Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans

@astroroyalscot.bsky.social

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Astronomer Royal for Scotland, Professor of Astrophysics, Edinburgh University. Author of How to Design a Universe. @astronomerroyal on insta (She/her)

A photo of people on a stage with a large image of a person on the screen behind them. The text reads: Professor Grahame Blair provides a look at the funding situation from the STFC's point of view, before Professor Adam Amara and Professor Monica Grady give presentations on behalf of the UK Space Agency. The audience is then given an opportunity to have their say. Unsurprisingly, Professor Blair bears the brunt of the questioning, with a lot of frustration about the lack of transparency from STFC. When asked to reassure early-career researchers about why they should continue in the sector, @astronomerroyal Professor Heymans admits it is "bleak" but insists "we're not giving up fighting". "You're very valued – the early-career community is the lifeblood of astronomy and particle physics in the UK," she adds, a sentiment that is echoed by Professor Blair.
Marketing gumph for a Waterstones promotion, 25% off Books coming soon. 21st-24th July Online only. Pre-order now with code Summer26. This is next to a picture of Catherine's new book which is black and moody, but also has peachy pink text thanks to the compromise reached between her and the designer.
Two people sat on a bench (Catherine on the left with a fancy sunhat on), looking out at the view across Edinburgh, from a high viewpoint. The iconic Arthurs Seat is rising in the distance.
A gorgeous sunset image of the iconic Lovell radio telescope at Jodrell Bank Observatory.
Looks a little bit like two misshapen Ferrero Rocher chocolates stuck together, but it's actually asteroid Torifune
A diagram of probe leaving earth (1), going to an asteroid and orbiting around it (2-4), heading back to Earth to drop off the sample (5-6) then carrying on to another comment (7-9). I don't read Chinese so I don't know what the captions say, but this is super-awesome!
This book would be full of mistakes if it wasn’t for the feedback received from friends, family and colleagues who kindly gave up their time to discuss early drafts with me. Thanks go to Michael Butler, Prof. David Chalmers, Prof. Mike Christie, Prof. Yvonne Elsworth, Prof. Richard Kenway,...
A schedule of female speakers covering topics from parasites that make you sleepy to can we predict responses to weight loss surgery using urine!
I can confirm that funding for STFC has not been cut. UKI has decided that STFC's core budget should be maintained over the spending review period. Of course, we understand the cost pressures through inflation, foreign exchange, and the ambitious commitments that were made from the previous spending review. No final decisions are being made, but STFC are working through that with the community at this moment in time.
Restructuring research funding as a choice between discovery and application gets the economics wrong, the evidence wrong and the people wrong. A premise is gaining traction in science policy on both sides of the Atlantic: that fundamental and applied research are competing claims on the same budget, and that the balance must shift towards application. In the USA, the current administration has proposed cuts of billions of dollars to the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. In the UK, the national funding agency UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is restructuring its portfolio around government growth priorities, with curiosity-driven research nominally protected but the grant lines that actually fund investigators under severe pressure. The language varies — ‘doing fewer things better’, ‘aligning research with industrial strategy’ — but the underlying logic is the same. Fundamental science, the argument goes, is a luxury that becomes dispensable when budgets are tight. This premise is wrong, and the consequences of acting on it are already visible.
Lovely pretty galaxies
People in high-vis vests and hard hats look at lots of tubes and wires. I have no idea what is going on, but this is the CERN Alt Text: The LHC is currently shut down. Teams will now dismantle 1.2 kilometres of the accelerator to install the new HiLumi LHC equipment. This will be connected to the equipment installed in the new HiLumi LHC galleries, such as the new cryogenic line, sections of which were delivered last spring (Image: CERN)
From ESA: A dense field of tiny stars fills this square image taken by the European Space Agency’s Euclid space telescope. The lower and central areas are dominated by bright yellow and gold colours, forming a textured background similar to fine glitter or sand. Dark brown and black patches cut irregularly through the yellow regions, like ink stains or clouds of smoke. Toward the upper left, the colours shift to purple and reddish tones, blending gently into the surrounding star field. Small blue points of light are scattered across the image.
Jim Wild, president of the Royal Astronomical Society, told RPN that the proposals to manage the cuts “will come on top of damage already done to future projects and early career researchers, and risk driving a generation of talent out of UK science”. They “look set to confirm the worst fears of the PPAN community”. “Vital capabilities will be lost through unpopular and deeply harmful decisions,” Wild added.
The ELT under construction (cranes and a skeleton structure), silhouetting the moon.
The main diagram shows the Earth's annual rotation around the Sun, surrounded by a zodiacal scale that gives the names, symbols and images of the signs of the zodiac. The seasons and the positions of the equinoxes and solstices are marked. Text at the corners describes the Zodiac and the Earth, and a longer text at the bottom explains the Phenomena of the Seasons. From: https://collections.rmg.co.uk/media/501/182/l1073_001.jpg
A group of smiling individuals outside Westminster. Professor Brian Cox CBE (centre) is joined by, from left, Dr Robert Ferdman, Dr Estifa'a Zaid, Dr Becky Smethurst, Dr Melissa Uchida, Professor Catherine Heymans, Professor Chris Lintott, Dr Harry Cliff, RAS President Professor Jim Wild, Professor Jon Butterworth, Dr Linda Cremonesi and Professor Nina Hatch. Credit Nick Willoughby/Royal Astronomical Society
A thread about STFC minutes being re-written. You can read the full thread here: https://bsky.app/profile/fitzparticle.bsky.social/post/3mole4a3gzk2l
Catherine looking a little tired (it was the Scotland match last night) in a 3M Aura mask with the blurred landscape out the train window.
The panel on the side of the telescope. It reads NASA's first chief of astronomy, Nancy Grace Roman, persevered through barriers and made powerful space telescopes a reality. She envisioned a world where everyone had access to, and enthusiasm for, science. This observatory is a continuation of her legacy and her dream. Nancy Grace Roman: 1925-2018
The Royal Observatory Edinburgh, at night
Two tiny people in clean-room gear (top to toe in white) look up at a huge piece of kit with solar panels on the side. This is the Nancy Grace Roman telescope.
Roscosmos has paused Friday’s structural repair efforts inside the Zvezda service module transfer tunnel, known as PrK, as more measurements and data is assessed. Given this development, NASA has instructed the crew members inside the Dragon spacecraft to end the safe haven procedures and return to planned operations aboard the International Space Station. We look forward to working with Roscosmos on a collaborative approach to address the leaks.
Catherine selfie with some old fallen down church in the background.
Screenshot of a tweet from Prof Brian Cox This is indeed a superb letter from The Astronomer Royal of Scotland. “Someone, somewhere, has taken the decision to defund astrophysics research in the UK, but no-one seems quite sure who that was, or why.” I agree - my colleagues in particle physics have also tried, without success, to discover who owns the decision to damage physics research in the UK, perhaps irreparably, at a time when our economy desperately needs the skills and knowledge we develop and teach. @UKRI_News need to get a grip urgently and fix the problem someone, somewhere, has created.
All the evidence points to a healthy, world-class research community underpin-ning a key innovation pipeline from which future transformative technology and break-through science will emerge.Yet, despite all this success, 30% funding cuts have been proposed for UK astrophysics research
Screengrab of a Nature World View paper "A change in UK policy jeopardises the future of UK astrophysics"
The MOONS instrument (a huge blue box) is being lifted by gigantic crane onto the UT1 (“Antu”) Nasmyth platform at the Very Large Telescope in Paranal. The dry arid Atacama desert can be seen in the background.
The UK’s extensive and leading role in the international endeavour to understand the Universe and our place in it is something to truly celebrate. With less than 0.1% of the UKRI budget, the future of UK astrophysics could be saved, alongside the equally groundbreaking and world-class research in particle physics and nuclear physics, which faces the same existential crisis. If you agree with the UK Minister of State for science, that curiosity-driven research “matters enormously” as it “ultimately creates wealth”, please support our campaign by writing to your MP. Tell the government that they should be proud to invest in blue-skies physics and astronomy research, as humanity’s innate curiosity about the cosmos is the inspirational gateway, for so many, into our science ecosystem.
World View: A change in UK policy jeopadizes the future of UK astrophysics - By Catherine Heymans The latest budget proposal announced by the largest UK science funding agency threatens to severely affect UK astrophysics research. My colleagues and I are fighting back.
A screenshot of a tweet from 27th May 2021. A picture of Catherine smiling with galaxy cluster behind her. The text reads "Time to polish the tiara?" with a BBC article "First woman appointed Scotland's Astronomer Royal".
A £20 Scottish Note with a footballer in the middle making a scissor-kick that landed Scotland into the World Cup.
Universities are also more aligned than ever in what they discourage. Generic, exaggerated, or impersonal statements are out. So are the famous opening clichés — ever since I was small, the future is computing, the obligatory quotation, the Big Bang. So is the laundry list of activities with no reflection on what any of them taught you. Almost every reply I received used some variant of the same word: reflection. They want to know not what you did, but what you made of it. From https://thesciencelab.substack.com/p/what-fifty-universities-told-me-about
A cartoon of the journey of ESA Comet Interceptor mission from launch to is "Wait in parking" spot at the Sun-Earth L2 point. When an interesting comet is heading into our solar system it will transferring towards the comet and encountering it (credit: ESA)
A pockmarked image: these are craters on the surface of Mars. I'd love to know how big they are, but we need to await more info from NASA to find out what we're actually seeing here. NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU
NASA’s Perseverance (a metallic rover robot) looks down at a rocky outcrop nicknamed “Arathusa” (on Mars - it's dusty, arid, dry and very red) and then appears to look into the camera in this animated selfie, which is composed of 61 images taken March 11, 2026, during the rover’s deepest push west beyond Jezero Crater. NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
Alex Mumford, who made the application for Dark Sky Sanctuary status, speaks to presenter Luke Waterson. The gorgeous view over the sea is reflected in the window behind Alex. Davey Poremba/Luke Waterson
Petition statement We, the undersigned, call on the University of Nottingham to reverse its plans to impose compulsory redundancies on its staff in the School of Physics and Astronomy. The University threatens to cut twenty members of staff out of the seventy one currently in the School. On 12 May, fifty six of those members of staff received letters notifying them that they were at risk of redundancy. This affects academic and technical staff at all levels, from Research Fellows to Professors.
Dear Lord Vallance, Scope of impact assessment for STFC cuts We are writing to you as the Presidents of the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) and the Institute of Physics (IOP) to ask you to seek a full assessment of the impact of the cuts proposed to the particle physics, astronomy and nuclear (PPAN) budgets of the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC). As you know, the RAS represents more than 4,000 members (Fellows), three quarters of whom are based in the UK, and around half are involved in professional astronomy, space science and geophysics in some capacity. The Institute of Physics represents over 22,000 members working in occupations related to physics, including in academic and industrial research in the PPAN area. The chair of STFC’s PPAN Science Board, Professor Keith Grainge, confirms that he will lead a prioritisation exercise based on the potential cuts to PPAN science. While we in no way support the cuts, we welcome this engagement with the scientific community, but believe that its scope is far too limited.
Dear Lord Vallance, Cuts to funding for astronomy and space science We are writing to you as physics teachers in secondary schools and sixth form colleges, to express our grave concern at the cuts to funding for astronomy and space science, and particle and nuclear physics, proposed by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC). As you know, these amount to 30% overall, and project groups have been asked to plan for budget reductions of up to 60%. We urge you to take prompt action to reverse these cuts, the scale of which are without precedent in modern times.
Deckard was wrong, in the end, not because the replicants were dangerous, but because he had misunderstood the nature of the problem. The question was never really about the machines. It was about what kind of society had produced them and why. The same is true here. LLMs are not a threat to astrophysics. But the mirror they hold up to our profession is not entirely flattering, and we would do well to look at it honestly. The problems it reveals — the perverse incentives, the erosion of mentoring, the substitution of volume for thought — are ours, not the machine’s. Fixing them is our problem. It always was.
A computer rendition of twilight sky on 19th April 2026 at 21:20. The Moon is a crescent, just above a small group of stars (the 7 sisters). Venus is a bright spot below it. Off to the left is the V-shaped constellation of Taurus. From: https://stellarium-web.org
Would you support of oppose a science museum or discovery centre being built in your area? A bar chart showing support comes more from left wing voters than right wing.
Since taking up the helm at UKRI in September 2025, the current chief executive, Ian Chapman, has been clear that the agency is “making choices, prioritising with intent, and stopping things when we no longer think we have a right to win significant market share in that sector”. Applied research funding is being channelled towards government priorities and sectors picked for their economic growth potential. Now experts have raised concerns about unintended consequences of the approach, and of actions being taken to cut costs at individual universities, warning that coordination is needed to prevent the UK losing critical research capabilities, some of which could have national security implications.
As part of this process, we commit to maintaining postdoctoral researchers across PPAN at least at the same level as last year (financial year 2025 to 2026) and hope to be able to increase this over time. This will enable us to fund more postdoctoral researchers than have already been awarded for 2026, and there will be additional postdoctoral opportunities related to both quantum computing and artificial intelligence. The additional funding that restores astronomy grants and consolidated grants to their 2025 to 2026 financial year levels will also be subject to regular peer review, taking guidance from the relevant grants panel as to how to achieve the most efficient process for the rounds concerned. For particle physics theory postdoctoral researchers in particular, I’m aware that we did not issue grants in time for the 2026 particle physics theory recruitment round, and I apologise for this being the case. We are now taking rapid action to address this situation. While grants with the previously agreed 30% reduction are already being distributed to principal investigators at universities, we will make top-up funding available through additional funding streams to appoint postdoctoral researchers according to the ranked list already generated by the Particle Physics Theory Grants Panel for this round. These positions will be able to start on 1 October, noting it can take several months to appoint.
The Astronomer Royal was on the big screen at the front on the classroom. My class sat on the class room chairs and the other year 4 class sat on the carpet. My friends loved every bit of it and they told their parents all about it. I really enjoyed the session and it inspired me a lot to become an astronomer, scientist or engineer when I grow up. A note from William’s Mum (xxx): I would like to thank Professor Catherine Heymans for her kindness in offering such an amazing opportunity to William and his year group at William Ransom School. I would also like to thank Mr M for coordinating the event and fitting this wonderful event into the very busy school calendar. William and the other children were buzzing with excitement coming out of school about the inspirational event and fellow parents (including myself) reported having their ears talked off by their children when they came home with their newfound knowledge of Astronomy and excitement for science.
Two books propped up on pillows. Radio Universe is very sparkly with planets glittering on a black background Up is light and airy with gorgeous butterflies dancing across the cover.
Catherine talks with images of the Artemis splashdown in the Pacific Ocean
A graph showing spending power for UKRI is increasing between 2022 and 2030
A poster for "Particles with Purpose". Smiling in the centre is Robin Ince. He's surrounded by happy images of the other guests.
Sky News - images of the Artemis mission
A bar chart from the ASPIRES survey showing young people (aged 10-14) * learn interesting things in science (~70%) * parents think important I learn science (~70%) *scientists make a difference in the world (~70%) *Aspire to be a scientist (<15%)
Earth sets at 6:41 p.m. EDT, April 6, 2026, over the Moon’s curved limb in this photo captured by the Artemis II crew during their journey around the far side of the Moon. Orientale basin is perched on the edge of the visible lunar surface. Hertzsprung Basin appears as two subtle concentric rings, which are interrupted by Vavilov, a younger crater superimposed over the older structure. The lines of indentations are secondary crater chains formed by ejecta from the massive impact that created Orientale. The dark portion of Earth is experiencing nighttime. On Earth’s day side, swirling clouds are visible over the Australia and Oceania region.
Our planet draws closer to passing behind the Moon in this image captured by the Artemis II crew during their lunar flyby, about six minutes before Earthset. Earth is in a crescent phase, with sunlight coming from the right. The dark portion of Earth is experiencing nighttime. On Earth’s day side, swirling clouds are visible over muted blue in the Australia and Oceania region. The lines of small indentations on the Moon’s rugged surface are secondary crater chains. These structures are formed by material ejected during a violent primary impact.
The Artemis II crew – Mission Specialist Christina Koch (top left), Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen (bottom left), Commander Reid Wiseman (bottom right), and Pilot Victor Glover (top right) – uses eclipse viewers, identical to what NASA produced for the 2023 annular eclipse and 2024 total solar eclipse, to protect their eyes at key moments during the solar eclipse they experienced during their lunar flyby. This was the first use of eclipse glasses at the Moon to safely view a solar eclipse.