Colin Forsyth

Every test brings us a step closer to launch #SMILEesacas esa.int/Science_Explor…

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

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_Explor…

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/…

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

Great to see @esa_smile starting to come together!

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

@esa_smile Great meeting seeing everything coming together as we get ever closer to launch. Seeing the aurora was the icing on the cake and gave a further boost to everyone involved!

The Smile Science Working Team met in Iceland and online last week. 🤝💻 🟩🟥 Wonderful auroras were observed locally at the China-Iceland Joint Arctic Observatory, underlining the importance of the Smile mission science objectives and the links between Europe and China. The Smile data will indeed provide a unique global view over the northern hemisphere of the impact of such strong solar activity!

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=jiTfxA…

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/ste…

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

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 )

@thechristianlao's paper comparing the agreement (or disagreement) between different substorm onset lists was published at agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.10…

It's been a good couple of weeks for the @MSSLSpacePlasma magnetosphere team with two students getting their first papers published:

"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/…

🤔 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

@astro__will @Orbyts1 Congratulations Will! Great to see this programme continuing and expanding!

We were super fortunate that the UK Space Agency selected @Orbyts1 to be funded. Through this, we've hired a national coordinator and will be expanding... Very happy to hear from anyone interested in getting involved. For more info, see our impact report: orbyts.org/impact

☀️🌬️🌍 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_Explor…