Winners announced for the Cavendish Photography Competition 2025 

“The High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher 3 (HARPS3) is a high-resolution astronomical spectrograph built to enable the Terra Hunting Experiment, a radial-velocity survey to detect exoplanets akin to Earth. As the next 150 years of physics dawns throughout the new Ray Dolby Centre, HARPS3 is making its way from the Cavendish to the Isaac Newton Telescope where a new era of our own research endeavours begins: we and our ten international partners will start our 10-year experiment to expand the current detection threshold into long-period-low-mass exoplanets, taking us into the next decade and beyond of novel exoplanet discoveries. 

At the heart of HARPS3 is this rarely seen marvel of optics – an 840 mm long mosaicked Echelle diffraction grating. Once the spectrograph system is aligned, the 3-metre-long vacuum vessel housing will be sealed, and it will remain unseen for the duration of the experiment to ensure the utmost stability for the measurements. 

However, the real hidden heart of HARPS3 is the amazing team of physicists and engineers – my colleagues and friends – that have worked alongside me for so many years, turning a decade of dedication into an instrument poised to reshape our understanding of our place within the universe.” 

“It is a microscope image of a PDMS (polydimethylsiloxane) film which has become wrinkled after exposure to a vacuum. 

In relation to the theme “Next 150 Years of Physics at the Cavendish” I think what strikes me most is that it really strongly resembles a maze, with lots of intersecting paths and ways to turn. To me this is a strong reminder of how physics works – the path in front of us is often obscured but in taking the long way round we can come to unexpected and exciting new discoveries, even if different from where we initially wanted to go. I was not planning to get these wrinkles when I started making the film, and I have experienced many twists in my own research journey, but they led to this nice piece of art. The Cavendish has been a great place to explore new directions and my hope is that the next 150 years offer just as many new paths for physics to take.” 

“Welcome to the Orbital Frontier, the new home of the Cavendish Laboratory. This fully modular, self-sustaining space station is built to demonstrate the ultimate form of architectural adaptability required for a new era of physics. Just like the old, now demolished Ray Dolby Centre was built to facilitate the next generation of discovery on Earth, the Orbital Frontier symbolises the commitment of the Cavendish Laboratory to tackling the most challenging, fundamental problems of the universe – and our fast-decaying home planet. 

A new building is never perfect from Day 1. Initial difficulties with the central fusion reactor and artificial gravity generator have now been resolved. Facility Management are actively addressing reports of a strong sulphur smell emanating from the wastewater discharge subsystem, but we are told it is a complex issue that may take a while to resolve. Please come see us in the Migration Café in the Mott Module, if you have any concerns. We kindly remind all staff members to complete the mandatory H&S module, “Working in Microgravity”, in order to gain access through the airlocks. 

Please note that space suits must be worn at all times outside the station, and tailgating through the airlocks is strictly forbidden. All visitors must sign in with Reception immediately after docking. The Orbital Frontier Café is now open and runs a special throughout the month of October. For only £5M you can try the delicious Tube of the Day. Add a tube of rice for only £1.5M (subject to further correction for inflation).”