|
|
|
|
|
The year 2020 is 1/3 complete!
So much has happened since we last sent a newsletter, although it feels like just the other day! February's Astrofest was a great success, with 4,500 people attending Curtin Stadium to enjoy the telescopes, talks, astrophotography, sci-fi cosplay, VR and science stalls. We're already planning for next year's event, so keep Saturday 20th February 2021 free in your calendar.
The 14th Asia-Pacific Regional IAU Meeting (APRIM), set to be held in July this year and hosted by ICRAR and CSIRO, was unfortunately cancelled due to COVID-19. Naturally we're disappointed, but travel restrictions make an inclusive and truly international conference unable to go ahead.
As we can’t come to you in person during the pandemic, we’ve created a series of online offerings while we’re all self-isolating. Our team of professional science communicators, with the help of our researchers and postgraduate students, deliver many outreach and education activities throughout the year, and usually across the country. Now we bring them to you online. See our website for the full list of ICRAR online activities.
Finally, we hope you are all well! Please stay at home and stay safe.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Weekly astronomy lecture |
|
|
Thanks to ICRAR and ASTRO 3D, each Wednesday, 7:30pm AWST we stream a live lecture to our YouTube channel. With a new topic and researcher each week, you’re sure to find something you’re interested in!
Let us know if there's a topic or researcher that you want to hear from. Past lecture topics have included Pluto, black holes, and antimatter.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| CITIZEN SCIENCE |
If you're looking for something to do while you're at home in front of your computer, look no further than AstroQuest!
Sign up for free and complete quests to help Australian scientists understand how galaxies grow and evolve. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| SKA / MRO Briefing for consulars |
|
|
| On the 26th February, ICRAR hosted a consular briefing on the Square Kilometre Array and Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory. Consulars and career diplomats from a variety of countries, as well as our DFAT counterparts, attended the morning of talks and networking. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| LATEST EDITION OF Contact: the SKA magazine |
|
|
| All the latest from the SKA Office in Manchester, UK. |
| Read More |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| APRIL 23, 2020 |
| SUPERCOMPUTER TIME TO EXPLORE HOW BLACK HOLES AND JETS HAVE CHANGED OUR UNIVERSE |
| Astronomers have been awarded 45 million units of supercomputing time to study the influence of supermassive black holes on their host galaxies. The team from WA, Tasmania and the UK were awarded the time on Australia’s largest research supercomputing facility, the National Computational Infrastructure (NCI) in Canberra. |
| Read More |
|
|
|
|
|
| MARCH 24, 2020 |
| WA SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY LEADERS PUT THEIR HEADS TOGETHER TO SEARCH FOR THE FIRST STARS AND GALAXIES |
| The team from ICRAR, Pawsey Supercomputing Centre, and DUG used hundreds of hours of observations from the MWA radio telescope collected over five years. |
| Read More |
|
|
|
|
|
| FEBRUARY 28, 2020 |
| ASTRONOMERS DETECT BIGGEST EXPLOSION IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSE |
A violent explosion in a distant galaxy has broken the record for the brightest source of high-energy light in the Universe.
|
| Read More |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| JANUARY 23, 2020 |
| VIEW THE SKA IN AUGMENTED REALITY |
| The Square Kilometre Array is now available in augmented reality! We’ve been busy developing this interactive augmented reality with Quivervision. |
| Read More |
|
|
|
|
|
| VIEW THE SOUTHERN SKY IN VIRTUAL REALITY |
| Download the free GLEAMoscope app from Apple or Android and use your own headset to explore the night sky in radio colour. |
|
Read More
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Every Tuesday 4-5pm AWST |
| SPIRIT 101 ONLINE Professional Development |
| Find our about our remote telescope program (mainly for Years 9-10), already online for many schools, with this professional development opportunity for teachers each Tuesday 4-5pm AWST. Sign up for the session via zoom, and after completing SPIRIT 101 you’ll have access to the Outreach Officer for class sessions through your own class Webex/zoom if you want. Once you’re up to speed on using SPIRIT, you’ll be given access to everything needed for your students to run a long-term project. |
| Book online |
|
|
|
|
|
| Every Wednesday 4-430pm AWST |
| INTRODUCTION TO ASTROQUEST FOR TEACHERS |
| AstroQuest is a citizen science project, where you and your students complete quests to help Australian scientists understand how galaxies grow and evolve, and it can be used as an activity within the classroom – both virtual and face to face. We will run weekly introductory sessions on how to sign up as a teacher and use the website with your class, Wednesdays 4-430pm AWST, and teachers can sign up via zoom. AstroQuest has teacher guides (including curriculum links) for Year 4 and 5/6 Digital Technologies, Year 10 Science, and Unit 1 Physics. |
| Book online |
|
|
|
|
|
| Every Thursday 4-430pm AWST |
| ASK AN ASTROPHYSICIST (FOR TEACHERS & PARENTS) |
| Our Outreach Officer will be online each Thursday 400-430pm, any teacher or parent can sign up via zoom. You can jump into the video chat and ask about space science concepts or the universe in general that will help you teach your class. You can also book a private session for your class with our Outreach Officer. |
| Book online |
|
|
|
|
|
| In case you missed it: Astronomy news |
|
|
|
| Astronomy WA online events |
| Astronomy WA members have a range of online activities available during the shutdown. They'll keep this page updated as members send through more information. If you'd like something added to this page, please let them know through the contact form. |
| Read More |
|
|
|
