Born from astronomy…Creating a future with astronomy

In 1768 the British Admiralty sent Captain James Cook to the Pacific to monitor the transit of the planet Venus across the Sun. On his way home to England, Cook mapped Australia’s east coast, and claimed New South Wales.

For about 40,000 years before that, the indigenous peoples of Australia had been developing remarkably sophisticated explanations of the workings of the Southern Sky.

And just 200 years afterwards, an independent Australia was at the forefront of radio astronomy and receiving the first signals from the Moon.

Today Australian astronomers continue to unravel the mysteries in the southern sky.

Read about their achievements in Southern Skies Unlimited: Australian Astronomy 2010. It’s Science in Public’s latest collection of stories of Australian science and is available in print and online.

The first set of stories are online here now, and the balance will appear over the course of July.

You will read about:

• invading alien stars;
• searching for extra-solar planets;
• detecting gravitational waves;
• quaking stars and what they can tell us;
• looking at the skies through Aboriginal eyes; and
• understanding our home – the Milky Way
• a 268 mega pixel camera
• unmasking the Universe’s dark secret
• amateurs making big discoveries
• connecting telescopes worldwide;
• stimulating the Arts
• and Australia’s role in creating a giant radio telescope – the Square Kilometre Array – that will look out to the beginning of time
• and much more.

If you’d like to receive occasional bulletins about Australian science please also let me know at niall@scienceinpublic.com.au or sign up online.

I invite you to read these stories and to follow up with any organisation whose work captures your interest.

Niall Byrne

June 2010