Astronomers are trying to improve their hunt for rapid bursts of radio emission in the universe called Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) so they can better observe these mysterious events, which are thought to…
A group of excited observers during a peak of the Geminids meteor shower.
Flickr/Tasayu Tasnaphun
Jonti Horner, University of Southern Queensland; Donna Burton, University of Southern Queensland e Tanya Hill, Museums Victoria Research Institute
Watching meteors in the night sky can be fun, although typically you only see a few flashes an hour. But there are certain times of the year when you can see many more – events known as meteor showers…
The story of two people who fall in love.
Universal Pictures
The Theory of Everything is a film about two people who meet at university and fall in love. But what makes it remarkable is that one of them is Professor Stephen Hawking and that when he and Jane Wilde…
What was the celestial body the three wise men followed 2,000 years ago?
epSos.de
The wise men were likely accomplished Greek astrologers, watching the stars for signs of a king’s birth. Technical terms used in the Bible’s description point to a real astronomical event.
An artist’s conception of a of gamma ray burst.
ESO/NAOJ
Our understanding of gamma ray bursts (GRBs) – flashes of gamma rays from explosions in distant galaxies – since they were discovered more than 50 years ago may not be as solid as first thought. Research…
Image captured December 2013 of several Geminids meteors seen from the Observatorio del Teide (IAC) in Tenerife.
Flickr/StarryEarth
Jonti Horner, University of Southern Queensland; Donna Burton, University of Southern Queensland e Tanya Hill, Museums Victoria Research Institute
The best meteor shower of the year should put on an impressive display this weekend – weather permitting – with the annual Geminids poised to light up the sky with bright, long meteors visible as frequently…
Night sky over Lake Tyrrel in Western Victoria – home of the Wergaia people.
Alex Cherney
Indigenous Australian practices, developed and honed over thousands of years, weave science with storytelling. In this Indigenous science series, we’ll look at different aspects of First Australians’ traditional…
The Mopra telescope will find itself out of commission in a year.
Balt Indermuehle
Australia’s Mopra telescope, nestled in NSW’s Warrumbungle National Park, is earmarked for closure in a year thanks to CSIRO funding cuts. But this one-of-a-kind telescope is well worth saving. Few of…
Square away your personal philosophy now; proof of life beyond earth is coming.
Stargazing image via www.shutterstock.com
Astronomers have found thousands of exoplanets and the hunt is on for life beyond Earth. Once biological neighbors are identified, our planet’s philosophies and religions will need to adapt.
The stars over Tidal River in Wilsons Promontory, Victoria.
Alex Cherney
How many stars can you see at night? Right now people all over the world are being asked to go out and count them! It’s part of a dark-sky awareness campaign that’s been held each October for the past…
Artist’s impression of exocomets around Beta Pictoris.
ESO/L. Calçada
Jonti Horner, University of Southern Queensland e Tanya Hill, Museums Victoria Research Institute
A detailed study of comets orbiting the young nearby star Beta Pictoris is published today in the journal Nature, and it reveals striking similarities to the comets found in our solar system. Over the…
Eclipse at sunrise over Richmond, Virginia, USA in November 2013.
Sky Noir (Bill Dickinson)/Flickr
Each month, at the time of new moon, the sun and moon are together in the daytime sky. Most of the time the moon passes by unnoticed. But at least twice a year, somewhere on Earth will see the moon pass…
Meteors streak outwards from the top of Orion’s head as seen in 2012 from central Victoria.
Phil Hart
Jonti Horner, University of Southern Queensland e Tanya Hill, Museums Victoria Research Institute
As Earth orbits the sun, it continually ploughs through dust and debris left behind by passing comets and asteroids. On any night of the year, a keen-eyed observer might see five, or even ten, meteors…
An artist’s concept of Comet Siding Spring (2013 A1) and Mars.
NASA
Astronomers world-wide are gearing up for what NASA calls a “once in a lifetime” event: the Comet Siding Spring will swing past Mars on its maiden voyage through the solar system in the early hours next…
An artist’s impression of a galactic protocluster forming in the early universe.
European Southern Observatory
Clusters of galaxies have back-stories worthy of a Hollywood blockbuster: their existences are marked by violence, death and birth, arising after extragalactic pile-ups where groups of galaxies crashed…
Just before totality on a total lunar eclipse.
Flickr/John Johnson
At least twice a year, Earth comes between the sun and the moon. The result is a lunar eclipse, where we see the splendid sight of Earth’s shadow falling across the moon. Lunar eclipses are wonderful to…
Look up towards the east on Wednesday night (October 8) and a total lunar eclipse will be visible from across Australia. The moon will slowly move through Earth’s shadow, as the sun, Earth and moon fall…
Astronomers spend most of their time contemplating the universe, quite comfortable in the knowledge that we are just a speck among billions of planets, stars and galaxies. But last week, the Australian…
There are some massive galaxies out there, and we now know a little about their early life.
Lauro Roger McAllister/Flickr
A piece of the galaxy formation puzzle may have fallen into place, thanks to a team of European and American astronomers peering into the depths of our early universe. According to new research published…
Look up at the night sky this week and you’ll find Mars and Saturn together in the west. Mars stands out with its reddish colouring and you might just be able to detect a faint yellow tinge to Saturn…