New frontiers for Australian exoplanetary science. There can be few questions more fundamental for a scientist's research to address than 'Is our home here on Earth unique? Or ubiquitous?' This project will undertake world-leading observations using revolutionary new Australian facilities, to enable breakthrough results that bear on this question.
The morphological evolution of galaxies over cosmic time. Present-day galaxies look either red and round or blue and disc-like; this project will study galaxies that existed when the universe was one quarter its present age to understand how these different structures came about. To do this, the project will use a new high resolution near-infrared camera built at The Australian National University.
The Science of Exoplanets - Finding & Understanding our Planetary Neighbours. There can be few questions more fundamental to humanity, and more capable of engaging young Australians in science and technology, than to ask "Are we alone in the Universe?". The discovery of planetary systems orbiting other stars now enables us to realistically address this fundamental question in the years ahead. A critical component of this global endeavour will be determining 'How common are Earth-like planets orb ....The Science of Exoplanets - Finding & Understanding our Planetary Neighbours. There can be few questions more fundamental to humanity, and more capable of engaging young Australians in science and technology, than to ask "Are we alone in the Universe?". The discovery of planetary systems orbiting other stars now enables us to realistically address this fundamental question in the years ahead. A critical component of this global endeavour will be determining 'How common are Earth-like planets orbiting nearby stars?'. This project will establish the nation's leading research group in this field and employ the world's leading astronomical facilities to place Australia at the forefront of the international race to answer these fundamental questions. Read moreRead less
Ultra-faint signatures of galaxy growth seen through the cosmic haze. This project aims to uncover the cosmic cannibalism of galaxy mergers, by using innovative new instrumentation to detect some of the faintest structures ever seen by astronomers. The project will provide a comprehensive measurement of the mass growth experienced by large galaxies consuming their smaller siblings, which will provide a critical test of our understanding of dark matter. The project will also conduct ultra-high-se ....Ultra-faint signatures of galaxy growth seen through the cosmic haze. This project aims to uncover the cosmic cannibalism of galaxy mergers, by using innovative new instrumentation to detect some of the faintest structures ever seen by astronomers. The project will provide a comprehensive measurement of the mass growth experienced by large galaxies consuming their smaller siblings, which will provide a critical test of our understanding of dark matter. The project will also conduct ultra-high-sensitivity measurements of the foreground haze from nearby interstellar clouds, a crucial step towards mitigating its impact on billion-dollar projects such as the Euclid space telescope. The statistics of spatial structures in these clouds will help us to understand how new stars are born in our own Milky Way.Read moreRead less
New Pulsar Instrumentation for Gravitation Wave Detection and Understanding the Emission Mechanism. Millisecond pulsar timing currently provides the most sensitive method of detecting long-period gravitational waves which permeate the Universe. Parkes leads the world in the discovery and timing of millisecond pulsars. This has motivated the development of three new advanced instruments including a cyrogenic dual-band receiver, a very wide-band correlator and a baseband recorder with an in-built ....New Pulsar Instrumentation for Gravitation Wave Detection and Understanding the Emission Mechanism. Millisecond pulsar timing currently provides the most sensitive method of detecting long-period gravitational waves which permeate the Universe. Parkes leads the world in the discovery and timing of millisecond pulsars. This has motivated the development of three new advanced instruments including a cyrogenic dual-band receiver, a very wide-band correlator and a baseband recorder with an in-built supercomputer. We aim to exploit these new technologies to systematically study the pulsar population. We will establish a timing array which can detect gravitational waves, enable GLAST to identify over 100 gamma-ray pulsars and study the pulsar emission mechanism at sub-microsecond time resolution.
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The birth of massive stars. Australia has an international reputation for the quality of its astronomy. This in turn stimulates public interest in science, and helps drive the development of technologies needed to pursue it. Over the past decade our nation has invested in the technology for millimetre-wave astronomy, building competitive instrumentation and the first interferometer in our hemisphere. We aim to capitalise on this investment, leveraging it to access frontline facilities in Chile b ....The birth of massive stars. Australia has an international reputation for the quality of its astronomy. This in turn stimulates public interest in science, and helps drive the development of technologies needed to pursue it. Over the past decade our nation has invested in the technology for millimetre-wave astronomy, building competitive instrumentation and the first interferometer in our hemisphere. We aim to capitalise on this investment, leveraging it to access frontline facilities in Chile being built by our international partners. In doing so, we will expose our students to the leading-edge and help nurture a vigorous radio science community, one able to actively participate in the billion-dollar international ALMA radio-telescope, due for completion in 2012.Read moreRead less
Advancing and applying stellar nucleosynthesis: using stars to probe galaxies. The project will determine how the lives of stars produce the elements that make up our world, and use this knowledge to look into how our galaxy formed. The project will use the latest results from super-computer studies as well as new instruments being built for Australia's largest optical telescope.
Mapping the nearest habitable planetary systems with FunnelWeb and Veloce. This project aims to address questions of whether Earth is a uniquely habitable environment in the Universe. Within just a few years, we will discover the best planets to target in humanity's search for life outside our Solar System. Likely to be found orbiting low-mass M-dwarf stars, these planets will be the focus of bio-signature space missions for decades. Understanding how common these habitable M-dwarf planets are r ....Mapping the nearest habitable planetary systems with FunnelWeb and Veloce. This project aims to address questions of whether Earth is a uniquely habitable environment in the Universe. Within just a few years, we will discover the best planets to target in humanity's search for life outside our Solar System. Likely to be found orbiting low-mass M-dwarf stars, these planets will be the focus of bio-signature space missions for decades. Understanding how common these habitable M-dwarf planets are requires a comprehensive model for how the whole population of M-dwarf planets formed and evolved. This project will use new Australian facilities, FunnelWeb and Veloce, to map that broader landscape for M-dwarfs and their planets, and so deliver the critical context needed to interpret the coming wave of habitable planet discoveries.Read moreRead less
The physics of planetary creation with the James Webb Space Telescope. This project aims to investigate the physics of solar system assembly. Understanding the origins of the Earth and our Solar System is one of the challenges for contemporary astronomy. By understanding the diverse chemistry and physical conditions on exoplanets, the project aims to directly address the question of if and where life is harbored around distant stars. This project will participate in the 2018 launch of the James ....The physics of planetary creation with the James Webb Space Telescope. This project aims to investigate the physics of solar system assembly. Understanding the origins of the Earth and our Solar System is one of the challenges for contemporary astronomy. By understanding the diverse chemistry and physical conditions on exoplanets, the project aims to directly address the question of if and where life is harbored around distant stars. This project will participate in the 2018 launch of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), which will carry an Australian-designed interferometer.Read moreRead less
Exploring the smallest exoplanets in the southern hemisphere with Veloce. This project aims to determine how common rocky terrestrial planets are amongst the stars near our Sun, and to discover potentially habitable planets which will be prime targets for space-based searches for biological signatures for decades to come. It will engage with NASA's next-generation planet discovery mission (TESS) which launches in 2017, and use Australian investments in astronomical infrastructure (the Veloce fac ....Exploring the smallest exoplanets in the southern hemisphere with Veloce. This project aims to determine how common rocky terrestrial planets are amongst the stars near our Sun, and to discover potentially habitable planets which will be prime targets for space-based searches for biological signatures for decades to come. It will engage with NASA's next-generation planet discovery mission (TESS) which launches in 2017, and use Australian investments in astronomical infrastructure (the Veloce facility) to measure the masses and densities of planets that TESS discovers. The project will answer fundamental and existential questions for humanity – "Is our Earth a uniquely habitable environment in the Universe? Are we alone?"Read moreRead less