Editor, Andrew Sheppard, dies aged 88
Former RTÉ Foreign Editor and London Correspondent Andrew, or Andy, Sheppard has died.
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Leo Enright @ollopa11.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Collier's was founded in 1888 by Peter Fenelon Collier from Myshall in Co. Carlow. It was the most influential news magazine in America until the late 1950's.
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Leo Enright @ollopa11.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
www.smithsonianmag.com/history/hiro...
smithsonianmag.com
Hiroshima, U.S.A.
In 1950, a popular magazine depicted what an atomic bomb would do to New York City—in gruesome detail
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Leo Enright @ollopa11.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Stunned to see the great(est?) space illustrator Chesley Bonestell associated with such a grim image. It was part of an equally stunning Collier's special edition. Bonestell worked with the great Irish writer Cornelius Ryan to create Collier's most famous series: "Man Will Conquer Space Soon!"
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Reposted by Leo Enright
Commissioner for Human Rights @commissionerhr.coe.int · 25/09/2026
I am alarmed by the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Oleshky, a town in the temporarily occupied parts of the Kherson region of Ukraine. 1/4 #humanrights #Ukraine #Oleshky #Kherson #humanitarianlaw
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Leo Enright @ollopa11.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
😍😍😍 90 mins later and Juice would have captured the Starship.
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Leo Enright @ollopa11.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
J'ai redressé la banane pour éviter de froisser qui que ce soit 😂
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Leo Enright @ollopa11.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
This is my *very rough* timeline (+- several mins) in Irish/UK money.
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Leo Enright @ollopa11.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Astonishing lapse in fact-checking @nytimes.com . What next, "FDR, America's forgotten president" ? Gráinne Mhaol (Grace O'Malley or Granuaile in English) is one of Ireland's most revered historical figures. Her castles dot the Atlantic seaboard. Do better, NYT.
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Leo Enright @ollopa11.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Lovely choice of name. His words speak for him. The impactor was a Chelyabinsk ? Metal, and you're talking city killer!
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Leo Enright @ollopa11.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
The name tells you everything about the vintage of these SigInt's ! How incredibly ironic this happened 24-hrs before the Emmy's. www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktSo...
youtube.com
The Original Cast of Charlie's Angels Honors Farrah Fawcett | 78th Emmy Awards | NBC
YouTube video by NBC
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Leo Enright @ollopa11.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
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Leo Enright @ollopa11.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
I just watched it in Dublin and was a bit shocked. I know it's "Hollywood", but the UK author of the original play must have known about Petterssen's 2001 "Weathering the Storm". A fine film........spoilt.
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Reposted by Leo Enright
Jonathan McDowell @planet4589.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Apparently the commander of the International Space Station brought her dancing pants to space with her
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Leo Enright @ollopa11.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Isn't the obvious parallel the 1944 Chicago Convention establishing the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)? No enforcement powers, but it reports annually on states that are not fully complying. Streets ahead of other treaties that are wilfully breached.
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Leo Enright @ollopa11.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
He wis a mon o mony Airt's. (I think the Greeks had a word for that).
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Leo Enright @ollopa11.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Buíochas ó chroí le Donal Fallon as an ómós máistriúil a thug sé do Frank McDonald. Bheadh ​​Frank an-sásta leis. Many thanks to Donal Fallon for his lovely tribute to Frank McDonald. Frank would be very very pleased! podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/t...
podcasts.apple.com
A Tribute to Frank McDonald (1950-2026)
Podcast Episode · Three Castles Burning · 7 September · 36min
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Leo Enright @ollopa11.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Met Eireann - ireland's excellent weather service - has issued a Status Orange warning. This is not a joke. People in affected areas should pay attention. I repeat, this is not a joke 😂
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Leo Enright @ollopa11.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
My first thought was a meteorite ventifact, but a close field of them doesn't make an awful lot of sense. More likely, I think, is a vesicular basalt ventifact . Its a job for SuperCam and PIXL!
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Leo Enright @ollopa11.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
OTD in 1966 Ireland changed forever: Education Minister Donogh O’Malley announced Ireland’s Free Education Scheme. He told nobody in the Cabinet, and he certainly didn't tell the bishops. Irish students' stellar performance in this week's PISA report is part of his legacy.
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Leo Enright @ollopa11.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
It wad o coorse be remiss o me no tae mention my guid freen John C. Brown an his braw collaboration wi the great Scots leid poet Rab Wilson. John introduced me tae Rab at Wigtown an we three shared mair nor a few drams tae celebrate the launch o the buik! John wis a michty man.
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Leo Enright @ollopa11.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Nice to see Ireland dominating the cover of the "latest" UK space strategy 😬.
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Leo Enright @ollopa11.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Astronomy writer Agnes Mary Clerke from Skibbereen in Cork was a contemporary of Ball - and the mother of modern science journalism. 3/3
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Leo Enright @ollopa11.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
* without Screw Theory we would not have robotic open-heart surgery. Or the space station robotic arm. 2/3
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Leo Enright @ollopa11.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Astronomers Royal have a very proud history of publishing accessible astronomy books. Robert Ball (1840-1914) was our standout example here in Ireland. Renowned in science for developing Screw Theory*, his astronomy books were outstanding. 1/3
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Leo Enright @ollopa11.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
@nytimes.com
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Leo Enright @ollopa11.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Just linking DCU 😉. Is there a general DCU account here?
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Leo Enright @ollopa11.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
I think we hacks actually help ESA managers by making a fuss about timely image release. 3/3
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Leo Enright @ollopa11.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
As y'all know, ESA's mission funding model has historically been completely different from NASA: Instruments are funded by institutions - giving individual PI's extraordinary power. Amazing stories in the past of top ESA managers privately pleading for prompt photo release. 2/3
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Leo Enright @ollopa11.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
There is a wonderful word in Irish which perfectly conveys "we will wait patiently to see what actually transpires in the end" : Feicimíd [feck-a-mead] ! 1/3
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Leo Enright @ollopa11.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Another Lucasian Professor of Mathematics? ................ Charles Babbage - 20 years before Stokes. So the computational wheel comes full circle!
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Leo Enright @ollopa11.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
This indeed is very big news.  I feel sure that Baron George Gabriel Stokes of Skreen in County Sligo would be much amused. He was Lucasian Professor of Mathematics (think Stephen Hawking) for most of the 1800s. @dculibrary.bsky.social named a building after him @dias.ie
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Leo Enright @ollopa11.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Thank you Oliver, I come here precisely for steers like that 😉. Incidentally, do visit #EPSC2026 or subsequent, it is much more meaty these days.  Instead of importing American culture, we are now importing American scientists.
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Leo Enright @ollopa11.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
I meant of course that there is still time for the Nobel Committee to review one of the oft-disputed awards while the individual is still alive . This certainly rises to the level of reversing an historic injustice. Where do Norway, Ireland & Britain stand on this today? @nobelprize.org
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Leo Enright @ollopa11.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
My selfie tonight with "the other woman" at #EPSC . I mean of course the other woman who was passed over for a Nobel prize, while her male colleagues basked in the glory. In one case, there is still time to repair that 😉.  @dias.ie @europlanetmedia.bsky.social
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Leo Enright @ollopa11.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Why is it always Australia???. 😂.
supermodel Christie Brinkley wearing a novelty "Skylab Protective Helmet" in 1979.  Photo uncredited.
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Leo Enright @ollopa11.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Heartbroken by this news. A stalwart champion of Temple Bar residents for many many years. We have lost our white knight 😢. Comhbhrón ó chroí to Eamon, the love of his life.
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Reposted by Leo Enright
DutchSpace @dutchspace.eurosky.social · 05/09/2026
Meanwhile Isar Aerospace is going to have another go at trying to launch their Spectrum Mission ‘Onward and Upward' tonight at 20:00 UTC Subject to weather, safety and range clearance. Stream: www.youtube.com/live/Ss1DUqL... Source: Isar Aerospace on the other site.
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Leo Enright @ollopa11.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
(Dowd & Carden had the added benefit of the wisdom of a rogues gallery of Ireland's most eminent archaeotypes, including @nigelmonaghan-nh.bsky.social ). Time for a conference? 🍻
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Leo Enright @ollopa11.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
I know Marion Dowd & Ruth Carden's 2015 paper is somewhat contested, but I immediately thought it made sense. 🍻 mariondowd.com/wp-content/u...
mariondowd.com
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Leo Enright @ollopa11.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
TBH I never thought it credible that there was no habitation in Ireland until the Holocene. They would've frozen their nuts off, but I am just back from Greenland - people live in the coldest places. Anyone have a link to The Landbridge Project?
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