Tom
@gingernightsky.bsky.social
Astrostuff. Phodography. Landscapes. Beer. Archaeologist.
I avoid AI as best as I can. But Lens has been quite useful, recently ID'ing that latest mushroom season.
Will still be needing a real crash course on foraging before I'm comfortable plucking and cooking. That Bolete looked very tempting.
#mushrooms
Will still be needing a real crash course on foraging before I'm comfortable plucking and cooking. That Bolete looked very tempting.
#mushrooms
October 18, 2025 at 9:49 PM
I avoid AI as best as I can. But Lens has been quite useful, recently ID'ing that latest mushroom season.
Will still be needing a real crash course on foraging before I'm comfortable plucking and cooking. That Bolete looked very tempting.
#mushrooms
Will still be needing a real crash course on foraging before I'm comfortable plucking and cooking. That Bolete looked very tempting.
#mushrooms
Can we have more observational documentaries focusing on astronomy?
I'll start with 'One Born Every Millennium' ...
I'll start with 'One Born Every Millennium' ...
October 14, 2025 at 11:46 AM
Can we have more observational documentaries focusing on astronomy?
I'll start with 'One Born Every Millennium' ...
I'll start with 'One Born Every Millennium' ...
Travelling at impulse speed... obviously.
☄️ 🔭 #3I/ATLAS comet update!
On 3 October, our ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) turned its eyes towards interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS as it passed close to Mars.
Read more: esa.int/Science_Expl...
On 3 October, our ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) turned its eyes towards interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS as it passed close to Mars.
Read more: esa.int/Science_Expl...
October 7, 2025 at 3:44 PM
Travelling at impulse speed... obviously.
Exciting months ahead. The nights are closing in and sensors are appreciating the cooler climate.
What's the next target?
What's the next target?
September 19, 2025 at 10:34 PM
Exciting months ahead. The nights are closing in and sensors are appreciating the cooler climate.
What's the next target?
What's the next target?
Fun fact of the day. If you type -ai or -hai at the end of your Google search you won't be shown the ai response. 👍
September 4, 2025 at 8:18 AM
Fun fact of the day. If you type -ai or -hai at the end of your Google search you won't be shown the ai response. 👍
A lurcher's hard life...
August 21, 2025 at 7:27 PM
A lurcher's hard life...
Catching up on BBC Sky at Night. I've watched/read Jocelyn talk about her amazing discoveries, achievements and injustices. But really refreshing to watch her in the flesh be so damning of those experiences and reacting with fantastic microphone drops of her subsequent endeavours. Bluddy brilliant.
August 12, 2025 at 8:36 PM
Catching up on BBC Sky at Night. I've watched/read Jocelyn talk about her amazing discoveries, achievements and injustices. But really refreshing to watch her in the flesh be so damning of those experiences and reacting with fantastic microphone drops of her subsequent endeavours. Bluddy brilliant.
Beer and a book! Settled into a cosy pub delving deep into the realms of black holes (a dangerous concept) But I'm potentially readying for a course at the Open Uni. Deciding how much of a course I'd like to do. Nervous but excited!
Skies are clear tonight for some observing too! #astronomy
Skies are clear tonight for some observing too! #astronomy
August 12, 2025 at 4:55 PM
Beer and a book! Settled into a cosy pub delving deep into the realms of black holes (a dangerous concept) But I'm potentially readying for a course at the Open Uni. Deciding how much of a course I'd like to do. Nervous but excited!
Skies are clear tonight for some observing too! #astronomy
Skies are clear tonight for some observing too! #astronomy
Reposted by Tom
I see the first articles in the UK press giving space to the claim that 3I/ATLAS is an alien spacecraft. Briefly:
It’s a comet that formed billions of years ago, passing through our Solar System.
It’s behaving like a comet.
There is no evidence it’s artificial.
It’s a comet that formed billions of years ago, passing through our Solar System.
It’s behaving like a comet.
There is no evidence it’s artificial.
August 8, 2025 at 6:00 AM
I see the first articles in the UK press giving space to the claim that 3I/ATLAS is an alien spacecraft. Briefly:
It’s a comet that formed billions of years ago, passing through our Solar System.
It’s behaving like a comet.
There is no evidence it’s artificial.
It’s a comet that formed billions of years ago, passing through our Solar System.
It’s behaving like a comet.
There is no evidence it’s artificial.
Always excited for more Ariane 6 launches. Big boots to fill superseding the great track record of the 5.
Guess who's safe and cozy inside its fairing? 🧸
That's right: we're on official countdown to launch day!
Ariane 6 will take Metop-SG-A1 and Copernicus Sentinel-5A to orbit on 13 August at 01:37 BST, 02:37 CEST (12 August 21:37 local time).
Will you stay awake for liftoff?
That's right: we're on official countdown to launch day!
Ariane 6 will take Metop-SG-A1 and Copernicus Sentinel-5A to orbit on 13 August at 01:37 BST, 02:37 CEST (12 August 21:37 local time).
Will you stay awake for liftoff?
August 5, 2025 at 3:58 PM
Always excited for more Ariane 6 launches. Big boots to fill superseding the great track record of the 5.
Today I had my gallbladder removed (a lollipop for reward), a welcome surprise as I thought I'd be waiting a few more months. The NHS is a fantastic staple of providing excellent free healthcare. Privateers, keep your bluddy hands off it and walk 1 AU equivalent of paces in the opposite direction.
July 28, 2025 at 8:55 PM
Today I had my gallbladder removed (a lollipop for reward), a welcome surprise as I thought I'd be waiting a few more months. The NHS is a fantastic staple of providing excellent free healthcare. Privateers, keep your bluddy hands off it and walk 1 AU equivalent of paces in the opposite direction.
Beer and a book is back with a long standing companion, Daniel the lurcher. Reading up on past time astronomy basics by the late, great Patrick Moore. A true G.O.A.T. A great starter for 10 whilst I register for an astronomy course with OU later this year.
#adoptdontshop
#adoptdontshop
July 24, 2025 at 6:38 PM
Beer and a book is back with a long standing companion, Daniel the lurcher. Reading up on past time astronomy basics by the late, great Patrick Moore. A true G.O.A.T. A great starter for 10 whilst I register for an astronomy course with OU later this year.
#adoptdontshop
#adoptdontshop
A quick setup to get 30 mins of M13 last night. The nights are still too hot for my DSLR sensor - lacks a 'natural' look during processing. I'm enjoying the summer months for my own mental health, but i'm looking forward to spending entire evenings out with the scope. #astrophotography
July 19, 2025 at 8:39 PM
A quick setup to get 30 mins of M13 last night. The nights are still too hot for my DSLR sensor - lacks a 'natural' look during processing. I'm enjoying the summer months for my own mental health, but i'm looking forward to spending entire evenings out with the scope. #astrophotography
Reposted by Tom
Top internationally recognised 🏴dark sky locations are the Isle of Rum, Galloway Forest and the Cairngorms national park. There are dark sky sanctuaries down South too darksky.org/what-we-do/i...
Dark Sky Place finder
Find a Dark Sky Place — Search by name, type, or location — Parks, reserves, sanctuaries, and more, in 22 countries on 6 continents.
darksky.org
July 5, 2025 at 10:27 AM
Top internationally recognised 🏴dark sky locations are the Isle of Rum, Galloway Forest and the Cairngorms national park. There are dark sky sanctuaries down South too darksky.org/what-we-do/i...
This sums up my recent experiences. Booked in for gallbladder removal. Greatful for the NHS and the free health care we have here in the UK...
July 3, 2025 at 6:00 PM
This sums up my recent experiences. Booked in for gallbladder removal. Greatful for the NHS and the free health care we have here in the UK...
I'm dubious about these weight loss jabs. Not sure if they're considered to be an NHS last resort for those who have exhausted all other options in the UK? As someone who has recently had acute pancreatitis, I can guarantee the pain never goes away, physically and mentally. Is it really worth it?
Weight loss jabs study begins after reports of pancreas issues
There have been hundreds of cases of acute pancreatitis in people who have also taken Mounjaro, Ozempic and Wegovy.
www.bbc.com
June 26, 2025 at 5:45 PM
I'm dubious about these weight loss jabs. Not sure if they're considered to be an NHS last resort for those who have exhausted all other options in the UK? As someone who has recently had acute pancreatitis, I can guarantee the pain never goes away, physically and mentally. Is it really worth it?
Fascinating.
The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has found evidence of a cold, Saturn-mass planet around the star TWA 7, seemingly sculpting its disc of debris!
If confirmed, this would be Webb’s first direct image discovery of a planet.
Read more 👉 www.esa.int/Science_Expl...
🔭 🧪 ☄️
If confirmed, this would be Webb’s first direct image discovery of a planet.
Read more 👉 www.esa.int/Science_Expl...
🔭 🧪 ☄️
June 25, 2025 at 4:20 PM
Fascinating.
If ever you're in the Lake District. Head on over to the newly built Grizedale Observatory. Fantastic set up and plenty of events/lectures/activities. The walks are lovely in that neck of the woods. Forgot to take photos!
June 20, 2025 at 3:24 PM
If ever you're in the Lake District. Head on over to the newly built Grizedale Observatory. Fantastic set up and plenty of events/lectures/activities. The walks are lovely in that neck of the woods. Forgot to take photos!
A book and beer throwback (rather a few beers over a few weeks) while I decide how best I can once again boggle my mind in a bar.
A testament to the late great Carl Sagan's thought provoking Cosmos. And despite being 45 years old, it still bears relevance now more than ever.
#carlsagan #cosmos
A testament to the late great Carl Sagan's thought provoking Cosmos. And despite being 45 years old, it still bears relevance now more than ever.
#carlsagan #cosmos
June 16, 2025 at 2:44 PM
A book and beer throwback (rather a few beers over a few weeks) while I decide how best I can once again boggle my mind in a bar.
A testament to the late great Carl Sagan's thought provoking Cosmos. And despite being 45 years old, it still bears relevance now more than ever.
#carlsagan #cosmos
A testament to the late great Carl Sagan's thought provoking Cosmos. And despite being 45 years old, it still bears relevance now more than ever.
#carlsagan #cosmos
Beer and a book. Yet to start this one. Preparing to have my mind boggled in bite-sized proportions alongside Allsopp's smooth Special Pale Ale.
June 10, 2025 at 4:45 PM
Beer and a book. Yet to start this one. Preparing to have my mind boggled in bite-sized proportions alongside Allsopp's smooth Special Pale Ale.
Tucking into another book and pint has led me to nostalgia.
I was an archaeologist for a decade. I spent so long looking down into the ground on schemes across the UK. It was only recently I realised I forgot to look up. Now I dabble in astrophotography. Hopefully back into education/astronomy.
I was an archaeologist for a decade. I spent so long looking down into the ground on schemes across the UK. It was only recently I realised I forgot to look up. Now I dabble in astrophotography. Hopefully back into education/astronomy.
June 7, 2025 at 4:08 PM
Tucking into another book and pint has led me to nostalgia.
I was an archaeologist for a decade. I spent so long looking down into the ground on schemes across the UK. It was only recently I realised I forgot to look up. Now I dabble in astrophotography. Hopefully back into education/astronomy.
I was an archaeologist for a decade. I spent so long looking down into the ground on schemes across the UK. It was only recently I realised I forgot to look up. Now I dabble in astrophotography. Hopefully back into education/astronomy.
Reposted by Tom
Our @operations.esa.int 'Flyeye' telescope’s ‘first light’ marks the beginning of a new chapter in scanning the skies for asteroids and comets that could pose a hazard to Earth.
esa.int/Space_Safety...
esa.int/Space_Safety...
June 5, 2025 at 12:26 PM
Our @operations.esa.int 'Flyeye' telescope’s ‘first light’ marks the beginning of a new chapter in scanning the skies for asteroids and comets that could pose a hazard to Earth.
esa.int/Space_Safety...
esa.int/Space_Safety...
I'm not quite sure what I'm about to delve into. But a Belgian Tongerlo beer will help keep the existential dread at bay, surely?
May 31, 2025 at 1:54 PM
I'm not quite sure what I'm about to delve into. But a Belgian Tongerlo beer will help keep the existential dread at bay, surely?
It's nearly officially Summer. The nights grow shorter each day. So when I tried my hand at the Owl Nebula I knew I needed a fair amount of data... only to bonk my head on the scope 30 mins in. C'est la vie.
Not too bad in the end. It's no Hubble, but it's mine. #hoot
Not too bad in the end. It's no Hubble, but it's mine. #hoot
May 31, 2025 at 12:20 AM
It's nearly officially Summer. The nights grow shorter each day. So when I tried my hand at the Owl Nebula I knew I needed a fair amount of data... only to bonk my head on the scope 30 mins in. C'est la vie.
Not too bad in the end. It's no Hubble, but it's mine. #hoot
Not too bad in the end. It's no Hubble, but it's mine. #hoot
Another day, another book and bev. Samantha Cristoforetti's Diary of an Apprentice Astronaut. Full of human spirit/camaraderie endowed in friendly competition. As many more accidents (happy little ones) as my previous read. Delightfully absorbing (the pint too!)
May 21, 2025 at 4:16 PM
Another day, another book and bev. Samantha Cristoforetti's Diary of an Apprentice Astronaut. Full of human spirit/camaraderie endowed in friendly competition. As many more accidents (happy little ones) as my previous read. Delightfully absorbing (the pint too!)