Lifting the Veil on Cold Planets in the Inner Galaxy. The project aims to explore a unique aspect of exoplanet detection: searches for cold planets of Earth mass and larger in the densest stellar fields of the inner Milky Way. Infrared cameras will be used to detect small planets in this extreme galactic environment. The proposed project will open a new era of infrared microlensing observations from the ground and supply critical data in preparation for the next generation of microlensing from s ....Lifting the Veil on Cold Planets in the Inner Galaxy. The project aims to explore a unique aspect of exoplanet detection: searches for cold planets of Earth mass and larger in the densest stellar fields of the inner Milky Way. Infrared cameras will be used to detect small planets in this extreme galactic environment. The proposed project will open a new era of infrared microlensing observations from the ground and supply critical data in preparation for the next generation of microlensing from space. This work directly links to the Nancy Grace Roman Telescope (2026 launch) Galactic Exoplanet Survey. Expected outcomes are a greatly improved understanding of planet formation down to terrestrial-mass planets, and improved techniques for cold planet detection with gravitational microlensing. Read moreRead less
Australian Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: FL220100117
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,497,216.00
Summary
How Old Are The Stars? Looking Inside Stars with Asteroseismology. Stars are the building blocks of the Universe. Understanding their structure and evolution underpins much of modern astrophysics, from characterising the growing number of extra-solar planets to unravelling the history of our Milky Way Galaxy. This research program will use the technique of asteroseismology, the study of starquakes, to probe the interiors of stars in extraordinary detail and measure their ages with unprecedented ....How Old Are The Stars? Looking Inside Stars with Asteroseismology. Stars are the building blocks of the Universe. Understanding their structure and evolution underpins much of modern astrophysics, from characterising the growing number of extra-solar planets to unravelling the history of our Milky Way Galaxy. This research program will use the technique of asteroseismology, the study of starquakes, to probe the interiors of stars in extraordinary detail and measure their ages with unprecedented precision. Having accurate ages for large numbers of stars will help us understand how the Milky Way galaxy formed and developed. We will generate a deep understanding of the processes that occur inside stars, mentor a new generation of researchers and establish Australia as a world leader in stellar astrophysics.Read moreRead less
The Dark-side of the Milky Way. Astronomers have long sought to determine the 3-dimensional structure of our Galaxy, the Milky Way, with limited success owing to its immense size and obscuration by dust at optical wavelengths. We know more about structure of tens of thousands of other galaxies than we do about the structure of the Milky Way on the far-side of the Galactic Centre. This program will use Australian infrastructure to make the most accurate distance measurements to date of the far-si ....The Dark-side of the Milky Way. Astronomers have long sought to determine the 3-dimensional structure of our Galaxy, the Milky Way, with limited success owing to its immense size and obscuration by dust at optical wavelengths. We know more about structure of tens of thousands of other galaxies than we do about the structure of the Milky Way on the far-side of the Galactic Centre. This program will use Australian infrastructure to make the most accurate distance measurements to date of the far-side of the Milky Way visible from the Southern hemisphere, completing the 3-dimensional picture of our Galaxy. These results will be leveraged to yield accurate distances, providing fundamental information on the stellar masses, luminosities, and ages.Read moreRead less
New Dimensions in Radio Astronomy: Mining Sparse Datasets with the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder. Radio astronomy is entering a new era, driven by technological advances that make rapid surveys of the sky possible. As leaders of three major surveys for the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) telescope, we will explore three new dimensions of astronomy: searching for transient sources, detecting faint galaxies and investigating cosmic magnetism. The project will pu ....New Dimensions in Radio Astronomy: Mining Sparse Datasets with the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder. Radio astronomy is entering a new era, driven by technological advances that make rapid surveys of the sky possible. As leaders of three major surveys for the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) telescope, we will explore three new dimensions of astronomy: searching for transient sources, detecting faint galaxies and investigating cosmic magnetism. The project will put Australian astronomers at the forefront of international research. In addition to novel scientific results we will produce data resources and software that will be critical for future Square Kilometre Array projects. These will be available online to amateur astronomers and the general public. We will train the next generation of astronomers with the skills required to make breakthrough discoveries.Read moreRead less
Caught in the act by PAndAS: An unparalleled view of galaxy evolution. How do galaxies, like our own Milky Way, form? Using a new survey of the nearby cosmos, we will search for the signatures of galactic cannibalism, the disrupted bodies of smaller galaxies, and use this archaeology to piece together the formation history. We will also reveal the presence of local dark matter, whose action has shaped our own galaxy's formation.
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
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
Australian Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: FL100100114
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,784,765.00
Summary
A Survey of the Universe's Magnetism. This project will significantly advance our understanding of the structure and evolution of the Universe and will maintain our nation's outstanding track record of astronomical discovery by delivering ground-breaking world-class scientific discoveries, produced by Australian astronomers using an Australian telescope. The project will help demonstrate the viability of the technology that Australia is advocating for the design of the Square Kilometre Array by ....A Survey of the Universe's Magnetism. This project will significantly advance our understanding of the structure and evolution of the Universe and will maintain our nation's outstanding track record of astronomical discovery by delivering ground-breaking world-class scientific discoveries, produced by Australian astronomers using an Australian telescope. The project will help demonstrate the viability of the technology that Australia is advocating for the design of the Square Kilometre Array by carrying out innovative experiments with powerful new instrumentation. Finally, the project will provide new capacity for research and innovation by training the next generation of scientists and by providing them with unique skills and expertise.Read moreRead less