SpaceAustralia.com

13/06/2025

Sydney & Melbourne – have we got exciting news!

We’re incredibly excited to announce that Dr. Katie Mack - renowned cosmologist, author, and global science communicator -will be visiting Australia in July 2025 for a series of public talks and events across Sydney and Melbourne.

Join Dr. Mack as she explores the fascinating (and sometimes unsettling!) ways the Universe might end, drawing from her internationally acclaimed book The End of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking).

These events - hosted in collaboration with leading Australian institutions - are a must for anyone interested in the cosmos, from science enthusiasts to professional researchers. A mix of free and ticketed sessions are available, but bookings are essential and spaces are filling quickly!

https://www.spaceaustralia.com/news/dr-katie-mack-sydney-and-melbourne-july-2025

A huge thank you to our incredible partners helping to bring this tour to life:

University of Sydney
Sydney Ideas
OzGrav - ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery
Swinburne University of Technology
The Wheeler Centre for Books, Writing and Ideas
QueersInScience

06/06/2025

An Emerging Risk To 📡

Using a prototype SKA-Low instrument, a new analysis from astronomers at ICRAR and Curtin University have detected Starlink signals leaking into protected radio bands.

Radio frequency interference from Starlink not only spans the narrowband intended emissions but also broadband unintended emissions, coming from propulsion and avionics.

This RFI is unregulated and affects key science goals.

Starlink can appear in ~30% of all sky images.

This new study, from Dylan Grigg at Curtin University, is not the first to study the impacts of Starlink on , but is the largest of its kind and quantifies how this type of radio frequency interference - that comes from above - will impact the mega-science SKA project.

https://www.spaceaustralia.com/news/emerging-risk-radio-astronomy by Rami Mandow



📸 Grigg et al. 2025 / DISR

28/05/2025

A multiwavelength glimpse at a space oddity!

Astronomers from have led a global team to reveal new insights into the growing population of Long-Period Transients.

What makes ASKAP J1832-0911 stand out from the rest of the Long-Period Transients is that, for the first time, coincident X-ray emission, along with radio emissions, have also been detected from such an object, thanks to the Chandra X-ray Observatory.

breaks down why this object is unique amongst this emerging population, and how it gives us those extra clues that might reveal their true nature.

Read the article here: https://www.spaceaustralia.com/feature/askap-and-chandra-catch-pulses-long-period-transient

📸 / Ziteng (Andy) Wang / Alex Cherney

09/04/2025

Your Smartphone Can Measure Solar Storms! ☀️🧲

Industry researchers found a way to provide better global coverage of what dynamics are occurring in the turbulent ionosphere - a region of Earth's atmosphere that is affected by the Sun's activity. They did this by tapping into GPS signals bouncing back and forth between smartphones and satellites.

Check out Rami Mandow's latest article here: https://www.spaceaustralia.com/news/your-smartphone-can-tell-us-about-solar-storms

📸 Kast, Smith, Google Research Software Engineers

03/12/2024

New and exciting astrophysics news from Australian early-career researchers!

Using MeerKAT, one of the most sensitive telescopes in the world as a giant Galactic-scale detector - Australian astronomers have found further evidence of the Gravitational Wave Background (GWB) … the dull roaring hum of the fabric of the cosmos, stretching and squeezing over time.

These new findings, support the first evidence found for the GWB in June 2023. The findings are published in a series of three papers in the journal MNRAS.

The first two studies, led by Dr Matt Miles from Swinburne University of Technology /
OzGrav - ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery detail the evidence and noise parameters of the GWB found with MeerKAT. Rami Mandow had a chat with Matt about these new findings: https://www.spaceaustralia.com/feature/mpta-finds-evidence-gravitational-wave-background

The last paper, co-authored by Rowina Nathan from Monash University / OzGrav highlights how this data is used to make the most detailed map of the GWB in the Universe, and revealing an intriguing anomaly. Rowina pens her thoughts on these results for here: https://www.spaceaustralia.com/feature/mapping-gravitational-wave-universe

📸 Carl Knox/Swinburne/OzGrav/SARAO
📸 Rowina Nathan

26/11/2024

🌌 1 in 100 billion!

This is the only known system of its kind—a rare double neutron star system where both stars are pulsars, and their beams just happen to align with Earth. This gives scientists an incredible chance to study one pulsar’s light as it passes through the other’s powerful magnetic field.

Using the ultra-sensitive MeerKAT telescope, Dr. Marcus Lower from Swinburne University of Technology and his team uncovered fascinating insights into these extreme cosmic environments. While there may be other double pulsars out there, this is the only one we’ve found that beams our way.

Check out our latest feature article by Rami Mandow to learn more about this fascinating science!

👉 https://www.spaceaustralia.com/feature/unveiling-extreme-physics-galaxys-only-double-pulsar-system

📸: M. Kramer/MPIfR

17/10/2024

NASA’s latest audacious planetary mission, Europa Clipper, has launched and started its five-and-a-half-year journey to the Jovian system. The target of this mission is the small, icy moon Europa, a world that offers a tantalising possibility that it may be habitable.

Dr Helen Maynard-Casely examines the path that led to the agency’s largest interplanetary spacecraft to date, and how insights from four historical missions built the case for studying this moon in particular.

https://www.spaceaustralia.com/news/europa-clipper-sailing-new-discoveries-habitability



📸 New Horizons/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute

21/09/2024

Last week, Larryn Rae’s spectacular shot of the red aurora took out the best in category at the Astronomy Photography of the Year awards (hosted by the Royal Observatory Greenwich) - a first for Aurora Australis which is seen from the southern hemisphere.

Dr Helen Maynard-Casely writes for , delving into how our planet's magnetic field and atmosphere, interact with the solar wind to produce these beautiful curtains of light.

https://www.spaceaustralia.com/news/aurora-australis-has-its-moment

08/09/2024

The rapidly growing market of smart telescopes are leading the way in making more accessible and interesting to wider audiences.

Rami Mandow compared the Seestar S50 to the more traditional setup, finding that it's great value for money as an entry-level telescope.

https://www.spaceaustralia.com/news/democratising-astrophotograpy-seestar-s50



📸 R. Mandow

29/08/2024

Something fun that everyone can have a go at - see your name in satellite images, captured by Landsat. These can make a handy banner on your social media accounts.

Make yours here: https://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/apps/YourNameInLandsat-main/

Or are you looking for something beyond our atmosphere? Well, you can also write your name using galaxies using this tool: https://writing.galaxyzoo.org/

Have fun!

14/08/2024

30/07/2024

Have you got clear, dark skies? You're in for a double astro treat!

The Bureau of Meteorology has predicted a minor geomagnetic storm, which means southern locations in Australia (like southern WA, Vic and Tas) and NZ might have some opportunity to see the Aurora Australis tonight.

On top of this, we're in the midst of two annual re-occuring meteor showers. Check out this article that Prof. Jonti Horne from the University of Southern Queensland - Australia and Dr Tanya Hill put together a little while back for - it covers all the meteor showers we get per year.

Bonus points to astrophotographers who score a photo featuring both aurora and meteors - tag us, and we'll signal boost them!

https://www.spaceaustralia.com/index.php/news/ultimate-sky-guide-catching-meteors-your-backyard-2022

Photo credits:
Jeff Sullivan/Flickr
Caroline Jones/Flickr