Hi, I'm Rob

The Moral Panic Over AI's Carbon Footprint

Generative AI gets condemned on environmental grounds while people scroll Netflix in bed. The numbers tell a different story.

Maui's Hook

Polynesian navigators crossed the Pacific using the stars. The fishhook in Maui's myth is real, it's Scorpius, and the angle it makes with the horizon tells you your latitude.

The Computer from Star Trek is Real, and Nobody's Paying Attention

I've had agents working for me for just over a week. A PA, a home helper, a doctor, a blog editor. The realisation that this could do 80% of what I do for a living is somewhat humbling.

The Keys to Life, Found in a Rock

We went to an asteroid, brought a small piece of it back, and found the keys to life as we know it inside it.

Standing on Nothing Much

We hear a lot about how low gravity would let you jump higher. The reality is considerably stranger than that.

The Last Generation: Why Europa Might Be Jupiter's Final Attempt at Making Moons

Europa and the other Galilean satellites might be the survivors of multiple generations of moons that formed and were destroyed during Jupiter's violent youth.

Push Notifications for Astronomy: Vera Rubin

The Vera Rubin Observatory's 800,000 nightly alerts mark the beginning of real-time astronomy, fundamentally changing how we discover and study transient cosmic events.

Walking on Fire for Project Possibility

Next Saturday I'm walking barefoot across burning hot coals at 650°C to raise money for Project Possibility. There's one week left to donate.

Project Possibility

I'm a co-founder and trustee of Project Possibility, a charity that helps young people believe in themselves and each other through inspiring events involving science, technology, and the arts.

Satellites on Google Earth: Back from the Dead

For years I've been getting emails asking about my old satellite tracking tools for Google Earth. They went offline in 2015. In February 2026 I finally rebuilt the whole thing from scratch in a single afternoon: with a little help from Claude.

The cat achieves God level sarcasm.

This was taken during the 2017 USA eclipse, but we're going to try again for Spain 2026! Woohoo!

Satellites on Google Earth

Live satellite tracking for Google Earth, revived in 2026. Track the ISS, Hubble, Starlink and thousands more objects in orbit — updated every 30 seconds.

Total Eclipse 2026 - Making Plans

The Orion Nebula. In the winter, look for this as the fuzzy 'star' in the...

Boxing Day Moon

Triffid and Lagoon Region

Soul Nebula

Rosette Nebula (SHO)

The Soul Nebula

The Soul Nebula in HRGB The Soul Nebula, also known as Westerhout 5 (W5) amongst other names. Located in the constellation Cassiopeia, this celestial body is a…

The Rising Influence of Private Space

Private space companies like SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Virgin Galactic are revolutionizing space exploration with innovations like reusable rockets and ambitious goals for interplanetary travel. These advancements are reshaping the industry, creating opportunities for more competitors and contributing to job creation. Exciting developments are expected in the near future, bringing us closer to the stars as new tourist destinations.

Publications

Coding comes to NAM 2014, Simpson, Astronomy & Geophysics 2014 55 (4): 4.15-4.16, doi: 10.1093/astrogeo/atu159 [URL] 'Zooniverse: Observing the World’s…

Astronomy Resources for Teachers

Here are some links, facts and ideas for teachers, educators and anyone else that wants them. Quite often when I'm visiting schools, I throw lots of URLs…

OverTwitter

Between 2009 and 2014, I ran a series of Twitter feeds that alerted followers to visible passes of the ISS, Hubble, and other satellites over cities around the world.