ANU astronomer Brad Tucker showing students from Rockhampton High School how to use their powerful new telescope. Credit: ANU Media
Children in remote and regional schools will soon be visited by astronomers bearing gifts in a quest to kindle interest in the cosmos.
The scientists – drawn from the ranks of the ARC Centre of Excellence for All Sky Astrophysics in 3D (ASTRO 3D) and the Australian National University – will donate a powerful telescope and high-tech accessories to each school so classes can continue to explore the Universe long after the astronomers have left.
Theories on how the Milky Way formed are set to be rewritten following discoveries about the behaviour of some of its oldest stars.
An investigation into the orbits of the Galaxy’s metal-poor stars – assumed to be among the most ancient in existence – has found that some of them travel in previously unpredicted patterns.
How do stars destroy lithium? Was a drastic change in the shape of the Milky Way caused by the sudden arrival of millions of stellar stowaways?
These are just a couple of the astronomical questions likely to be answered following the release today of ‘GALAH DR3’, the largest set of stellar chemical data ever compiled.
The data, comprising more than 500 GB of information gleaned from more than 30 million individual measurements, was gathered by astronomers including Sven Buder, Sarah Martell and Sanjib Sharma from Australia’s ARC Centre of Excellence in All Sky Astrophysics in 3 Dimensions (ASTRO 3D) using the Anglo Australian Telescope (AAT) at the Australian Astronomical Observatory at Siding Spring in rural New South Wales.
Australian researchers find ways to overcome the blinding glare of quasars
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope will uncover galaxies never before seen by humanity, Australian-led research reveals.
The telescope, due to launch in late 2021, is the largest, most powerful and complex space telescope ever built.
Two new studies led by Madeline Marshall from Australia’s University of Melbourne and the ARC Centre of Excellence in All Sky Astrophysics in 3 Dimensions (ASTRO 3D) find that the Webb will be able to reveal galaxies currently masked by powerful lights called quasars.
In an unusual turn of events, Melbourne based filmmaker Sonya Pemberton has become a co-author on a paper that has just been published in the top international journal Science.
The paper, ‘Global citizen deliberation on genome editing’ is calling for the creation of a global “citizens’ assembly”, made up of ordinary people who are tasked with considering the ethical and social impacts of this emerging science, in humans, animals and plants. The idea was born out of a film-research trip Sonya undertook almost two years ago.
Content available: – Image and caption, – Extended quotes from selected authors as supplementary content, – Genepool release – Filmmaker becomes co-author on paper published in top international journal, ‘Science’, – Paper details – Media release below
Ethical and social implications of powerful DNA-altering technology are too important to be left to scientists and politicians, researchers find.
Illustration by Alice Mollon
Designer babies, mutant mozzies and frankenfoods: these are the images that often spring to mind when people think of genome editing.
The practice – which alters an organism’s DNA in ways that could be inherited by subsequent generations – is both more complex and less dramatic than the popular tropes suggest.
However, its implications are so profound that a growing group of experts believe it is too important a matter to be left only to scientists, doctors and politicians.
Writing in the journalScience, 25 leading researchers from across the globe call for the creation of national and global “citizens’ assemblies”, made up of lay-people, tasked with considering the ethical and social impacts of this emerging science.
National Carbon Counter project proves a hit as individuals, families and schools pledge to lower emissions.
Media release: 25 August, 2020
More than 11,000 people have signed up to Carbon Counter, the countrywide challenge produced by the ABC Science Unit for National Science Week.
The challenge shows families, individuals and schools how to reduce their contributions to global warming by making simple and easy changes to everyday routines.
National Science Week 2020 runs from 15 to 23 August. Media kit at www.scienceinpublic.com.au. Or visit the National Science Week website for more events and activities: www.scienceweek.net.au.
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Anonymous - Sydney Jan 2020
2020-01-28T15:04:28+11:00
Anonymous - Sydney Jan 2020
Sarah's structure of the course, specific insight and understanding of science, her contacts and common mistakes made in communication were great and furthered my skills in this area.
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Shwathy Ramesh
2020-02-24T09:29:55+11:00
Shwathy Ramesh
This is one of the best science communication courses I have ever encountered. It teaches all research to think out of box and really simplify their research in lay man's language. I will highly recommend this to anyone looking to learn more about science communication.
