Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE130100198
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$315,000.00
Summary
The SAMI facility: a revolutionary multi-object hexabundle spectrograph. SAMI is a new Australian instrument concept that uses fibre bundles to obtain detailed spectroscopic data at many positions across the face of numerous galaxies at a time. Now that the technology has been shown to work, with spectacular results, the project aims to turn this concept into a general-user facility at the Anglo-Australian Telescope.
High-cadence near-infrared imaging. This project aims to deploy a cryogenic camera system to improve the outputs of astronomical telescopes. The system is equipped with an emerging detector technology, a near-infrared Avalanche Photo-Diode array, capable of high cadence imaging with frame rates of 10 - 1,000 Hz at a wavelength of around 2.2 microns. This new technology is a key component to the future of adaptive optics systems for astronomical telescopes as it allows the rapid measurements nece ....High-cadence near-infrared imaging. This project aims to deploy a cryogenic camera system to improve the outputs of astronomical telescopes. The system is equipped with an emerging detector technology, a near-infrared Avalanche Photo-Diode array, capable of high cadence imaging with frame rates of 10 - 1,000 Hz at a wavelength of around 2.2 microns. This new technology is a key component to the future of adaptive optics systems for astronomical telescopes as it allows the rapid measurements necessary to correct the image blurring introduced by the Earth's atmosphere. No expertise currently exists in Australia with this new technology. Capitalising on previous investment, the camera system is intended to fill a capability gap in local expertise and to ensure the potential of the next generation of telescopes is realised and strengthen our competitive edge for frontier instrumentation across the wider Australian imaging community.Read moreRead less
The evolution of mass and energy over the past 13 billion years. The universe has slowly transformed atomic material into a range of structures from planets, stars, galaxies, clusters and filaments. In the process the universe has generated energy at almost all wavelengths. This project will build a model to explain the evolution of mass, energy and structure in the universe and will test the model using the latest data.
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE150100055
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$560,000.00
Summary
The Australian European Southern Observatory Positioner (AESOP). The Australian European Southern Observatory Positioner (AESOP): The aim of the Australian European Southern Observatory Positioner (AESOP) is to fund the construction costs of an innovative instrument to be built in Australia and installed onto the European Southern Observatory's (ESO) VISTA telescope. Australia leads the world in fibre-positioning instrumentation and their scientific exploitation. This project will allow Australi ....The Australian European Southern Observatory Positioner (AESOP). The Australian European Southern Observatory Positioner (AESOP): The aim of the Australian European Southern Observatory Positioner (AESOP) is to fund the construction costs of an innovative instrument to be built in Australia and installed onto the European Southern Observatory's (ESO) VISTA telescope. Australia leads the world in fibre-positioning instrumentation and their scientific exploitation. This project will allow Australian researchers to take a leading role through major studies of the spatial distributions of galaxies. The outcomes of the project will be construction and delivery of an optical fibre-positioning system to the ESO, resulting in general access to the ESO's premier survey facility for eight Australian researchers.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE160100145
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$430,000.00
Summary
Australian membership of the European 4MOST Consortium. Australian membership of the European 4MOST consortium:
The objective of this project is to build the positioner at the Australian Astronomical Observatory to enable participation in the upcoming programs of the European Southern Observatory (ESO). The 4MOST Consortium is modifying one of the ESO telescopes for a 10-year campaign of dedicated wide-field astronomy programs. A key component of this upgrade will be the Australian built fibre- ....Australian membership of the European 4MOST Consortium. Australian membership of the European 4MOST consortium:
The objective of this project is to build the positioner at the Australian Astronomical Observatory to enable participation in the upcoming programs of the European Southern Observatory (ESO). The 4MOST Consortium is modifying one of the ESO telescopes for a 10-year campaign of dedicated wide-field astronomy programs. A key component of this upgrade will be the Australian built fibre-positioning system. In exchange for covering the labour costs associated with this instrument, Australian astronomers are being provided with the opportunity to lead one of the eight design reference missions and to participate in the other seven. The potential benefits are therefore two-fold: showcasing Australian technologies, and a leadership role for Australian scientists on one of ESO’s key facilities.Read moreRead less
The Great Escape: The Gaseous Outflow from the Centre of the Milky Way. This project aims to increase our understanding of the workings of the central regions of galaxies. The nuclei of galaxies are galactic-scale powerhouses driven by fast-moving winds launched by either the active bursts of star formation in the galaxy’s core or the accretion of gas onto a central black hole more than a million times the mass of the Sun. In 2010, the Fermi space telescope discovered enormous bubbles filled wit ....The Great Escape: The Gaseous Outflow from the Centre of the Milky Way. This project aims to increase our understanding of the workings of the central regions of galaxies. The nuclei of galaxies are galactic-scale powerhouses driven by fast-moving winds launched by either the active bursts of star formation in the galaxy’s core or the accretion of gas onto a central black hole more than a million times the mass of the Sun. In 2010, the Fermi space telescope discovered enormous bubbles filled with hot gas emanating from the centre of the Milky Way, proof of a Galactic wind. Our Galaxy's wind offers the best laboratory in the universe for understanding what drives the powerhouses at the nuclei of normal galaxies. This project aims to determine whether the Milky Way’s nuclear wind and the Fermi bubbles were formed from a starburst wind or gas accretion onto the central black hole.Read moreRead less
The Galaxy Genome Project 2. The Galaxy Genome Project builds on the Anglo-Australian Observatory's (AAO) major investments and world-leading strengths in wide-field survey astronomy and multi-object spectrographs. Combining the AAO's ongoing and planned survey programs with data from other new Australian facilities, such as SkyMapper and Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder, will increase the scientific productivity and impact of all of these major Australian investments and leverage ac ....The Galaxy Genome Project 2. The Galaxy Genome Project builds on the Anglo-Australian Observatory's (AAO) major investments and world-leading strengths in wide-field survey astronomy and multi-object spectrographs. Combining the AAO's ongoing and planned survey programs with data from other new Australian facilities, such as SkyMapper and Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder, will increase the scientific productivity and impact of all of these major Australian investments and leverage access for Australian researchers in other leading international astronomical surveys and facilities. The project will also increase the international profile of Australian astronomy and enhance the prospects of Australian scientific and technical involvement in next-generation astronomical facilities such as Square Kilometre Array and Giant Magellan Telescope.Read moreRead less
The Galaxy Genome Project 1. The Galaxy Genome Project builds on the Anglo-Australian Observatory's (AAO) major investments and world-leading strengths in wide-field survey astronomy and multi-object spectrographs. Combining the AAO's ongoing and planned survey programs with data from other new Australian facilities, such as SkyMapper and Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder, this project will increase the scientific productivity and impact of all of these major Australian investments an ....The Galaxy Genome Project 1. The Galaxy Genome Project builds on the Anglo-Australian Observatory's (AAO) major investments and world-leading strengths in wide-field survey astronomy and multi-object spectrographs. Combining the AAO's ongoing and planned survey programs with data from other new Australian facilities, such as SkyMapper and Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder, this project will increase the scientific productivity and impact of all of these major Australian investments and leverage access for Australian researchers in other leading international astronomical surveys and facilities. The project will also increase the international profile of Australian astronomy and enhance the prospects of Australian scientific and technical involvement in next-generation astronomical facilities such as Square Kilometre Array and Giant Magellan Telescope.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE150100070
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$270,000.00
Summary
The Cherenkov Telescope Array. The Cherenkov Telescope Array: The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) is a major advance in very high energy gamma-ray astronomy. It will be ten times more sensitive than current instruments and will transform many topics in high energy astrophysics concerning extreme particle acceleration, and in astro-particle physics such as dark matter. Over 1000 scientists from over 25 countries are involved and prototype telescopes are under construction. This project will enabl ....The Cherenkov Telescope Array. The Cherenkov Telescope Array: The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) is a major advance in very high energy gamma-ray astronomy. It will be ten times more sensitive than current instruments and will transform many topics in high energy astrophysics concerning extreme particle acceleration, and in astro-particle physics such as dark matter. Over 1000 scientists from over 25 countries are involved and prototype telescopes are under construction. This project will enable a hardware contribution to the pre-production array of telescopes, bringing with it full membership, plus access to all data and core science programmes of CTA. Australian astronomers can then influence astrophysics goals of CTA, and add new scientific value to Australia's radio astronomical facilities.Read moreRead less
Disentangling the origin and evolution of the tangled magellanic stream. This project aims to reveal the process of gaseous accretion in interacting galaxies by elucidating the origin and evolution of the Magellanic Stream. The Magellanic Stream is an enormous tail of hydrogen gas extending from the Magellanic Clouds almost fully around the Milky Way. Through unravelling the Magellanic Stream and revealing how it will impact the Milky Way, this project will help understand how galaxies receive n ....Disentangling the origin and evolution of the tangled magellanic stream. This project aims to reveal the process of gaseous accretion in interacting galaxies by elucidating the origin and evolution of the Magellanic Stream. The Magellanic Stream is an enormous tail of hydrogen gas extending from the Magellanic Clouds almost fully around the Milky Way. Through unravelling the Magellanic Stream and revealing how it will impact the Milky Way, this project will help understand how galaxies receive new gas to continue their star formation and very existence. The project will use the newly constructed Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder to shed light on the question of how galaxies evolve, one of the highest priority questions in Australian Astrophysics as defined by the Australian Astronomy Decadal Plan.Read moreRead less