Matt Bothwell
@mattbothwell.com
Public Astronomer at the University of Cambridge; Bye-fellow of Girton College, Cambridge
Author of The Invisible Universe, Astrophysics for Supervillains, The Great Alien Hunt, & more
www.mattbothwell.com
Author of The Invisible Universe, Astrophysics for Supervillains, The Great Alien Hunt, & more
www.mattbothwell.com
Pinned
Matt Bothwell
@mattbothwell.com
· Mar 3
It's publication week for my newest children's book, The Great Alien Hunt 👽 I'm really excited about this one. Readers will be able to join the quest to find habitable planets and signs of life across the Galaxy when it comes out on March 6th! 🔭🧪
Pre-order a copy here: www.dk.com/uk/book/9780...
Pre-order a copy here: www.dk.com/uk/book/9780...
We’ll see! I’ve submitted it to a human, but I’ve been told to expect an answer in a couple of weeks…
January 11, 2026 at 7:41 PM
We’ll see! I’ve submitted it to a human, but I’ve been told to expect an answer in a couple of weeks…
The train company website insists my journey isn’t delayed, even though it knows my train got in at 9:57, and the connection left at 9:56. Glad to know LNER thinks I can literally time travel
January 8, 2026 at 11:27 AM
The train company website insists my journey isn’t delayed, even though it knows my train got in at 9:57, and the connection left at 9:56. Glad to know LNER thinks I can literally time travel
I’m going to be in Northern Ireland this February, talking about the search for alien life across the galaxy! If you’re around in Belfast, please come along 😀👽
nisciencefestival.com/event/the-gr...
nisciencefestival.com/event/the-gr...
The Great Alien Hunt with Dr Matt Bothwell | NI Science Festival
nisciencefestival.com
January 7, 2026 at 7:46 PM
I’m going to be in Northern Ireland this February, talking about the search for alien life across the galaxy! If you’re around in Belfast, please come along 😀👽
nisciencefestival.com/event/the-gr...
nisciencefestival.com/event/the-gr...
Look Out: Egocentric Bullshit
December 30, 2025 at 4:14 PM
Look Out: Egocentric Bullshit
Eww why is the Guardian running advertorials for Macdonalds. These fake paid-for articles seem so much more pernicious than just regular ads
December 29, 2025 at 10:25 PM
Eww why is the Guardian running advertorials for Macdonalds. These fake paid-for articles seem so much more pernicious than just regular ads
There absolutely was ‘BookGate’: the Sad Puppy fiasco. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sad_Pup...
Sad Puppies - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
December 26, 2025 at 9:59 AM
There absolutely was ‘BookGate’: the Sad Puppy fiasco. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sad_Pup...
Yes, the pulsar array is now a few old poles in an overgrown field. Which is a great shame. But the wider MRAO site is still in use, both for active instruments (AMI) and for SKA pathfinder stuff. Still going strong for now!
December 22, 2025 at 9:14 PM
Yes, the pulsar array is now a few old poles in an overgrown field. Which is a great shame. But the wider MRAO site is still in use, both for active instruments (AMI) and for SKA pathfinder stuff. Still going strong for now!
They are inside a plaque mounted in the wall outside the main workshop, which today is being used for SKA antenna design!
December 22, 2025 at 9:07 PM
They are inside a plaque mounted in the wall outside the main workshop, which today is being used for SKA antenna design!
The Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory is still going, and the ashes are still there! I showed them off to a very impressed tour group this summer 😎
December 22, 2025 at 9:05 PM
The Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory is still going, and the ashes are still there! I showed them off to a very impressed tour group this summer 😎
Yeah, it’s adjacent to a lot of stuff like vaccine scepticism. The idea that scientists are just corrupt elites, lying to the masses for their own nefarious ends. I’ve heard a lot of “NASA just fakes those images to scam the public out of more funding”-type takes 🙃
December 16, 2025 at 8:17 AM
Yeah, it’s adjacent to a lot of stuff like vaccine scepticism. The idea that scientists are just corrupt elites, lying to the masses for their own nefarious ends. I’ve heard a lot of “NASA just fakes those images to scam the public out of more funding”-type takes 🙃
100%. When I post about astronomy or books here, I get nice replies talking about astronomy and books. On X I get people telling me space is fake, NASA is lying, and people running crypto scams. Pretty easy choice
"Bluesky is an echo chamber."
"Bluesky doesn't have enough reach"
"Liberals must return to X to challenge the far right"
I'm not a tech bro or a journalist. Your priorities are not my priorities. Stop telling me I need to do anything other than chat about comics & telly with people who seem nice.
"Bluesky doesn't have enough reach"
"Liberals must return to X to challenge the far right"
I'm not a tech bro or a journalist. Your priorities are not my priorities. Stop telling me I need to do anything other than chat about comics & telly with people who seem nice.
December 15, 2025 at 3:30 PM
100%. When I post about astronomy or books here, I get nice replies talking about astronomy and books. On X I get people telling me space is fake, NASA is lying, and people running crypto scams. Pretty easy choice
Yep! (Though I didn't see 'up' as an anagrind for a while).
December 14, 2025 at 6:36 PM
Yep! (Though I didn't see 'up' as an anagrind for a while).
Feeling personally attacked by this week's Guardian Quiptic...
December 14, 2025 at 6:29 PM
Feeling personally attacked by this week's Guardian Quiptic...
If you push up the saturation you can even see a rainbow effect! 🧪🔭
December 4, 2025 at 7:35 AM
If you push up the saturation you can even see a rainbow effect! 🧪🔭
Amazing lunar halo last night — a treat for everyone at our public stargazing evening in Cambridge! 🧪🔭
December 4, 2025 at 7:27 AM
Amazing lunar halo last night — a treat for everyone at our public stargazing evening in Cambridge! 🧪🔭
Some amazing Sun pictures today from our Cambridge Heliostat! The first image is white light, the second is H-alpha 🧪🔭
December 3, 2025 at 7:25 AM
Some amazing Sun pictures today from our Cambridge Heliostat! The first image is white light, the second is H-alpha 🧪🔭
It was a huge pleasure to be back at the Royal Institution last month! I gave a lecture all about the mysteries of dark matter, which is now up on YouTube. 🧪🔭
(As a bonus, my demo actually worked, unlike in my 2021 Ri talk...!)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLa3...
(As a bonus, my demo actually worked, unlike in my 2021 Ri talk...!)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLa3...
The quest for dark matter with Matt Bothwell
YouTube video by The Royal Institution
www.youtube.com
November 26, 2025 at 4:34 PM
It was a huge pleasure to be back at the Royal Institution last month! I gave a lecture all about the mysteries of dark matter, which is now up on YouTube. 🧪🔭
(As a bonus, my demo actually worked, unlike in my 2021 Ri talk...!)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLa3...
(As a bonus, my demo actually worked, unlike in my 2021 Ri talk...!)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLa3...
Woke up to an unsolicited email laying out a radical new theory that explains why quantum mechanics, relativity, and LCDM are all wrong.
It started "I know this sounds like an email you'd get from a nutcase. But I'm actually a 75 year old electrical engineer!"
What is it about retired engineers?
It started "I know this sounds like an email you'd get from a nutcase. But I'm actually a 75 year old electrical engineer!"
What is it about retired engineers?
November 24, 2025 at 8:19 AM
Woke up to an unsolicited email laying out a radical new theory that explains why quantum mechanics, relativity, and LCDM are all wrong.
It started "I know this sounds like an email you'd get from a nutcase. But I'm actually a 75 year old electrical engineer!"
What is it about retired engineers?
It started "I know this sounds like an email you'd get from a nutcase. But I'm actually a 75 year old electrical engineer!"
What is it about retired engineers?
Reposted by Matt Bothwell
Reposted by Matt Bothwell
I may have to form a rock band, so I can use this as the cover of our first cd.
www.livescience.com/space/the-su...
www.livescience.com/space/the-su...
Astrophotographer snaps 'absolutely preposterous' photo of skydiver 'falling' past the sun's surface
Astrophotographer Andrew McCarthy has snapped a striking shot of a skydiving YouTuber perfectly aligned with the fiery surface of the sun. The unlikely image, dubbed "The Fall of Icarus," required met...
www.livescience.com
November 15, 2025 at 4:00 PM
I may have to form a rock band, so I can use this as the cover of our first cd.
www.livescience.com/space/the-su...
www.livescience.com/space/the-su...
So cool! A great fact to pull out for stargazing events.
Pleiades: The “Seven Sisters” Just Found Thousands of Long-Lost Siblings 🔭🧪
uncnews.unc.edu/2025/11/12/t...
uncnews.unc.edu/2025/11/12/t...
November 13, 2025 at 7:21 AM
So cool! A great fact to pull out for stargazing events.