Physicist studying what drives the northern (and southern) lights, the Van Allen belts and space weather. Views are my own.
Joined February 2010
- Tweets 938
- Following 301
- Followers 455
- Likes 732
42 Photos and videos
4 Aug 2025
Every test brings us a step closer to launch #SMILEesacas esa.int/Science_Exploration/…
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24 Jun 2025
Work led by @BritGeoSurvey with @ASmith0005, me and others highlighted in Eos. Our models forecast particular geomagnetic storms and the likelihood of damaging magnetic field fluctuations in the UK
When space weather alters Earth’s electromagnetic field, power grids and other infrastructure can get caught up in the storm. In the U.K., a newly operational system aims to identify problem spots before they lead to safety issues. eos.org/research-spotlights/…
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Colin Forsyth retweeted
4 Jun 2025
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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Colin Forsyth retweeted
13 Jan 2025
Congratulations to Dr. Paola Pinilla, who has been awarded the @RoyaAstroSoc Price Award for her world-leading work on protoplanetary disks - the gas and dust around young stars where planets are born ucl.ac.uk/news/2025/jan/ucl-…
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Colin Forsyth retweeted
13 Nov 2024
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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13 Nov 2024
Great to see @esa_smile starting to come together!
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Colin Forsyth retweeted
16 Oct 2024
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
ALT Image of Dr Catherine Elizabeth Regan, with text announcing they have won the IOP Award Jocelyn Bell Burnell Medal and Prize for exceptional leadership in the Eyes on Mars project, engaging scientists and inspiring high-impact research on Martian dust storms.
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Colin Forsyth retweeted
2 Oct 2024
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
19 Sep 2024
We had a busy summer this year! Including running a new Space School in London for secondary students. Find out about the partnership: staracademies.org/news-story…
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Colin Forsyth retweeted
19 Sep 2024
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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16 Sep 2024
It's been a good couple of weeks for the @MSSLSpacePlasma magnetosphere team with two students getting their first papers published:
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16 Sep 2024
@thechristianlao's paper comparing the agreement (or disagreement) between different substorm onset lists was published at agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.…
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16 Sep 2024
Congratulations both and thanks to all who helped (@ASmith0005 @SolarSpaceNU, Michaela Mooney @PhysicsUoL , Mervyn Freeman @BAS_News , Andrey Samsonov, Graziella Branduardi Raymont @MSSLSpaceLab, Yulia Bogdanova @RAL_Space_STFC )
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"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
31 May 2024
🤔 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
ALT Illustration of Smile in space, above the Earth. Two beams of light are seen pointing towards the Earth. The fiery Sun with its solar wind is visible on the left, while the Earth on the right has its protective magnetospheric bubble depicted in blue.
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Colin Forsyth retweeted
1 May 2024
☀️🌬️🌍 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/…
ALT Illustration of the Smile mission in space, orbiting the Earth. We see the turbulent Sun, the Earth and its magnetosphere, and the environment between the two and the interactions that happen.
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Colin Forsyth retweeted
1 May 2024
☀️🌬️🌍 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
ALT Illustration of Smile in space, created in hues of red. The graphic reads: Science & Exploration. Smile. Imaging Earth’s magnetic environment.
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Colin Forsyth retweeted
30 Apr 2024
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/…
ALT Three people standing in front of contracts. The background wall is covered in ESA logos
ALT Sun (left) blows matter towards Earth (right). A spacecraft looks down at Earth's pole and at the surrounding magnetic field
ALT Rocket launch
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