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
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
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 High Time Resolution Radio Universe. The radio sky is blanketed by charged particles in the interstellar medium that smear impulsive emissions. By constructing a new digital electronic device for the giant Parkes radio telescope we will be able to divide the radio sky up into many thousands of radio "channels", which when searched on a supercomputer, will enable us to peer into the heart of our Galaxy in search of short bursts of emission. This will be the first large-scale search of the Uni ....The High Time Resolution Radio Universe. The radio sky is blanketed by charged particles in the interstellar medium that smear impulsive emissions. By constructing a new digital electronic device for the giant Parkes radio telescope we will be able to divide the radio sky up into many thousands of radio "channels", which when searched on a supercomputer, will enable us to peer into the heart of our Galaxy in search of short bursts of emission. This will be the first large-scale search of the Universe for short bursts of radio emission. The project will pioneer real-time processing of data on a remote supercomputer via a dedicated fibre link. Read moreRead less
The Commonwealth Cosmology Initiative: From the First Objects to the Cosmic Web. The Commonwealth Cosmology Initiative (CCI) is an exciting development for Australian astronomy's gifted young High Performance Computational (HPC) Astrophysics community. The CCI links the efforts of Australia's next-generation of HPC and theoretical cosmologists with those of the leading scientists in the world. The CCI will provide unparalleled opportunities to Australia's postgraduate and Early Career Research ....The Commonwealth Cosmology Initiative: From the First Objects to the Cosmic Web. The Commonwealth Cosmology Initiative (CCI) is an exciting development for Australian astronomy's gifted young High Performance Computational (HPC) Astrophysics community. The CCI links the efforts of Australia's next-generation of HPC and theoretical cosmologists with those of the leading scientists in the world. The CCI will provide unparalleled opportunities to Australia's postgraduate and Early Career Researcher community to take part in a program of research designed to answer several of the fundamental mysteries of modern astronomy - the formation of galaxies, their relationship with Cosmic Web in which they are embedded, and the nature of dark matter.Read moreRead less
Galactic Archaeology: A Radial Velocity Experiment to Unveil the History of the Milky Way. The ambitious RAdial Velocity Experiment (RAVE) will measure velocities and chemical properties of 50 million stars in the period 2006-2010 - 2000 times the number measured throughout history. RAVE will use a new-technology Australian fiber spectrometer at the Siding Spring UK Schmidt Telescope. A key demonstrator for RAVE is our proposed pilot survey using existing instruments to measure 100,000 stars - a ....Galactic Archaeology: A Radial Velocity Experiment to Unveil the History of the Milky Way. The ambitious RAdial Velocity Experiment (RAVE) will measure velocities and chemical properties of 50 million stars in the period 2006-2010 - 2000 times the number measured throughout history. RAVE will use a new-technology Australian fiber spectrometer at the Siding Spring UK Schmidt Telescope. A key demonstrator for RAVE is our proposed pilot survey using existing instruments to measure 100,000 stars - already 20 times larger than any previous survey - providing unique chemical and kinematical fingerprints of our Galaxy's formation. This is critical for determining the optimum observing strategy, data management, and software pipeline, before embarking on the full survey in 2006.Read moreRead less
The Last 8 Billion Years of Cosmic Evolution. A key factor in Australia's international prominence in astronomy has been the development and use of innovative instrumentation on its telescopes to undertake major leading-edge surveys. This project will enhance this reputation by using the new AAOmega facility on the 3.9m Anglo-Australian Telescope to make the largest ever survey of galaxies in the distant universe. This will allow us to address the two most important issues in cosmology today - ....The Last 8 Billion Years of Cosmic Evolution. A key factor in Australia's international prominence in astronomy has been the development and use of innovative instrumentation on its telescopes to undertake major leading-edge surveys. This project will enhance this reputation by using the new AAOmega facility on the 3.9m Anglo-Australian Telescope to make the largest ever survey of galaxies in the distant universe. This will allow us to address the two most important issues in cosmology today - the nature of the "dark energy" that is causing the universe's expansion to accelerate, and the detailed role of dark matter in galaxy formation and evolution. Read moreRead less
The Intergalactic Medium: from cosmic dawn to the local web. The search for elements in the early Universe places Australian astronomers at the forefront of challenging observational work enabling us to address fundamental astrophysical questions.
Our preparation and research with the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) will secure Australia as a world leader in radio astronomy. Two PhD students will be trained as a part of this grant, their skills will be invaluable to the fut ....The Intergalactic Medium: from cosmic dawn to the local web. The search for elements in the early Universe places Australian astronomers at the forefront of challenging observational work enabling us to address fundamental astrophysical questions.
Our preparation and research with the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) will secure Australia as a world leader in radio astronomy. Two PhD students will be trained as a part of this grant, their skills will be invaluable to the future of Australian research, and will transfer directly to information and communications technology.
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