Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE140100013
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$300,000.00
Summary
A sensitive tip-tilt wave-front sensor for the multi-conjugate adaptive-optics system on the Gemini south telescope. A sensitive tip-tilt wavefront sensor for the multi-conjugate adaptive-optics system on the Gemini South telescope: This project will construct a sensitive tip-tilt wavefront sensor for GeMS, the multi-conjugate adaptive-optics system on the Gemini South telescope in Chile. GeMS is a unique and revolutionary new system that delivers near-infrared images at similar resolution to th ....A sensitive tip-tilt wave-front sensor for the multi-conjugate adaptive-optics system on the Gemini south telescope. A sensitive tip-tilt wavefront sensor for the multi-conjugate adaptive-optics system on the Gemini South telescope: This project will construct a sensitive tip-tilt wavefront sensor for GeMS, the multi-conjugate adaptive-optics system on the Gemini South telescope in Chile. GeMS is a unique and revolutionary new system that delivers near-infrared images at similar resolution to the Hubble Space Telescope at optical wavelengths over wide fields. With this improvement in technology it will be possible to do this on much fainter objects than is currently possible using this new wave-front sensor. This will allow GeMS to routinely study the morphologies of external galaxies at high angular resolution - greatly extending its science scope. Sharper images will also be obtained for all objects that are currently accessible, leading to higher quality science data.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE200100201
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$530,000.00
Summary
A major upgrade to the Australia Telescope Compact Array. This project aims to upgrade the $150m CSIRO Australia Telescope Compact Array ("the telescope"), by replacing the signal processing electronics and doubling the bandwidth. This will significantly enhance the performance of the telescope, enabling more ambitious science by the 450 researchers and students who use it each year. For example, it will enable the telescope to study radio counterparts to Gravitational Wave sources, and it will ....A major upgrade to the Australia Telescope Compact Array. This project aims to upgrade the $150m CSIRO Australia Telescope Compact Array ("the telescope"), by replacing the signal processing electronics and doubling the bandwidth. This will significantly enhance the performance of the telescope, enabling more ambitious science by the 450 researchers and students who use it each year. For example, it will enable the telescope to study radio counterparts to Gravitational Wave sources, and it will enable it to make detailed observations of initial discoveries made with the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder and other Australian telescopes. In short, it will enable Australian researchers to do more ambitious research, and make more discoveries, across broad areas of astrophysics.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE200100096
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,150,000.00
Summary
A next-generation receiver for Radio Astronomy. This project will provide a next-generation radio astronomy receiver to be used on the Parkes radio telescope. This facility will provide a major increase in performance, particularly in sensitivity and survey speed. The science goals are to better understand the ionized and neutral components of the cosmic web, and their evolution, through observations of Fast Radio Bursts and neutral hydrogen. Advances in the understanding of pulsars, molecules, ....A next-generation receiver for Radio Astronomy. This project will provide a next-generation radio astronomy receiver to be used on the Parkes radio telescope. This facility will provide a major increase in performance, particularly in sensitivity and survey speed. The science goals are to better understand the ionized and neutral components of the cosmic web, and their evolution, through observations of Fast Radio Bursts and neutral hydrogen. Advances in the understanding of pulsars, molecules, radio galaxies and cosmic rays will also be achieved with this facility. The technology is based on cryogenic cooling of a large phased array feed. This receiver is a major advance over existing receivers on the Parkes and Australian SKA Pathfinder (ASKAP) telescopes.Read moreRead less
Noise-free Cryogenic Wavefront Sensing. This project aims to optimise the prototype adaptive optics technology for the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) by leveraging past investment in adaptive optics instrumentation and shortwave infrared detector systems. This project expects to generate significant improvements in GMT performance, with ten times greater image resolution than the Hubble Space Telescope and current estimates of >90% sky coverage, compared with ~50% coverage for current technology ....Noise-free Cryogenic Wavefront Sensing. This project aims to optimise the prototype adaptive optics technology for the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) by leveraging past investment in adaptive optics instrumentation and shortwave infrared detector systems. This project expects to generate significant improvements in GMT performance, with ten times greater image resolution than the Hubble Space Telescope and current estimates of >90% sky coverage, compared with ~50% coverage for current technology. Expected outcomes of this project include the development of a highly trained workforce and continued international collaboration in the field of high-technology sensor systems. This contribution to the GMT will provide significant benefits—it will change the way we view the Universe.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE150100087
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$760,000.00
Summary
Veloce - Australia's Next-Generation Planet Foundry. Veloce - Australia's next-generation planet foundry: This project will deliver to Australian astronomers a high-resolution, ultra-stabilised, red-wavelength-optimised spectrograph capable of delivering high-precision doppler velocities for the transiting exoplanet host-stars being discovered now by southern hemisphere transit-planet searches, and for the coming wave of discoveries to be made by NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TES ....Veloce - Australia's Next-Generation Planet Foundry. Veloce - Australia's next-generation planet foundry: This project will deliver to Australian astronomers a high-resolution, ultra-stabilised, red-wavelength-optimised spectrograph capable of delivering high-precision doppler velocities for the transiting exoplanet host-stars being discovered now by southern hemisphere transit-planet searches, and for the coming wave of discoveries to be made by NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). In addition it will enable a vast suite of new research programs in exoplanetary science and galactic archaeology, as well as providing a sound base of ultra-stable infrastructure enabling future expansion to cover the full optical wavelength range at minimal cost.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
Large-scale maps of the universe: Enabling wide-field science with the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder and the Square Kilometre Array. Observational capabilities in astronomy continue to make great advances across the electromagnetic spectrum. The first truly global facility for radio astronomy will be the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), an international $2.5 billion project scheduled for deployment between 2015 and 2020, for which the proposed Australian site has been short-listed. T ....Large-scale maps of the universe: Enabling wide-field science with the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder and the Square Kilometre Array. Observational capabilities in astronomy continue to make great advances across the electromagnetic spectrum. The first truly global facility for radio astronomy will be the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), an international $2.5 billion project scheduled for deployment between 2015 and 2020, for which the proposed Australian site has been short-listed. The Australian SKA Pathfinder (ASKAP) is a next generation radio telescope that is on the strategic pathway towards the staged development and deployment of the SKA. By refining the ASKAP technology and enabling its scientific success we address the national strategic goal of ensuring Australia's technological and scientific readiness for the SKA.Read moreRead less
Peering through the Dark Ages with the Murchison Widefield Array. There is one large gap in our understanding of the early evolution of the universe, namely, when did the first sources of light appear? Resolution of this puzzle requires new observational and technical strategies, both in terms of telescopes and the analysis of observations. The Murchison Widefield Array, a major new radio telescope in Western Australia, is an international initiative under construction to tackle the problem. Thi ....Peering through the Dark Ages with the Murchison Widefield Array. There is one large gap in our understanding of the early evolution of the universe, namely, when did the first sources of light appear? Resolution of this puzzle requires new observational and technical strategies, both in terms of telescopes and the analysis of observations. The Murchison Widefield Array, a major new radio telescope in Western Australia, is an international initiative under construction to tackle the problem. This program will provide a significant Australian contribution at the forefront of modern cosmology.Read moreRead less