Physicist studying what drives the northern (and southern) lights, the Van Allen belts and space weather. Views are my own.

UK
Joined February 2010
Colin Forsyth retweeted
Meet @esa_smile. The soon-to-be newest member of our space science mission fleet. Employing X-ray and UV vision to see how Earth reacts to relentless streams and bursts of particles from the Sun. Dive into the Smile mission here 👉 esa.int/Science_Exploration/…
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Congratulations to the UK Cluster team for their Sir Arthur Clarke award given for their major role in the multi-spacecraft mission (that produced 1000s of papers), leading 3 of the 11 instruments & hosting the Science Operations Centre. Photo: Natasha & Andrew from @MSSLSpaceLab
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The Jocelyn Bell Burnell Medal and Prize has been won by Dr Catherine Elizabeth Regan of @MSSLSpaceLab for exceptional leadership of the Eyes on Mars project, engaging diverse audiences and inspiring our next generation of scientists, alongside high-impact and novel research on Martian dust storms. 👏 #IOPAwards24
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Colin Forsyth retweeted
Hello, Smile! 👋 🌞↔️🌍 Enjoy this view of the spacecraft that will observe the full Sun-Earth connection, filling an essential gap in our understanding of the Solar System. youtube.com/watch?v=jiTfxASM…
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Colin Forsyth retweeted
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Over the past few weeks we have welcomed colleagues from the National Space Science Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences to cross-calibrate the Light Ion Analyser for @esa_smile ahead of the instrument being integrated onto the spacecraft. @uclmaps @spacegovuk
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Colin Forsyth retweeted
"It will leave a very impressive legacy": the first satellite of the @esa Cluster mission investigating Earth's magnetosphere, which involved Prof Andrew Fazakerley and others @MSSLSpaceLab @uclmaps, has safely returned to Earth after 24 years in space ucl.ac.uk/news/2024/sep/good…
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Colin Forsyth retweeted
🤔 What happens where the solar wind meets Earth’s magnetic shield? 🩻 This is one of the questions @esa_smile aims to answer by observing soft X-rays and extreme ultraviolet wavelengths. The mission will study Earth’s magnetic environment on a global scale, building a more complete understanding of the Sun–Earth connection. Find out more 👉 esa.int/smile
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Colin Forsyth retweeted
☀️🌬️🌍 Here are the top three mysteries @ESA_Smile aims to solve: 🌬️ 🛡️ What happens where the solar wind meets Earth’s magnetic shield? 🧲❌ What causes magnetic glitches on the dark side of Earth? 🚨 ⚡️ How can we predict the most dangerous space weather threats in advance? Delve deeper 👉 esa.int/Science_Exploration/…
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Colin Forsyth retweeted
☀️🌬️🌍 The @ESA_Smile mission will improve our understanding of how Earth responds to space weather and solar storms. The protective magnetic bubble that surrounds Earth is invisible to our eyes, but with its UV and X-ray cameras, #ESASmile will reveal how it works. Find out more at esa.int/smile
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Colin Forsyth retweeted
ESA ensures a ride into space for its @ESA_Smile mission, with @Arianespace signing up to launch the spacecraft on a Vega-C rocket 🚀 Find out more 👉 esa.int/Science_Exploration/…
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Interested in studying for an MSc taught by people designing, building & operating cutting edge hardware for multi-national space missions? Applications are open until 28 June for overseas students and 30 August for home.
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The @WWLLN station on the roof of @MSSLSpaceLab 📡 is back online! It is part of a worldwide network to detect and locate lightning ⚡️ activity through very low frequency (VLF) radio signals 📻.
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It’s time to say goodbye 👋🥹 Our ‘Salsa’ satellite has danced its final dance, marking the beginning of the end for one of ESA’s longest-serving missions. 💃🏽 esa.int/Enabling_Support/Ope… #ClusterMission
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@colforsyth @lazzeri_chiara along with mission Co-PI Prof. Graziella Branduardi Raymont and others presented #SMILEesacas, talking about this exciting upcoming mission to image the invisible edge of our magnetosphere and the aurora.
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Colin Forsyth retweeted
Love this! And all the responses
I’m in paris, giving a talk on ‘failure’ tomorrow. To be extra on point, i’m planning to arrive late, bring no connectors, overrun, talk too fast, forget to mention failure at any point. Please feel free to add you own suggestions.
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OK. Lets get this in orbit. Building on the European pioneering mission @ESA_Cluster , it is time to go across the scales !!! 🤘🏼 #ESAHeliophysics #PlasmaObservatory
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