astronomy

Spinning galaxies reveal missing matter

Australian astronomers have long been contributing to our understanding of a strange cosmological phenomenon—the Universe’s missing matter. In the early 1970s, Ken Freeman of the Australian National University (ANU) determined that spiral galaxies must contain more matter than we can see. He postulated that dark matter—an invisible material first proposed 40 years earlier—must make up [...]

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Galaxies point the way to dark energy

A project to produce more than double the number of galaxy distance measurements than all other previous surveys combined, could lead to an explanation of one of nature’s biggest mysteries.

In 1998, astronomers announced that the expansion of the universe is not slowing down as many people had thought, but rather is speeding up. To account for this, scientists have invoked an invisible force called “dark energy”, which makes up 75% of the cosmos’ total of energy and matter in the cosmos. Dark energy opposes gravity, and makes the universe want to spread out.

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Fresh Science 2010

Each year we identify early-career scientists with a discovery and bring them to Melbourne for a communication boot camp. Here are some of their stories. More at www.freshscience.org.au Print your own lasers, lights and TV screens Imagine printing your own room lighting, lasers, or solar cells from inks you buy at the local newsagent. Jacek [...]

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No moving parts – a new kind of radio telescope

Far outback in Western Australia, at the Murchison Radio Astronomy Observatory located on Boolardy Station, 315 km north-east of Geraldton, 32 tiles each carrying 16 dipole antennas have begun to collect scientific data on the Sun. At the same time they are providing engineering information to be used to extend the facility to a much bigger array of 512 tiles-the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA).

The MWA is designed to study radio sources at low frequencies, a poorly known part of the radio spectrum between 80 and 300 megahertz. It will be one of the world’s first telescopes without any moving parts. In fact, the array is ‘steered’ electronically, which means the direction the telescope points depends entirely on how the signals from its stationary antennas are combined and processed.

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Making light work of photonic chip fabrication

Macquarie University laser physicists are part of a consortium developing a micro-processing platform that will revolutionise photonic chip fabrication. This technology has implications for a diverse range of applications such as fibre-to-thehome (FTTH), smart sensor arrays for aircraft, biosensing and astronomy.

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L’Oréal Fellow looking for dark energy

In 1998 astronomers made an astonishing discovery—the expansion of the Universe is accelerating. The discovery required a complete rethink of the standard model used to explain how the Universe works.

“Now we know that stars, planets, galaxies and all that we can see make up just four per cent of the Universe,” says Dr Tamara Davis, a University of Queensland astrophysicist.

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Rapid expansion in NZ and WA astronomy

Western Australia’s International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) is only three months old but is rapidly expanding—much like the early Universe. ICRAR’s scientists have ambitious projects ahead contributing to global science and engineering through the SKA.

ICRAR’s researchers will marshal new discoveries through large-scale neutral hydrogen surveys, studying the variable universe on short time scales and developing new antennas and other technologies.

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Australia and New Zealand—the home of next-generation radio astronomy?

Imagine a telescope so revolutionary that in one week it will gather more information than that contained in all the words spoken in human history.

The Square Kilometre Array, or SKA, will be the world’s most powerful radio telescope and will dramatically increase mankind’s understanding of the universe.

The infrastructure enabling this expansion in knowledge may be placed in Australia and New Zealand, whose proposal to host the SKA has been shortlisted by the international science community. A final decision is expected in 2012.

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PM’s Prize winner working on astronomy pathfinder

CSIRO’s Dr John O’Sullivan, winner of the 2009 Prime Minister’s Prize for Science, is now working on the next generation of radio telescopes.

John’s latest efforts are directed towards the development of an innovative radio camera or ‘phased array feed’ with a uniquely wide field-of-view for the Australian SKA Pathfinder (ASKAP) radio telescope.

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How astronomy freed the computer from its chains

When you use a Wi-Fi network—at home, in the office or at the airport—you are using patented technology born of Australian astronomy.

Australia’s CSIRO created a technology that made the wireless LAN fast and robust. And their solution grew out of 50 years of radio astronomy and one man’s efforts to hear the faint radio whispers of exploding black holes.

Dr John O’Sullivan and his colleagues didn’t find the black holes. But they developed a way of cleaning up intergalactic radio wave distortion which became the key to fast, reliable Wi-Fi.

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