SAM MORRELL

What I’ve Been Listening To – September 2016

Happy first birthday to these posts. I’m glad to say that the quick purpose meant to bring purpose to my website and motivate me to keep it up have indeed done just that, and I’ve managed to post one per month for the past year… even if no one has read them, it’s still an...

What I’ve Been Listening To – August 2016

Phew! It’s been a scorcher of a month. Along with that, it’s been busy for me. Throughout August the astrophysics group at the University of Exeter have been preparing to host an international conference, and I’ve been doing little bits and pieces on the Local Organising Committee. Despite the this, I’ve still managed to get...

What I’ve Been Listening To – July 2016

Welcome to another great instalment of my regular monthly revelry in auditory excellence. This month’s list is unabashedly short and single minded in its focus. Basically, this will probably go down in history as the ‘Sam finds Christine and the Queens month’. So, with this in mind let’s get going on our helpings for July....

Redesigning XRT-C

As some who read this may know I’m involved, well currently the project lead, on the Exeter Radio Telescope at Caradon (XRT-C) project. The idea behind this project is great; to build a professional grade, 4.5m radio telescope in the Cornish country side that can be used by students across the UK. Up until now,...

Dr Samuel Morrell Postdoctoral Research Fellow University of Exeter I'm a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Exeter, in Devon, UK. I was trained as an astrophysicist, and my astrophysical research interest spans studies of young clusters, stellar evolution, and exoplanet science. In my current position, I am bringing my expertise as an astronomer to...

What I’ve Been Listening To – March 2016

Oh, so that’s what the Sun looks like? You’d be forgiven for forgetting the look of the ol’ gas ball, but now that the days are drawing out and we’ve entered BST we’re finally on the up for 2016. This month brings another helping of musical magnificence that has been accompanying me through the somewhat stormy...

What I’ve Been Listening To – January 2016

And so, like a flash, the first month of 2016 has come and gone. The weather is really beginning to ramp up now and hit the UK with its full, highly dynamic glory. Thanks to this abysmal serving of rain, clouds and somewhat lacklustre cold snaps, I’ve had plenty of time sat at my computer...

Using Wintersmith to Make Awesome Static Websites

For the last month or so, I’ve been deeply investing my spare time into writing a website for a conference, the UK Exoplanet Community Meeting 2016, or UKEXOM 2016 for short. Early on we decided that the best way to host it would probably be to use Amazon’s pretty nifty S3 service. This comes with...

What I’ve Been Listening To – November 2015

And so it’s that time of year again. The nights rapidly draw in after making the exasperated jaunt back from British Summer Time to good ol’ GMT. The fog lies thick over the city as the temperature make it’s downward meander to sub-zero degrees celsius. The feeling of autumn, and indeed shortly after the crisp...

What I’ve Been Listening To – October 2015

Yes, I know, I’ve been a little quiet on here lately. To remedy that let’s have a good old fashioned music post. What with now being an office dweller, and occasional observatory dweller too, I’ve had plenty of time to listen to music over the past month. Thanks to Spotify’s excellent discovery features that’s made...

My Top Tips for Preparing for a Physics Degree

You’ve just finished your A-levels, you say? Well done, I think you’ve earned a break so go on and enjoy it. However, I wouldn’t mind guessing that at some point in the next couple of months you’re going to get a little bit bored and might even start looking for something to do. If you’re kicking...

Rainbow in a Box

Yesterday, I helped out at the physics department with a visit for a local sixth form. The basic idea was that in the morning the groups of students got a tour around the building and then in the afternoon they would get involved in a load of experiments. I was assigned the job of looking after...