Stuart Atkinson
@stuartatkinson.bsky.social
Amateur astronomer and author of science fiction and science reference books, including "A Cat's Guide to The Night Sky". Fascinated by Mars since knee high to R2D2 and owned by a very demanding rescue cat called Jess.
Pinned
Hi... If you Followed me as "Mars_Stu" over on the other place I hope you'll do the same here. If you didn't, but like space (especially Mars), SF & cats I'd be delighted if you'd Follow me here! Here's an example of the image processing I do... Credit: Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/S Atkinson
Day off, and I was *this* close to getting an article finished and then a black and white Time Thief jumped up on the sofa, pawed at my arm and pushed herself inside it, and the laptop away, and now I'm stuck ...
January 14, 2026 at 11:24 AM
Day off, and I was *this* close to getting an article finished and then a black and white Time Thief jumped up on the sofa, pawed at my arm and pushed herself inside it, and the laptop away, and now I'm stuck ...
One of the most gentle, loving souls I've ever known. (She's fine, by the way, I just love the pic in black and white)
January 13, 2026 at 11:46 PM
One of the most gentle, loving souls I've ever known. (She's fine, by the way, I just love the pic in black and white)
J wondering what it would be like to live on a planet covered in cat litter...
January 12, 2026 at 6:07 PM
J wondering what it would be like to live on a planet covered in cat litter...
Rewatching the classic TV series "From the Earth to the Moon" & thinkin again that Apollo Deniers should be made to watch it, then they'd see the incredible engineering challenges & triumphs, the great sacrifice & loss and the amazing human stories & stunning science which made those footprints.
January 12, 2026 at 9:22 AM
Rewatching the classic TV series "From the Earth to the Moon" & thinkin again that Apollo Deniers should be made to watch it, then they'd see the incredible engineering challenges & triumphs, the great sacrifice & loss and the amazing human stories & stunning science which made those footprints.
An utterly miserable excuse for a day here in Kendal today, even by Cumbrian standards, with icy rain slopping down relentlessly from a gunmetal-grey sky. J definitely has the right idea...
January 11, 2026 at 2:18 PM
An utterly miserable excuse for a day here in Kendal today, even by Cumbrian standards, with icy rain slopping down relentlessly from a gunmetal-grey sky. J definitely has the right idea...
Reposted by Stuart Atkinson
We’ve taken the solar system and turned each planet into cats. If you like both space and cats, we have the pins for you. Launching in about two weeks with Pintopia'26 on @backerkit.com | #spaceArt #catArt | www.backerkit.com/c/projects/c...
January 9, 2026 at 7:57 PM
We’ve taken the solar system and turned each planet into cats. If you like both space and cats, we have the pins for you. Launching in about two weeks with Pintopia'26 on @backerkit.com | #spaceArt #catArt | www.backerkit.com/c/projects/c...
Stupid, stupid, stupid. Heartbreaking and maddening, thinking of the wonderful science that will now just sit on Mars, literally gathering dust, for many years. Pathetic politicians with no curiosity or sense of wonder. I hate the world they make us live in and the future they're denying us.
NASA’s Mars Sample Return mission is dead
Congress backs Trump administration’s efforts to kill project that would ferry martian rocks to Earth 🧪🔭
www.science.org/content/arti... @science.org
Congress backs Trump administration’s efforts to kill project that would ferry martian rocks to Earth 🧪🔭
www.science.org/content/arti... @science.org
NASA’s Mars Sample Return mission is dead
Congress backs Trump administration’s efforts to kill project that would ferry martian rocks to Earth
www.science.org
January 7, 2026 at 4:47 PM
Stupid, stupid, stupid. Heartbreaking and maddening, thinking of the wonderful science that will now just sit on Mars, literally gathering dust, for many years. Pathetic politicians with no curiosity or sense of wonder. I hate the world they make us live in and the future they're denying us.
Freezing cold in Cumbria today as the world outside the window goes to hell in a hand basket. Lunatics rule America & want to conquer the world and a mad billionaire laughs as his mutant AI child creates pics of kids in bikinis. Who else is terrified? I'm keeping J close today.
January 7, 2026 at 4:24 PM
Freezing cold in Cumbria today as the world outside the window goes to hell in a hand basket. Lunatics rule America & want to conquer the world and a mad billionaire laughs as his mutant AI child creates pics of kids in bikinis. Who else is terrified? I'm keeping J close today.
If you're not already Following Sean start, now, RIGHT now. The man is an absolute genius, the Gandalf of image processing. Every short film a delight and a wonder.
'Bathed In Light'
1,899 images by Nichole Ayers are repaired, remastered & retimed to create this beautiful 4k UHD 3x real time video with an exquisite soundtrack by Andreas Vollenweider.
youtu.be/fOLwwADo1V0
You wanna give this at least 40 seconds...
1,899 images by Nichole Ayers are repaired, remastered & retimed to create this beautiful 4k UHD 3x real time video with an exquisite soundtrack by Andreas Vollenweider.
youtu.be/fOLwwADo1V0
You wanna give this at least 40 seconds...
January 4, 2026 at 7:33 AM
If you're not already Following Sean start, now, RIGHT now. The man is an absolute genius, the Gandalf of image processing. Every short film a delight and a wonder.
This, my friends, is a work of genius. Watch it, laugh at it, love it and Share it far and wide!
This took me about 4 hours to make. It has about 60 views. 20 are mine and 20 are Kim's probably.
Do stuff that makes you laugh even if no one else cares.
Do stuff that makes you laugh even if no one else cares.
Every year we watch Lord of The Rings about a week before A Christmassy Ted and every year, I've told myself I'd make this.
This year, I finally did.
It's a pretty niche joke (you need to know the Father Ted tv show) but it makes me laugh
This year, I finally did.
It's a pretty niche joke (you need to know the Father Ted tv show) but it makes me laugh
January 4, 2026 at 7:31 AM
This, my friends, is a work of genius. Watch it, laugh at it, love it and Share it far and wide!
No, Jess, I don't think I should have to go to work on New Year's Day either, not after working Christmas Day AND Boxing Day too. But I'll see you later...
January 1, 2026 at 7:26 AM
No, Jess, I don't think I should have to go to work on New Year's Day either, not after working Christmas Day AND Boxing Day too. But I'll see you later...
BIG new batch of images sent back by Perseverance! Took some work, and my laptop struggled, but what a wonderful view... Look at those beautiful dust dunes, sculpted by Mars' icy winds...
As they say, "Welcome to my world..." ;-)
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/S Atkinson
As they say, "Welcome to my world..." ;-)
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/S Atkinson
December 28, 2025 at 9:18 AM
BIG new batch of images sent back by Perseverance! Took some work, and my laptop struggled, but what a wonderful view... Look at those beautiful dust dunes, sculpted by Mars' icy winds...
As they say, "Welcome to my world..." ;-)
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/S Atkinson
As they say, "Welcome to my world..." ;-)
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/S Atkinson
Here we are then, Christmas morning... Merry Christmas from Stella, myself and Jess, to all our family and friends, wherever you are. Time to open the final door of Jess' Advent Calendar... :-)
December 25, 2025 at 6:33 AM
Here we are then, Christmas morning... Merry Christmas from Stella, myself and Jess, to all our family and friends, wherever you are. Time to open the final door of Jess' Advent Calendar... :-)
December 22nd already? Better get door #22 of Jess' Advent Calendar opened!
December 22, 2025 at 8:55 AM
December 22nd already? Better get door #22 of Jess' Advent Calendar opened!
December 21st, let's see what's behind door #21 of Jess' Advent Calendar...
December 21, 2025 at 10:08 AM
December 21st, let's see what's behind door #21 of Jess' Advent Calendar...
December 20th... Time to open door #20 of Jess' Advent Calendar...
Awwww.... :-)
Awwww.... :-)
December 20, 2025 at 6:31 AM
December 20th... Time to open door #20 of Jess' Advent Calendar...
Awwww.... :-)
Awwww.... :-)
New view sent back from Mars by the Curiosity rover yesterday... love how she can see for miles and miles across the crater floor far below her now... 🙂
Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/S Atkinson
Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/S Atkinson
December 19, 2025 at 9:50 AM
New view sent back from Mars by the Curiosity rover yesterday... love how she can see for miles and miles across the crater floor far below her now... 🙂
Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/S Atkinson
Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/S Atkinson
December 19th... Door #19 of Jess' Advent Calendar is peeled open to reveal...
December 19, 2025 at 7:16 AM
December 19th... Door #19 of Jess' Advent Calendar is peeled open to reveal...
It's not (quite) Christmas yet, but the January 2026 issues of the monthly astronomy magazines are already appearing on the shelves, and although Jess is as unimpressed as usual *I'm* super chuffed to have a big feature in the New Year issue of Astronomy Now Magazine!
December 18, 2025 at 7:15 PM
It's not (quite) Christmas yet, but the January 2026 issues of the monthly astronomy magazines are already appearing on the shelves, and although Jess is as unimpressed as usual *I'm* super chuffed to have a big feature in the New Year issue of Astronomy Now Magazine!
Reposted by Stuart Atkinson
NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover Ready to Roll for Miles in Years Ahead
The rover has been acing a long-term series of durability tests, making the most of its enhanced navigation capabilities, and ferreting out new findings about Mars’ geologic past.
#Mars 🧪🔭
www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasas-p...
The rover has been acing a long-term series of durability tests, making the most of its enhanced navigation capabilities, and ferreting out new findings about Mars’ geologic past.
#Mars 🧪🔭
www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasas-p...
NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover Ready to Roll for Miles in Years Ahead
The rover has been acing a long-term series of durability tests, making the most of its enhanced navigation capabilities, and ferreting out new findings about Mars’ geologic past.
www.jpl.nasa.gov
December 17, 2025 at 10:27 PM
NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover Ready to Roll for Miles in Years Ahead
The rover has been acing a long-term series of durability tests, making the most of its enhanced navigation capabilities, and ferreting out new findings about Mars’ geologic past.
#Mars 🧪🔭
www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasas-p...
The rover has been acing a long-term series of durability tests, making the most of its enhanced navigation capabilities, and ferreting out new findings about Mars’ geologic past.
#Mars 🧪🔭
www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasas-p...
December 18th, so let's open door #18 of Jess' Advent Calendar... :-)
December 18, 2025 at 6:32 AM
December 18th, so let's open door #18 of Jess' Advent Calendar... :-)
December 17th, and door #17 of Jess' Advent Calendar swings open, revealing...
Wow, that's an old pic! Look how young she was then! Still bombing around like a lunatic tho... ;-)
Wow, that's an old pic! Look how young she was then! Still bombing around like a lunatic tho... ;-)
December 17, 2025 at 7:27 AM
December 17th, and door #17 of Jess' Advent Calendar swings open, revealing...
Wow, that's an old pic! Look how young she was then! Still bombing around like a lunatic tho... ;-)
Wow, that's an old pic! Look how young she was then! Still bombing around like a lunatic tho... ;-)
December 16th, so time to open door #16 of Jess' Advent Calendar...
December 16, 2025 at 6:31 AM
December 16th, so time to open door #16 of Jess' Advent Calendar...
If you Follow me, or have Liked my Mars image processing work, I'd be grateful if you'd consider taking a look at some of my Mars-related science fiction and writing. All available now for Kindle (and some in print) from Amazon...
December 15, 2025 at 9:41 PM
If you Follow me, or have Liked my Mars image processing work, I'd be grateful if you'd consider taking a look at some of my Mars-related science fiction and writing. All available now for Kindle (and some in print) from Amazon...
Another - more detailed - view of Perseverance's wheel tracks meandering down the outer slopes of Jezero Crater... (Images taken Dec 7th)...
Which version do you prefer, colour or black and white?
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/S Atkinson
Which version do you prefer, colour or black and white?
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/S Atkinson
December 15, 2025 at 10:51 AM
Another - more detailed - view of Perseverance's wheel tracks meandering down the outer slopes of Jezero Crater... (Images taken Dec 7th)...
Which version do you prefer, colour or black and white?
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/S Atkinson
Which version do you prefer, colour or black and white?
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/S Atkinson