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Tim O'Brien

@proftimob.bsky.social
655 followers 65 following 217 posts

Astrophysics professor, Director Jodrell Bank Centre for Engagement, exploding stars, science bluedot festival, red, two dogs rule the roost.

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Tim O'Brien @proftimob.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
...here is the final version of my radio telescope monitoring of the eclipse. It shows a second eclipse of the Sun, not by the Moon but by the Lovell Telescope 🌞🌚📡😀
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Tim O'Brien @proftimob.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
...double woop, my radio telescope monitoring is seeing the eclipse 😀
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Tim O'Brien @proftimob.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
...woop eclipse magic 🙌
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Tim O'Brien @proftimob.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
...better safe than sorry 😂
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Tim O'Brien @proftimob.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
...still burbling, expecting first contact about 18.14 or thereabouts. One issue is when will the Sun be eclipsed by the Lovell Telescope from the point of view of the 7 metre 🤔 should be ok....
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Tim O'Brien @proftimob.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Eclipse ready here. 1500 visitors expected. The Sun is out (as always at Jodrell of course). I have the 7-metre telescope tracking the Sun and measuring its radio power. Since I last tried this 11 years ago I don't know if it will work. I will share updates.
Selfie in front of Lovell Telescope Graphic radio power versus time from 2pm today looking roughly flat, slightly declining. Jodrell web page with photo of 7-metre telescope and description of how it is used by undergraduates at University of Manchester.
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Tim O'Brien @proftimob.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Thanks to all for huge support 🙏. Many petitions, change dot org, parliamentary, MEN etc. A few misconceptions about: - Lovell Telescope/e-MERLIN is old tech: NOT TRUE! Continually upgraded. - Cut is not to Lovell Telescope/Jodrell: NOT TRUE! e-MERLIN funding essential to operate all our telescopes.
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Tim O'Brien @proftimob.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
AI still.getting confused. I googled mountain hares in the Peak District whilst watching Countryfile yesterday. Check out the advice on best time to spot: apparently after snow when their white coats will stand out better 😖
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Tim O'Brien @proftimob.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
Sadly, cloudy here. If its clear for you, worth a look for #aurora aurorawatch.lancs.ac.uk
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Tim O'Brien @proftimob.bsky.social · 31/10/2025
Very enjoyable evening last night @jodrellbank.bsky.social with @teresa-anderson.bsky.social and @hannahpeel.bsky.social discussing re-release of Hannah's Mary Casio and her new commission for BBC Radio 4 with BBC Philharmonic inspired by 80 years of Jodrell Bank.
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Tim O'Brien @proftimob.bsky.social · 24/10/2025
...i am credited for supplying the pulsarenklänge 🫡
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Tim O'Brien @proftimob.bsky.social · 12/09/2025
Terrible events in US but this guy really needs to reconsider his approach
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Tim O'Brien @proftimob.bsky.social · 08/07/2025
Anybody wondering about the reports that the day length has become a bit less than 24 hours could do worse than look at this figure I made last week for the Astronomy textbook I'm writing. Time is a lovely, but complicated, thing.
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Tim O'Brien @proftimob.bsky.social · 21/06/2025
Solsticial celebrations at Jodrell today! Cloudy at local noon so the meridian line not at it's best but we knew the Sun was there, behind the clouds, and we gave thanks 🌞
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Tim O'Brien @proftimob.bsky.social · 29/04/2025
Very helpful of these satellites to mark my target galaxy with a X. Note to self, don't image at twilight. 🙄
Image of edge-on spiral galaxy NGC 4565 taken with Seestar S50. Two prominent satellite trails cross the field of view intesecting bang on the galaxy.
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Tim O'Brien @proftimob.bsky.social · 20/03/2025
Superb Lovell Lecture by Phil Diamond @jodrellbank.bsky.social this evening. Giving us the latest update on the SKA Observatory. Lovely night sky as well.
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Tim O'Brien @proftimob.bsky.social · 28/02/2025
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Tim O'Brien @proftimob.bsky.social · 28/02/2025
It's Mercury very low in the west
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Tim O'Brien @proftimob.bsky.social · 21/02/2025
In Salford 2 days running. Today bbc breakfast. More Asteroid chat. Managed to avoid explaining the Yarkovsky Effect but got mixed up on the age of the Solar System. I'm letting myself off though. Animation of changing impact uncertainty region (currently 0.2%) from blogs.esa.int/rocketscienc...
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Tim O'Brien @proftimob.bsky.social · 11/02/2025
Just had a chat to BBC Radio Manchester about Asteroid 2024 YR4 (the one that has a 98% chance of missing the Earth on 22 Dec 2032). Image from ESA NEO orbit visualisation tool. It's just passed us and is heading off past Mars orbit. Returns in 2028, 2032 etc...
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Tim O'Brien @proftimob.bsky.social · 24/01/2025
Had Time for a coffee in @jodrellbank.bsky.social cafe whilst waiting to do a little interview about planet viewing for BBC Northwest Tonight
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Tim O'Brien @proftimob.bsky.social · 16/01/2025
Giving a talk to a local astro soc tonight about GK Per (Nova Per 1901). Thought I'd take a quick photo of the sky where it is whilst it was clear last night. Handheld mobile phone so apologies for shakiness. I've added some labels to it to help orientation.
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Tim O'Brien @proftimob.bsky.social · 15/01/2025
Venus and Saturn looking good in southwest, Jupiter high and bright in southeast and Mars low down in east. Note ,Mars won't be through a tree for all observers.
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Tim O'Brien @proftimob.bsky.social · 10/01/2025
Down to -10C here in High Peak. Beautiful day, and our ASHP continues to do a sterling job of extracting heat from the 263K air and preventing us turning into icicles.
Low sun shining through trees, blue sky with wispy cloud, and snow covered hedge in foregroundFront of air source heat pump with snow on top and an icicle on front.
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Tim O'Brien @proftimob.bsky.social · 01/01/2025
Hmm. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
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Tim O'Brien @proftimob.bsky.social · 21/12/2024
Happy Solstice everybody! #NewgrangeSolstice
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Tim O'Brien @proftimob.bsky.social · 19/11/2024
Jupiter is shining brightly above Orion tonight. The other photo was my first attempt, not realising I had the phone in selfie mode because it was dark 😂
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Tim O'Brien @proftimob.bsky.social · 17/11/2024
We have some beautiful old kit in the Physics teaching labs. Here's a resistance box by the Croydon Precision Instrument Company (Cropico). Beautiful comb joints in that wooden box! This link describes what seems like exactly these type of boxes.... www.richardsradios.co.uk/cropico1960....
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Tim O'Brien @proftimob.bsky.social · 14/11/2024
Did a (slight) tidy of my office and found this thank you card from a primary school class I did a talk to a long time ago 😀 👽 yes that's me in the drawing
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Tim O'Brien @proftimob.bsky.social · 30/03/2024
It's been a lovely day round these parts.
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