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Here's a compilation of reactions from The Periodic Table of Videos.

Over the years - including this one - I've uploaded plenty of videos with a Christmas theme.

Here's some to keep you busy over the festive period!

The Periodic Table of Videos' world-famous Chemistry Christmas tree decorated with molecular models:



Etching "Merry Christmas" on a snowflake:



Stamp collecting meets Biblical studies - and was Mary really a virgin?



Which element would you like for Christmas?



Our tree expert Markus on the Science of Christmas Trees:



And here's Markus on Holly:



Professor Moriarty from Sixty Symbols puts a popular Christmas gift through its paces:



Astronomers and Biblical scholars combine for a bit of fun about the Christmas Star:



Accompanying the above, here's a "Star of Bethlehem Simulation" from Test Tube:

Last week we heard news that scientists at CERN are - maybe - edging closer to finding the Higgs Boson.

This was news demanding attention from Sixty Symbols.

But I was away from Nottingham and unable to speak with the usual suspects.

To make a amends I've published a 12-minute epic:



Followed by 49 minutes of hyper-extended interview footage on Test Tube (traditional home of our bonus footage):

After a filming expedition away from home last week, I'm madly editing through my backlog before Christmas.

This has resulted in an odd mix of videos posted over the last 36 hours - from a Vortex Nitron to the Shawshank Redemption!

From Krispy Kreme doughnuts to "romantic" numbers!

Last Friday (Dec 16) was Professor Martyn Poliakoff's birthday.

After last year's birthday gift (the world's smallest periodic table) we had our work cut out to match the spectacle.

Luckily a team of first-year chemistry students at The University of Nottingham came to the rescue with a spectacular periodic table of cupcakes.

Here's the video:



And there are more pictures on Flickr.

In the interests of transparency, I should admit we presented The Professor with his cakes before his birhday.

That's because both he and I were due to be abroad on the day itself (The Professor in Ethiopia and me in La Palma).

However I've since learned The Professor's birthday was also celebrated in style in Africa.

Below is a cake presented to The Professor by his collaborators in Ethiopia:

My final sunset on the volcano at La Palma, and this will be my final blog entry before jetting back to England.

In the afternoon I filmed at the SuperWASP facility and learned a lot about exoplanets.

Then to the Belgian-owned Mercator Telescope and a discussion about the Andromeda Galaxy.

I will be leaving La Palma with 14 tapes and a few memory cards full of video and photos.

The videos will be starting in January on Deep Sky Videos (more links below for Facebook, Twitter, etc).

Finally I must say a word of thanks to the Isaac Newton Group of telescopes which made this visit possible.

And especially the ING's public relations officer, Javier Mendez (right).

Javier went beyond the call of duty driving me all over the mountainside and arranging incredible access to many facilities - both at the ING and other telescopes.

He seemed to be working 24 hours a day and had an incredible knowledge about the science and technology across the observatory.

Thanks Javier.

Roque de los Muchachos Observatory is run by The Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias. I am being hosted by the Isaac Newton Group of telescopes. The videos from this trip will appear on Deep Sky Videos: YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Flickr.

Click here for diary day one.
Click here for diary day two.
Click here for diary day three.
Click here for diary day four.
Click here for diary day five.
Click here for diary day six.
Click here for diary day seven.
Click here for diary day eight.

I've come to my final day and night on the mountain.

Everything is becoming bit of a blur.

I've seen so many telescopes, so many remarkable things - and had so little sleep.

Last night I went for a walk and saw perhaps the most amazing sight of the trip... the Geminids meteors.

These meteors appear each December as the Earth barrels through the dust and debris of an asteroid called 3200 Phaethon.

The first meteor streaked across the entire sky for about 10 seconds, burning up in spectacular fashion.

The sky here's so clear - you see so many stars and the Milky Way.

The meteor initially looked like an emergency flare, moving quickly but also gently (perhaps because of the eerie silence).

I've seen meteors before, but this one looked so foreign I didn't know what it was.

I initially thought one of the telescopes had fired a flare skyward (to check the weather conditions, perhaps)?

But its strange trajectory across the sky then made me realise how daft that was!

More meteors appeared at a steady rate and of course I went to fetch my various cameras, but didn't have the equipment, skills or luck to catch them.

And none matched the first one I'd seen.

Earlier in the day I visited yet more telescopes and filmed various bits and pieces for upcoming Deep Sky Videos.

These included the formidable MAGIC telescope, a pair of huge machines which detect gamma rays from the depths of space.

They are among the most striking sights on the mountain (below) because their huge mirrors and exposed day and night, not concealed within a dome.
 

Today I will see I couple more telescopes and spend a final night on the volcano.

Then home at last - which I am looking forward to.

Roque de los Muchachos Observatory is run by The Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias. I am being hosted by the Isaac Newton Group of telescopes. The videos from this trip will appear on Deep Sky Videos: YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Flickr.

Click here for diary day one.
Click here for diary day two.
Click here for diary day three.
Click here for diary day four.
Click here for diary day five.
Click here for diary day six.
Click here for diary day seven.
Click here for diary day eight.