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Associate Professor, The University of Melbourne

Duane Hamacher is Associate Professor of Cultural Astronomy in the ASTRO-3D Centre of Excellence and the School of Physics at the University of Melbourne.

His research focuses on the role of astronomy in history, culture, and society. Born in the United States, Duane earned a degree in physics at the University of Missouri before moving to Australia to complete a Masters degree (by research) in astrophysics at UNSW, followed by a PhD in Indigenous studies at Macquarie University with a thesis on Australian Aboriginal astronomy. He was awarded a DECRA Fellowship to work for Meriam Elders in the eastern Torres Strait to document their star knowledge and from October 2022 to July 2023 worked as a CAPAS Fellow in the Käte Hamburger Centre for Apocalyptic and Post-Apocalyptic Studies at Universität Heidelberg in Germany. He authored the book "The First Astronomers: how Indigenous Elders read the stars" (Allen & Unwin, 2022) with six Elders. 100% of author royalties go to charity.

He is President and Founder of the Australian Association for Astronomy in Culture, Vice President of the International Society of Archaeoastronomy and Astronomy in Culture, a member of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). He serves in the IAU Working Group on Star Names, is an associate editor of the Journal of Astronomical History & Heritage, and appeared on documentaries with Morgan Freeman, Warwick Thornton, Clive Oppenheimer, and Werner Herzog.

Experience

  • 2019–present
    Associate professor, University of Melbourne
  • 2022–present
    CAPAS Fellow, Universität Heidelberg
  • 2016–2019
    Senior Research Fellow, Monash University
  • 2012–2016
    Lecturer, University of New South Wales
  • 2012–2012
    Manager, Association for Astronomy, Macquarie University

Education

  • 2012 
    Macquarie University, PhD (Cultural Astronomy)
  • 2008 
    University of New South Wales, MSc (Astrophysics)
  • 2004 
    University of Missouri, BSc (Physics)

Publications

  • 2023
    Eclipse Chasers - Chap 2: Solar Eclipses in First Nations Traditions, CSIRO Publishing.
  • 2023
    Using the Significant Horizons Methodology to Determine Potential Astronomical Use of Aboriginal Stone Arrangements, Essays on Astronomical History and Heritage: A Tribute to Wayne Orchiston on his 80th Birthday, edited by Steven Gullberg and Peter Robertson. Springer Press, New York.
  • 2023
    The Astronomy of the Aboriginal Peoples of the Sydney Basin, Essays on Astronomical History and Heritage: A Tribute to Wayne Orchiston on his 80th Birthday, edited by Steven Gullberg and Peter Robertson. Springer Press, New York.
  • 2023
    Research Frameworks in Indigenous Astronomy, Australian Perspectives on Indigenous Knowledge, edited by Marcia Langton and Michael-Shawn Fletcher. Melbourne University Press.
  • 2023
    World Developments: Australasian and Oceanic cultures, The Cultural History of the Universe, edited by Nick Campion. Bloomsbury Press,
  • 2023
    Safeguarding Indigenous Sky Rights from Colonial Exploitation, Routledge Handbook of Social Studies of Outer Space, edited by Juan Francisco Salazar and Alice Gorman
  • 2023
    The Art of Star Knowledge, 65,000 Years: A Short History of Australian Art, edited by Judith Ryan and Marcia Langton. University of Melbourne Press
  • 2023
    The Role of Astronomy in Australian Indigenous Knowledge, The Oxford Handbook of Global Indigenous Archaeologies: Chapter 18, edited by Claire Smith, Kellie Pollard, Alok Kanungo, Sally May, Sandra Lopez Varela, and Joe Watkins. Oxford University Press.
  • 2022
    The First Astronomers: How Indigenous Elders read the stars, Allen & Unwin
  • 2022
    Comparing constellations across cultures, Nature Astronomy, Vol. 6, pp. 406–409.
  • 2022
    Perceptual grouping explains constellations across cultures, Psychological Science, Vol. 33(3), pp. 354-363.
  • 2021
    Best Practices and Protocols for Including Indigenous Astronomy in the Planetarium Setting, Proceedings of the International Planetarium Society, Vol. 25, pp. 69-77.
  • 2021
    World Developments: Australasian and Oceanic Cultures., "A Cultural History of the Universe in the Age of Enlightenment." Volume 4. London: Bloomsbury Publishing.
  • 2020
    Solstice and solar position observations in Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander traditions, Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage
  • 2020
    Native American Traditions of Meteor Crater, Arizona: Fact, Fiction, or Appropriation?, Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage
  • 2020
    Historical Novae and Supernovae, Proceedings of IAU Symposium A30, Cambridge University Press
  • 2020
    A Cultural Comparison of Dark Constellations of the Milky Way, Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage
  • 2020
    Whitening the Sky: light pollution as a form of cultural genocide, Journal of Dark Sky Studies
  • 2019
    A Comparison of Dark Constellations of the Milky Way, British Archaeological Reports
  • 2019
    Baiami and the emu chase: an astronomical interpretation of a Wiradjuri Dreaming associated with the Burbung, Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage
  • 2019
    Indigenous use of stellar scintillation to predict weather and seasonal change, Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria
  • 2018
    The Planets in Indigenous Australian Traditions, Oxford Research Encyclopaedia of Planetary Science
  • 2018
    Death and Maier: meteors and mortuary rites in the eastern Torres Strait, Australian Journal of Indigenous Issues
  • 2018
    Twin Suns in Australian Aboriginal Traditions, Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage
  • 2018
    A methodology for testing horizon astronomy in Australian Aboriginal cultural sites: a case study, Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry
  • 2017
    Observations of red-giant variable stars by Aboriginal Australians, The Australian Journal of Anthropolgy
  • 2017
    Environment and Landscape, SAS Encyclopaedia of Archaeological Sciences, edited by Heather Blasco.
  • 2016
    Reconstructing the Star Knowledge of Aboriginal Tasmanians, Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage, Vol. 19(3), pp. 327–347.
  • 2016
    Aboriginal Astronomical traditions from Ooldea, South Australia, Part 2: Animals in the Ooldean Sky, Journal of Astronomical History & Heritage, Vol. 19(1), pp. 61-78
  • 2016
    “Dancing with the stars”: astronomy and music in the Torres Strait, Proceedings of INSAP IX, edited by K. White. Lampeter, UK: Sophia Centre Press.
  • 2015
    Identifying seasonal stars in Kaurna astronomical traditions., Journal of Astronomical History & Heritage, Vol. 18(1), pp. 39-52.
  • 2014
    Are supernovae recorded in Indigenous astronomical traditions?, Journal of Astronomical History & Heritage, Vol. 7(2), pp. 161-170.
  • 2014
    Meteors in the Maori astronomical traditions of New Zealand, WGN - Journal of the International Meteor Organization, Vol. 42(1), pp. 31-34.
  • 2014
    Using Modern Technologies to Capture and Share Indigenous Astronomical Knowledge., Australian Academic & Research Libraries, Vol. 45(2), pp. 101-110
  • 2014
    Dreamtime Astronomy: development of a new Indigenous program at Sydney Observatory., Journal of Astronomical History & Heritage, Vol. 17(2), pp. 195-204.
  • 2014
    Geomythology and cosmic impacts in Australia., West Australian Geologist, Vol. 505, pp. 11-14.
  • 2014
    Aboriginal Astronomical traditions from Ooldea, South Australia, Part 1: Nyeeruna and the Orion Story, Journal of Astronomical History & Heritage, Vol. 17(2), pp. 180-194.
  • 2014
    Comet and meteorite traditions of Aboriginal Australians, Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures, 3rd Edition, edited by Helaine Selin. Springer-Netherlands, pp. 1-4.
  • 2014
    Australian Aboriginal astronomy: an overview., Handbook of Archaeoastronomy and Ethnoastronomy, Vol. III, edited by Clive Ruggles. Springer-Verlag, pp. 2215-2223.
  • 2013
    Aurorae in Australian Aboriginal traditions., Journal of Astronomical History & Heritage, Vol. 16(2), 207-219.
  • 2013
    Aboriginal oral traditions of Australian impact craters., Journal of Astronomical History & Heritage, Vol. 16(3), pp. 295-311.
  • 2013
    The discovery and history of the Dalgaranga meteorite crater, Western Australia., Australian Journal of Earth Sciences, Vol. 60(5), pp. 637-646.
  • 2013
    Wurdi Youang: an Australian Aboriginal stone arrangement with possible solar indications., Rock Art Research, Vol. 30(1), pp. 55-65.
  • 2013
    Recorded accounts of meteoritic events in the oral traditions of Indigenous Australians., Archaeoastronomy, Vol. 25, pp. 99-111.
  • 2013
    Astronomical orientations of Bora ceremonial grounds in Southeast Australia., Australian Archaeology, No. 77, pp. 30-37.
  • 2012
    Orientations of linear stone arrangements in New South Wales., Australian Archaeology, No. 75, 46-54.
  • 2012
    Rock art at the ‘Mini-Yengo’ site near Kulnura, New South Wales., Rock Art Research, Vol. 29(2), pp. 23-25.
  • 2011
    "Bridging the gap" through Australian cultural astronomy., Archaeoastronomy & Ethnoastronomy: building bridges between cultures, edited by Clive Ruggles. Cambridge University Press, pp. 282-290.
  • 2011
    Astronomical symbolism in Australian Aboriginal rock art., Rock Art Research, Vol. 28(1), pp. 99-106.
  • 2011
    Meteoritics and cosmology among the Aboriginal cultures of Central Australia., Journal of Cosmology, Vol. 13, pp. 3743-3753.
  • 2011
    Eclipses in Australian Aboriginal Astronomy., Journal of Astronomical History & Heritage, Vol. 14(2), pp. 103-114.
  • 2011
    Comets in Australian Aboriginal astronomy. , Journal of Astronomical History & Heritage, Vol. 14(1), 31-40
  • 2011
    An impact crater in Palm Valley, Central Australia?, Australian Space Sciences Conference Series, Vol. 11. Edited by Wayne Short & Iver Cairns, National Space Society of Australia, pp. 129-140.
  • 2010
    An Aboriginal Australian record of the Great Eruption of Eta Carinae, Journal of Astronomical History & Heritage, Vol. 13(3), pp. 220-234.
  • 2010
    Meteors in Australian Aboriginal Dreamings., WGN - Journal of the International Meteor Organization, Vol. 38(3), pp. 87-98.
  • 2009
    Australian Aboriginal geomythology: eyewitness accounts of cosmic impacts?, Archaeoastronomy, Vol. 22, pp. 60-93.
  • 2009
    The astronomy of Aboriginal Australia., The Role of Astronomy in Society and Culture, edited by D. Valls-Gabaud & A. Boksenberg. Cambridge University Press, pp. 39-47.
  • 2008
    The University of New South Wales Extrasolar Planet Search: a catalogue of variable stars from fields observed 2004-2007., Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 385(4), pp. 1749-1763.
  • 2007
    The first high-amplitude delta-scuti star in an eclipsing binary system., Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 382(1), pp. 239-244.

Grants and Contracts

  • 2014
    Discovery Early Career Researcher Award
    Role:
    CI (sole)
    Funding Source:
    Australian Research Council

Professional Memberships

  • International Society for Archaeoastronomy and Astronomy in Culture (Council)
  • Australian Anthropological Society (Fellow)
  • Astronomical Society of Australia
  • Australian Rock Art Research Association
  • International Astronomical Union

Research Areas

  • Social And Cultural Anthropology (160104)
  • Studies Of Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander Society (169902)
  • Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander Archaeology (210101)
  • Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander History (210301)
  • History And Philosophy Of Science (Incl. Non Historical Philosophy Of Science) (220206)
  • Astronomical And Space Sciences Not Elsewhere Classified (020199)
  • Other Studies In Human Society (1699)