A&G Highlights Meeting - April 2026

The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), founded in 1820, encourages and promotes the study of astronomy, solar-system science, geophysics and closely related branches of science.

Royal Astronomical Society

Engine Shed

<a href="" title="" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">A&amp;G Highlights Meeting Programme</a>April 10th 2026Engine Shed, Station Approach, Bristol BS1 6QH 16:00 Prof Mike Lockwood (President)Welcome and Announcements16:05 Dr Anna Horleston (University of Bristol)“Highlights from InSight's Mars seismic dataset”NASA’s InSight lander was active on the surface of Mars from November 2018 until December 2022. One of the highlights of the mission was the surface deployment of a seismometer and the subsequent recording of &gt;1300 marsquakes. The marsquake catalogue includes both local and distant tectonic and impact events as well as many events with a more enigmatic source. In this talk I will give an overview of the mission aims, the seismic dataset recorded, and the interpretation so far on marsquake origins and what they tell us about the internal structure of Mars.Anna Horleston is a UK Space Agency Research Fellow in Planetary Seismology at the University of Bristol. After several years of Earth-focussed seismology, she joined the InSight mission just before launch. She immediately signed up to be part of the Marsquake Service (MQS) and was promoted to co-lead of the MQS Frontline Team in 2020. She has had the pleasure of looking at every second of the InSight seismic data and is still using it to learn more about Mars and its seismicity. She is also a member of the Science Team for the Farside Seismic Suite scheduled to fly to the Moon in 2027 and has been part of an ISSI Team looking at the potential seismicity of Venus.17:05 Dr Fergus Baker (University of Newcastle upon Tyne)"The presence of spacetime curvature in X-rays from accreting black holes" Though once a theoretical curiosity, astrophysical black holes have always been a reality. Decades of theoretical and observational evidence support Albert Einstein's theories on the complete gravitational collapse of a star into a black hole (despite Einstein's personal gripes with such singularities), which we now know to be some of the most important objects in the Universe.Space-based observatories that collect X-ray photons from accreting black holes allow us to study the regions closest to the event horizon, and have been providing insights and questions about the nature of gravity and atomic physics in the extremes. In this talk, I will provide an overview of recent results and developments in how X-ray observations allow us to probe spacetime curvature.I aim to give some intuition for how models of these objects are constructed, and demonstrate how relativistic ray-tracing techniques allow us to visualise the hitherto only imaginable.Fergus Baker is a post-doctoral research associate at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, working in the group of Adam Ingram. His research focuses on relativistic effects in the vicinity closest to astrophysical black holes, and encompasses aspects of both theoretical and observational work. He previously completed his PhD at the University of Bristol in 2025 under the supervision of Andrew Young.17:35 The James Dungey LectureDr Ryan Milligan (Queen’s University, Belfast)“Solar Flares and their Effect on Earth’s Ionosphere”The rapid restructuring of the magnetic field in the solar corona often leads to a dramatic release of energy that we identify as a solar flare. Solar flares manifest themselves as a broadband increase in solar irradiance, primarily at extreme ultraviolet and X-ray wavelengths, on timescales of minutes to hours. This increased radiation generates dynamic and compositional changes to our atmosphere (and those of other planets), which can lead to undesirable consequences such as increased satellite drag, disruption to high-frequency radio communication, and increased uncertainty in GPS positioning. However, space-based observations of this increased emission also allows us to diagnose the plasma conditions in the solar atmosphere and elucidate the underlying physical processes at work. Similarly, disturbances in GPS signals also allow us to quantify the changes in electron density in the Earth’s ionosphere that result. This talk will cover some of the fundamental physics surrounding solar flares, and discuss some recent scientific results from the solar flare group at QUB, which now comprises both solar and ionospheric physicists who work together to understand both the cause and effect of the energy released during periods of increased solar activity.Dr. Ryan Milligan graduated with a PhD in Solar Physics from Queen’s University Belfast in 2007 before being awarded a NASA Postdoctoral Fellowship which began several years of postdoctoral research at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. He worked as part of the RHESSI mission studying high-energy aspects of solar flares in conjunction with longer wavelength observations. He returned briefly to Queen’s as a postdoc before being awarded an STFC Ernest Rutherford Fellowship in 2017 which he held at the University of Glasgow. In 2019 he took up a lectureship position back at QUB where he established his own solar flare research group, which has recently segued into an interdisciplinary research team comprised of both solar and ionospheric physicists who study the interconnected Sun-Earth system. Ryan is an avid solar eclipse chaser (12 so far!) and spends much of his free time with his 4-year old Border Collie, Willow, building LEGO, and listening to live music. He is also a part-time HGV driver.17:55 Prof Mike Lockwood (President)Closing Remarks

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A&G Highlights Meeting - April 2026

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A&G Highlights Meeting - April 2026

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