After a great debate, the results are in... As expected in a room of astronomers, it's an overwhelming victory for the 'pro' side. 🌔 The audience believes the far side of the Moon should be preserved for scientific endeavours. Thanks to those who came along! We'll be back for Day 3 tomorrow 👋

'Con side' seconder Dr Manuel Salvoldi has his say before the two proposers return to sum up their arguments. Opposer Dr Chiu says it's possible for commercial and scientific endeavours to co-exist on the far side of the Moon.

Dr Jonathan McDowell is the 'pro side' seconder, arguing for the far side of the Moon to be preserved solely for science. "What we do on the Moon now and in the coming years will set a precedent as we embark on exploring the entire Solar System," he says. 1/2 ⤵️

Professor Joe Silk concludes his argument with a passionate plea that the lunar far side be preserved and dedicated to astronomy and science. Now it's time for the opposition, as Dr Nikita Chiu takes to the stage to give her views...

Tonight's NAM2026 Public Debate about whether the far side of the Moon should be preserved solely for science has just begun. 🌔🔭 Four experts, two each arguing the 'pro' and 'con' sides, have been introduced by convenor Prof Martin Ward. First up is Prof Joe Silk, who is the 'pro side' proposer...

Cosmic gymnastics! 🪐🤸 The Milky Way may have undergone a dramatic change in orientation during its history, according to new research. 🌌 Kirill Batrakov, of @durham.ac.uk, has just shared his findings during a talk at NAM2026. Read more at: ras.ac.uk/news-and-pre...

Time for a bit of Red Planet research 🔴🌪️ PhD student Lana Williams has just presented the findings of her study, which suggests for the first time that solar storms may affect weather on Mars when they strike at the same time as major Martian dust storms. Read more here 👉️ ras.ac.uk/news-and-pre...

Good morning from Day 2 of NAM2026 🌞👋 The first talks of the day are now under way, including a session on protecting dark and quiet skies from the growing issue of satellite constellations. It is being chaired by the Royal Astronomical Society's Policy & Diversity Officer Marieta Valdivia Lefort.

Day 1 of NAM2026 is now winding down, with the final talks coming to a close... but it's not quite over yet! 😮 For those here in person, the NAM Quiz will take place from 20:00-22:30, giving teams the chance to flex their knowledge of trivia, obscure facts, pop culture, music and beyond. 🙋⁉️ 1/2 ⤵️

Just stepping away from NAM2026 for a moment (although not from the Sun 🌞)... The growing understanding of our star over the past two centuries has been reflected in a new online collection of papers collated from our journal MNRAS. Read the 32-page booklet at: academic.oup.com/mnras/pages/...

More science news from Day 1 of NAM2026! 🔭💫 Staying on the space weather theme, a new UK-built instrument could vastly improve our forecasting of solar flares and coronal mass ejections, giving us advance warning up to 3 hours before they hit Earth rather than just 15 minutes. ☀️☄️🌏️ 1/2 ⤵️

The conference's opening plenaries were delivered by Prof Alberto Vecchio and Prof Philippa Browning. 🗣️ Prof Vecchio discussed black hole and neutron star binaries with current and future gravitational-wave surveys, while Prof Browning delivered a talk on our new understanding of solar flares.

A day after the World Cup closing ceremony, the opening ceremony of NAM2026 officially gets us under way... ⚽️ ➡️ 🪐 Talks began at 9am but Prof Paul Newman from the University of Birmingham welcomes everybody to the conference and our President @jim-wild.bsky.social gives an opening address. 1/2 ⤵️

Let the science begin! 🔬🔭 We're going to be featuring some of the most interesting research from NAM2026. First up, Prof Sandra Chapman from the @uni-of-warwick.bsky.social shares a fascinating insight into how the way the Sun goes to 'sleep' could reveal future space weather when it wakes. ☀️💤☄️ ⤵️

NAM2026 is here! 🎉🚀 Welcome everybody to the @unibirmingham.bsky.social for this year's National Astronomy Meeting, the largest astronomy conference of its kind in the UK. 💫🪐🔭 We've got a jam-packed week of talks – see the programme of what's on and where via the link in the comments. 🔗👇

Time is running out to get those nominations in for the 2027 RAS Awards 🥇🥈🥉 The annual awards, medals and prizes recognise significant achievement in the fields of astronomy and geophysics. 💫 🔭🌍️ 🌋 Find out more by scanning the QR code or visiting ras.ac.uk Deadline 31 July ⌛️

Our journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society is excited to reveal the winner of its 2026 Student Prize on 24 July. The winner will be announced at the National Astronomy Meeting at the @unibirmingham.bsky.social – if you are able to attend, please join us in room LG18 at 11am!

Reminder that next week our Policy & Diversity Officer @marietaconstanza.bsky.social will be giving a talk at SKAO HQ on the policy challenges shaping the future of astronomy. 📛 'Protecting astronomy in a changing space environment' 📅 16 July ⏰️ 11am BST ℹ️ confluence.skatelescope.org/display/SKAQ...

📣 Astronomy funding update 📣 The RAS cautiously welcomes the decision by @ukri.org/STFC to largely protect UK astronomy from the catastrophic cuts previously under consideration. It follows months of campaigning amid fears UK astronomy would be hit by a budget reduction of around 30 per cent. ⤵️

🚨Reminder🚨 Today is the last chance to register for the National Astronomy Meeting at the University of Birmingham from 20-24 July. You have until 11.45pm to book your place to join us in person or online. 🪐🚀💫👇️ uobevents-national-astronomy-meeting-2026.eventsairsite.com/registration

Good news! 🥳 The registration deadline for NAM2026 has been extended until 11.45pm on Thursday 9 July. Don't miss out, register your place here: uobevents-national-astronomy-meeting-2026.eventsairsite.com/registration

While at the @eas-meeting.bsky.social we met the daughters of the great Swiss astronomer Fritz Zwicky, who in 1972 was awarded the @royalastrosoc.bsky.social Gold Medal. Margrit Zwicky and Franziska Pfenninger-Zwicky stopped by our stand to say their father was "absolutely delighted" by the award.

Don't forget to get your nominations in for the 2027 RAS Awards 🥇🥈🥉 The annual awards, medals and prizes recognise significant achievement in the fields of astronomy and geophysics. 💫 🔭🌍️ 🌋 Find out more by scanning the QR code or visiting ras.ac.uk

Time for some more reaction from Monday's Westminster event... Here's Dr Harry Cliff explaining that some of the cuts have already been made, including the "devastating impact" of axing funds to upgrade the LHCb experiment – a huge particle detector buried 100 metres underground at CERN.

So what impact will the proposed cuts to astronomy and particle physics research have on the next generation of aspiring scientists? 🧑‍🔬💫 Speaking after Monday's event, RAS President Professor Jim Wild told MPs the funding crisis would leave UK universities struggling to attract young talent 📹️👇️

So what did MPs think of our pitch to #SaveUKAstronomy from devastating proposed budget cuts? 🔭💷❌️ The Astronomer Royal for Scotland, Professor @astroroyalscot.bsky.social, spoke straight after yesterday's MP drop-in event to campaign against the cuts...

Among the worst-hit by the cuts will be early career researchers, nearly 80% of whom are now considering leaving the UK in the wake of the crisis, according to a new survey. 🧑‍🔬🔭🪐 @drbecky.bsky.social said they feel "disheartened, disillusioned and dismayed by the bleak future they're facing". ⤵️

We've had a great turnout here at Westminster Hall, with MPs and Peers packing out the room to hear from early career researchers and senior academics representing astronomy, particle physics and nuclear physics. Read more about the event 👉️ ras.ac.uk/news-and-pre...

Stars of physics are in Westminster right now to call on the Government to halt funding cuts to astronomy and particle physics research. Professor Brian Cox called them "inexplicable", urging the Government to instead "trust, inspire and continue to invest in the next generation of scientists".

We'll be joining some of the stars of physics today to campaign for the Government to halt catastrophic funding cuts to astronomy, particle physics and nuclear physics. ⤵️