Ryan Laird

Science communicator

Leicester, UK

I am a science communicator from the UK and enjoy travelling, writing and sharing my passion for astronomy and science.

Ryan Laird

Science communicator

Leicester, UK

I am a science communicator from the UK and enjoy travelling, writing and sharing my passion for astronomy and science.

ESO Ultra HD Expedition: New clarity for astronomy outreach
ESO Ultra HD Expedition: New clarity for astronomy outreach (page 33) In the spring of 2014 a team of ESO Photo Ambassadors embarked on a pioneering expedition to the European Southern Observatory’s observing sites in Chile. Their mission was to capture time-lapses, stills, videos and panoramas in crisp Ultra High Definition from some of the darkest night skies on Earth.
ESOcast 66: A Groundbreaking Event for the E-ELT
On 19 June 2014, a major milestone on the road to the construction of the European Extremely Large Telescope was reached. Part of the 3000-metre peak of Cerro Armazones was blasted away as a step towards levelling the summit. This paves the way for the largest optical/infrared telescope in the world.
ESOcast 65: The Chilean Sky in Ultra High Definition
In the Spring of 2014, a team of ESO Photo ambassadors embarked on a pioneering expedition to ESO's three observatories in Chile. Their mission was to capture a wide range of images and time-lapses of the magnificent Chilean night sky and landscape in crisp Ultra High Definition. Join our heroes in their adventures in the arid Atacama Desert as they bring our Universe closer than ever before.
ESOcast 64: First Ring System Around Asteroid
This ESOcast shows how observations at many sites in South America, including ESO's La Silla Observatory, have made the surprise discovery that the remote asteroid Chariklo is surrounded by two dense and narrow rings. This is the smallest object by far found to have rings and only the fifth body in the Solar System — after the much larger planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune — to have this feature.
Review: Duh! Universe
Ever wanted the Universe at your fingertips? Now you can have it. Universe is a new "multi-touch e-book", suitable for children aged 7 and up, that introduces topics such as the stars and planets, our night sky and human spaceflight in a very fun and interactive way. The e-book includes some great videos such the activity of the Sun and orbiting the Earth on the International Space Station (ISS), along with some stunning, high-quality images of our cosmos.
Uncovering Mysterious Hidden Gems of our Galaxy
Humanity’s curiosity to explore is deeply rooted in our cultures. In astronomy, scientists aim to push the limits of our understanding to unlock some of the greatest mysteries of our Universe. To do so, they need extremely powerful telescopes. Using a space-based telescope called WISE, together with a selection of telescopes on the ground, astronomers have found two of the oldest brown dwarfs ever.
Sharing Our Cosmic Vision
The night sky is enormous, and filled with billions of strange and exotic objects. Due to the sheer number, exploring these cosmic wonders is a task much too big for one person alone, so astronomers must work together. They need a lot of clever people, and some extremely powerful telescopes to look at some of the most distant objects in our Universe.
Black Holes and Revelations
Using the amazing power of the ALMA telescope, astronomers have unlocked some of the mysteries surrounding supermassive black holes that lie at the centre of galaxies. But what are they and how are they different from ordinary black holes? Well, supermassive black holes are the largest type of black hole .
The ISU Experience
For nine weeks our Secretary, Ryan Laird, attended the International Space University (ISU) Space Studies Programme (SSP). Ryan shares his experiences with UKSEDS and explains how YOU can get involved. “The Space Studies Programme (SSP) is an intense nine-week course for postgraduate students and professionals of all disciplines.
UKSEDS National Student Space Conference 2013
UKSEDS National Student Space Conference, Bristol 2013 logo. On 23rd and 24th February, space enthusiasts descended on the University of Bristol, UK for the UKSEDS National Student Space Conference 2013. For UK students, each year this is a key opportunity to meet and network with a wide range of people in the space sector from academia to industry, across multiple disciplines.
"Space Generation Congress" - Spaceflight Vol 55 No 01
Joel Powell takes a look at a growing family of small experiment containers for flight aboard human space vehicles, including the ISS, and at a range of small satellites that could be just the thing to fly low-cost experiments. In what many regard as one of the finest missions of lunar exploration in the history of.
A collision in 2009 as the origin of the debris trail of asteroid P/2010A2
A collision in 2009 as the origin of the debris trail of asteroid P/2010A2. Snodgrass, Colin ; Tubiana, Cecilia ; Vincent, Jean-Baptiste ; Sierks, Holger ; Hviid, Stubbe ; Moissi, Richard ; Boehnhardt, Hermann ; Barbieri, Cesare ; Koschny, Detlef ; Lamy, Philippe ; Rickman, Hans ; Rodrigo, Rafael ; Carry, Benoit ; Lowry, Stephen C. ; Laird, Ryan J.

About

Ryan Laird

social media

outreach

science

STEM

physics

sciwri

astronomy

astrophysics

scipolicy

space

editing

content

I am a science communicator from the UK and enjoy travelling, writing and sharing my passion for astronomy and science.

I am a graduate of the University of Leicester in Physics with Astrophysics MPhys (Hons) and an alumnus of the International Space University (ISU) Space Studies Programme 2013 (SSP13).

I am currently Editor at Design & Data GmbH, a German company that specialises in cross-media products for the space sector. We work closely with clients such as the European Space Agency, EUMETSAT, DLR and the UK Space Agency to provide high-quality media content in the form of videos and websites, as well as back-up support for digital asset management.

I am a Trustee of UKSEDS (formerly Vice Chair and Secretary) and Community Coordinator for the Spacelink Learning Foundation; roles where I seek to facilitate UK space activities among youth and stimulate interest in my outreach capacities.

I am an enthusiastic #spacetweep and you can find me hanging around on Twitter @rjmlaird where I share my passion for science communication, education and outreach.