Will Gater
@willgater
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Astronomer, author, astrophotographer. Former science journalist now working in the UK space sector to promote research, exploration & innovation.
UK
Joined May 2008
☄️ Asteroid #C0WEPC5 (temporary designation) entered Earth's atmosphere at 16:15 UTC/17:15 CET, creating a fireball over Yakutia witnessed by people in the region. The object was discovered roughly 12 hours ago and is thought to have been around 70 cm across. Thanks to
Incoming!☄️ A small asteroid has just been spotted on a collision course with Earth. At around ~70 cm in diameter, the impact will be harmless, likely producing a nice fireball in the sky over northern Siberia around seven hours from now at ~16:15 +/- 05 min UTC (17:15 +/-5 min
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Reports of a bright, blue-green fireball over the UK tonight around 7:30pm. Sightings from Aberdeenshire down to Surrey. If you saw or recorded something please submit a report/footage to: https://t.co/liSQEYVPSO.
@UK_Fireball
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The team at the National Space Operations Centre (NSpOC) are tracking debris from the breakup of Intelsat 33E NSpOC analysts, from @spacegovuk & UK Space Command, will continue to monitor this incident and risks to UK-licenced satellites, including @UKStratCom SKYNET satellites
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📡 New mission alert! 📡 Our Lunar & Deep Space Mission Ops team have been busy conducting Mission Readiness Tests to support @ESASolarOrbiter! You can discover how our communication services are helping make more space science a reality in @esaoperations' recent blog ⬇️
ESA's Solar Orbiter has made first contact with an ancient and mysterious world… Cornwall! Commercial deep space antennas like @goonhillyorg can help us optimise data downlink and allow ESA antennas to focus on supporting our most distant missions. https://t.co/CO2M8BHqXc
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Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS) from south Devon tonight. This is a stack of 30x30s exposures taken with a long lens & DSLR on a tracking mount.
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🪨 ☄️ Hardly was it discovered that it entered the Earth atmosphere... 2024 UQ was the 10th asteroid discovered before its impact. But there was hardly 2 hours delay between the two events! https://t.co/jMUCtp5Icv
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The Visitor C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS over Skull Valley, Utah, with the Milky Way and a little airglow
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B+W process of Comet C/2023 A3 over the edge of Fernworthy Forest, Dartmoor, this evening.
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Comet C/2023 A3 peeking through a brief gap in the rain clouds over Dartmoor tonight.
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We're conducting a survey to understand the future of Mars exploration science in the UK. 🔴 Your input will help shape the direction of our National Exploration Science programme. 🚀 Please share your thoughts with us here before 15 November 👉 https://t.co/qoebr83R58
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Single, tracked, 20s exposure of Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS) tonight before the clouds closed in.
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@willgater Still 10°+ with the naked eye under Bortle class 3 skies tonight. Indeed a great sight in binoculars.
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Comet C/2023 A3 still hanging around naked-eye visibility. Could make out its tail, using averted vision, this evening as a short elongated smudge of light pointing towards nearby 4th mag star Lambda Ophiuchi. Bortle 5 sky & average transparency. Great sight in 10x50 binoculars.
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An eerie view of Saddle Tor seen in silhouette last night as cloud enveloped the Full Moon. #Dartmoor #astrophotography
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A longer focal length shot of Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS) over Bonehill Rocks, Dartmoor, last night. This is a composite image where 11x 5s subs have been stacked to bring out detail in the tail (a hint of the anti-tail is also visible if you look closely).
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Version 2 of this shot as I wasn't feeling the colour balance with fresh eyes on it this morning.
Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS) over a Full Moon-lit Bonehill Rocks, Dartmoor, this evening. With the bright moonlight and haze, the comet wasn't visible to the eye, but the camera reveals the tail extending about 8 degrees across the sky.
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Another shot of Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS) over Dartmoor this evening. I framed this with very little foreground as I loved the way the moonlight and drifting clouds gave the hills a sort of tilt-shift effect where they look tiny.
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