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An update from Australia's Astronomer-at-large
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Astronomy in Australia

Newsletter #21

May 2021

While hardly business as usual, the world of astronomy is for the most part surviving the exigencies of the COVID-19 pandemic. The science media are full of astronomy and space news, helping to satisfy a widespread appetite for good-news stories that inspire and lift spirits. Much of that comes from researchers who are able to continue working from home during the pandemic. But I’ve also been impressed with the way instrumentation for astronomy is being advanced. This is an area that demands up-close and personal engagement with hardware that doesn’t usually lend itself to being popped into a backpack to take home.
 
For example, the development of technology for the Square Kilometre Array is not only making progress, but is also making headlines. The phased array feeds (PAFs) developed by CSIRO to act as radio ‘image-sensors’ for the dishes of the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) at Murchison Radioastronomy Observatory in WA are being adapted to a new commercial use. PAFs transform radio telescopes into wide-angle instruments seeing 30 times more sky than they could before, and the same technology is now being harnessed to allow communications with many satellites simultaneously. That’s something of increasing importance in the era of giant satellite constellations.

The latest evolution of CSIRO's phased array technology will help Quasar's ground station service to communicate with hundreds of satellites simultaneously. (CSIRO)

CSIRO’s state-of-the-art technology is being commercialised in a start-up company called Quasar Satellite Technologies in a move that echoes the way CSIRO radio astronomy technology spawned the development of WiFi. Similar societal benefits are expected to follow.
 
A technology even closer to my heart is the optical astronomy equivalent of PAFs – multiple optical fibres to pick up the light from selected targets in a telescope’s field of view. That light can be sent to a spectrograph to reveal the individual bar-code details of all the targets. Back in the early 1980s, a handful of astronomers worldwide built experimental fibre-optic instruments that gave telescopes the capability to observe dozens of objects simultaneously rather than one at a time, promising to revolutionise the collection of data.
 
I was one of them, and soon discovered that the critical requirement was being able to position each fibre in alignment with its target object quickly, reliably, and with an accuracy of a hundredth of a millimetre or so. My first instrument of this kind used fingertips, glue and a microscope to achieve that, and with patience, you could position its 39 fibres to the required accuracy in about 6 hours. With no irony intended, it was named FLAIR – the Fibre-Linked Array Image Reformatter.

The AESOP fibre-positioner -- some of its fibre spines form the shape of the numeral 4
The AESOP fibre-positioner for the 4MOST project arranges its 2448 robotically controlled fibre spines to tell you which telescope it’s headed for – or should that be four? (F. Watson)
Fast forward to 2021, and today’s equivalent is almost mind-blowing in comparison. I was fortunate late last year to see the latest version of this technology being put through its paces at AAO-Macquarie before being sent to Germany for integration with its spectrograph. AESOP is the AAO ESO Positioner in a project called 4MOST – the 4-metre Multi-Object Spectroscopic Telescope – which uses ESO’s VISTA telescope at Paranal.
 
AESOP’s technology is based on individually steerable robotic spines, each of which carries an optical fibre along its hollow length. Unlike the one-fibre-at-a-time robotic positioning that most of its recent predecessors have employed, AESOP moves all its 2448 fibres simultaneously, taking less than a minute to reconfigure them to a new set of targets. The ability to observe stars and galaxies in such huge numbers will bring a completely new level to the amount of data that can be collected, continuing the revolution initiated 40 years ago with the advent of fibre optics.   
 
So – keep up the good work in these difficult times, all you instrumentation scientists and engineers, and congratulations on your achievements.
 
As always, this edition of the Astronomy Newsletter is brought to you with the help of many colleagues, and it’s a pleasure to acknowledge their generous support, particularly Jemma Payne, Andrew Stevenson and Bob Eccles of International Science and Astronomy Branch in DISER; Stuart Ryder of AAL and Chris Lidman of ANU – not to mention all the other contributors credited below. Many thanks everyone. 
 
Fred Watson
Astronomer-at-Large

 SKA news

Launch of the SKA Observatory

The SKA project started the year on a high with the official launch of the SKA Observatory on 4 February 2021. The Observatory was established by the SKA Convention and will coordinate the construction and operation of the telescopes.

To mark the occasion, the Hon Karen Andrews MP, then Minister for Industry, Science and Technology, made the following statement:

Australia is delighted to be a founding member of the SKA Observatory. The Observatory will be a world leader in radio astronomy discovery for decades to come, bringing with it new technologies, human capital development and inspiration for future generations.

Establishing the SKA Observatory is the culmination of many years of work, and Australia greatly values the strong partnerships forged with fellow member countries during this time.


Australia joined the United Kingdom, South Africa, Italy, the Netherlands, and Portugal as Observatory members. A further eight countries are expected to join in the near future.

The first meeting of the SKAO Council approved the construction proposal and delivery plan for the SKA. This opens the way for construction, projected to begin in early 2022. 

New Australian investment in SKA

During a visit to Western Australia on 14 April 2021, the Prime Minister, the Hon Scott Morrison MP, announced an investment of $387 million for the construction of the Square Kilometre Array telescope in Western Australia’s Murchison region. In putting the country at the cutting-edge of science and technology research, the investment will help astronomers learn more about the Universe while creating more than 350 jobs during the 10-year construction phase and a further 230 ongoing positions over the 50-year life of the project.

The commitment includes $64.4 million to establish a specialist super-computing centre, to be based in Perth, to process the unprecedented amounts of data that will be generated by the SKA. Speaking at the announcement, the Hon Christian Porter MP, Minister for Industry, Science and Technology, said that economic modelling indicates the project will attract an estimated $1.8 billion in foreign income as a result of the SKA’s first 30 years of operations.

SKAO telescope directors

As construction of the SKA telescopes approaches, the SKA Observatory has appointed its most senior operations representative for each host country.
 
Dr Sarah Pearce was appointed director of SKAO’s low-frequency telescope in Australia, while Dr Lindsay Magnus will be the director of SKA-Mid in South Africa.
 
“This is a unique and exciting opportunity to establish the SKA Observatory team in Australia and help deliver the world’s next generation radio telescopes,” Dr Pearce said.
 
This is fantastic news for the SKA and for Australian astronomy. Dr Pearce has a formidable track record on the SKA project, astronomy, science policy, Australian science, and big-science projects.
 
Currently Acting Chief Scientist at CSIRO, she was previously Deputy Director of CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science. In that role, Dr Pearce led CSIRO’s engagement in the SKA project and was Australia’s science representative on the negotiating team for the SKA Observatory Convention. She has received many awards and held many other roles in Australia and internationally.
 
The Australian SKA Office is delighted by this news and sends Dr Pearce our hearty congratulations.

SKAO’s new brand

On 28 April, the newly formed SKA Observatory unveiled its new brand, reiterating its mission to build and operate cutting-edge radio telescopes to transform our understanding of the Universe, and deliver benefits to society through global collaboration and innovation. The new brand comes with an exciting new logo, and its launch coincides with the official transition of the current entity (the SKA Organisation) from a limited company to an intergovernmental organisation on 1 May.

SKA procurement approaching

With construction approaching, opportunities are opening up for Australian businesses to supply into the SKA, either as contractors or subcontractors.

Australia has been allocated several work packages on the SKA, including construction packages. Australian companies will also be eligible to tender for certain other SKA work packages.

The SKAO Observatory will manage procurement associated with the project. An essential first step for all interested businesses will be to respond to the Market Surveys posted on the forthcoming SKAO web portal.

Hosting this mega-science project will provide fantastic opportunities for Australian companies to build capacity in advanced technology and expand their global exposure. Support, including an Industry Liaison Officer, will be available for businesses considering tendering or subcontractor opportunities on the SKA.

SKAO Virtual Science Conference

Held virtually across all time zones, the 2021 SKA Science Meeting achieved record-breaking attendance on 15-19 March.

This year’s conference focused on the findings of SKA precursor and pathfinder telescopes. As well as refining the technology for the SKA, these instruments are already making important astronomical discoveries.

International researchers presented work conducted with ASKAP, Murchison Widefield Array, and Aperture Array Verification System 2, all located at the Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory in Western Australia.

Rapid ASKAP Continuum Survey

The ASKAP telescope has completed the first large-area survey with all of its 36 dishes. Using novel technology, the Rapid ASKAP Continuum Survey (RACS) achieved unprecedented speeds, resolution and sensitivity.

The rapidity of the survey will allow for regular repeat surveys, follow-up observations, and more survey projects per instrument, essentially increasing telescope time.

Take a tour of the sky with the RACS virtual tour! https://www.atnf.csiro.au/research/RACS/RACStour/index.html

Prizes

Huge congratulations to the many SKA-linked researchers, teams and projects who have recently won prizes for their research! Here are some we’ve become aware of:
 

American Association for the Advancement of Science Newcomb Cleveland Prize

The Newcomb Cleveland Prize is awarded annually for an outstanding paper published in the Research Articles or Reports section of Science. The 2020-2021 prize was won by an international team who used ASKAP to pinpoint the origin of a non-repeating fast radio burst (FRB) for the first time.

Determining the origin of a non-repeating FRB is an important step toward discovering what causes these mysterious phenomena. It also gives insight into the qualities of low-density gas in interstellar space, through which the FRBs pass.
 

World-record stable transmission of a laser signal

A team of scientists set a world record with their laser transmission technology, originally developed to synchronise incoming signals for the SKA.

The team achieved the most stable transmission of a laser signal through the atmosphere. They used a new phase-stabilisation technology to essentially eliminate atmospheric turbulence, maintaining the signal quality. This work will have applications in fundamental physics research, as well as earth science and resource exploration.

Scientists from International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) and the University of Western Australia collaborated with researchers from the French National Centre for Space Studies and the Systèmes de Référence Temps-Espace at Paris Observatory.
 

Nancy Millis Medal

Associate Professor Cathryn Trott, of the Curtin Institute of Radio Astronomy, has been recognised for her exceptional contributions to science. She has won the Nancy Millis Medal for Women in Science, awarded by the Australian Academy of Science.

A/Prof Trott leads the Epoch of Reionisation project at ICRAR and is heavily involved in the design and data processing for the SKA.
Jemma Payne, DISER

And in case you missed it…

The March 2021 edition of the SKA’s very own magazine, Contact, is well worth a read. The next edition will be out in June.

ESO News

ESO Period 108 proposal statistics

Period 108 (Oct 2021 – Mar 2022) is officially the 8th semester in which Australia has participated in ESO’s time-allocation process since the signing of the Australia–ESO Strategic Partnership in 2017. However, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the near total loss of any observing during P105; the carry-over of Priority A programs from P105 into P107; and the replacement of the standard P107 Call for Proposals with a special rolling assessment of “novel and urgent” proposals throughout P107 itself.

Following the record number of proposals received and hours requested in P106, P108 saw the lowest demand since P104, possibly due to the large backlog of unexecuted programs, plus uncertainty about ESO operations in 2021 as COVID cases in Chile continue to cause disruption.

The overall number of Australians involved on all ESO proposals has remained relatively steady at ~150, and for the first time, the number of Australian Principle Investigators who identify as female exceeded 40%. As ever MUSE was the most popular instrument, but X-shooter and ESPRESSO have displaced UVES and FORS2 as the next most popular.
 

Recent AAL ESO posts

AAL regularly posts updates and articles from Australian users of ESO facilities, as well as representatives on ESO governing bodies. Since the last Newsletter, posts include: In addition, you can see how AAL keeps track of Australian ESO proposals using the new “ESOStats” database developed by Simon O’Toole at AAO-Macquarie. If you have something you’d like to share about ESO, please contact Stuart.Ryder@astronomyaustralia.org.au.
Stuart Ryder, AAL

Hypatia Colloquium

In another positive outcome from the Australia-ESO Strategic Partnership, there is important recognition of Australian research potential in ESO’s new series of weekly international seminars, the Hypatia Colloquium. Three of Australia’s Early Career Researchers in astronomy have been selected to speak about their research projects. Their talks are being live-streamed from February through to June 2021 and the recordings are available afterwards on YouTube.

We understand there was a very competitive selection process, with just 42 speakers selected from 260 talented applicants, so a big congratulations to:
  • Dr Kathryn Grasha (Australian National University) – 9 March 2021
  • Poojan Agrawal (Swinburne University of Technology) – 20 April 2021
  • Giulia Santucci (University of New South Wales) – 1 June 2021

Jobs, studentships and internships at ESO

A reminder that being connected into the world’s foremost multinational optical astronomy organisation opens other doors too.
 
Under the 10-year Australia-ESO Strategic Partnership, Australian applicants for jobs at ESO are given recruitment preference on the same basis as applicants from the ESO Member States.
 
If you are interested in a specialist position at ESO to take your career to the next level, or if looking for a postgraduate study opportunity or internship to gain valuable overseas experience in a major research organisation, then the ESO Recruitment Portal is worth checking, regularly.
 
And if you would like to boost your career at other world-class European research institutions, you may also wish to check for job opportunities at the member institutions that, together with ESO, make up the European Intergovernmental Research Organisation forum or ‘EIROforum’ for short. You can reach each of their respective recruitment sites from https://www.eiroforum.org/jobs/.
 
When contemplating a new job, studentship or internship overseas, please be aware that during the current COVID-19 emergency, tight travel restrictions are in place, so we highly recommend you consult, early in your planning:
Please also be aware that COVID-19 workplace restrictions and shutdowns can affect ESO operations too, so if you are thinking of applying for an advertised ESO position, we recommend that you communicate early with the contact person listed for the position in which you are interested, to better understand how COVID-19 restrictions might apply to that position and its work environment.
 
Andrew Stevenson, DISER

Domestic optical astronomy news

New facilities at Siding Spring Observatory

Home to over a dozen national and international telescopes, Siding Spring Observatory is about to get bigger. In April, the observatory received the second dome of the GOTO South Telescope, an international facility run by the University of Warwick in the UK and Monash University. GOTO-South will search for the optical counterparts of gravitational wave events discovered by the LIGO-VIRGO consortium. It will be operational in 2022.
 
Next to GOTO-South, will be DREAMS. DREAMS will survey the entire sky every few nights in the infrared. It will be able to discover sources that suddenly appear or change brightness. We can expect that it will discover new classes of objects that are as yet unknown to science. It will be installed in the APT dome at SSO in 2022.
Landscape photograph with optical astronomy telescope domes visible in the middle distance
A picture of SSO taken by Steve Chapman looking towards the south. On the left is the UK Schmidt telescope. The AAT is the big dome located left of centre, and the ANU 2.3m is the square looking building on the right. DREAMS and GOTO-South will be located centre right, where JAXA, ROTSE, and the APT facilities are located.

A freshly coated AAT mirror

Every 12 months, the 16-tonne mirror of the AAT receives a fresh coating of aluminium. It is a lengthy process: the Cassegrain cage, instrument and A&G unit are removed first, the mirror cell is then removed, the mirror is taken out of its mirror cell, the old coating is removed, the mirror is prepared, and a fresh coat of aluminium is applied. The mirror then has to be placed back into the telescope and the telescope tested. They assign 5 days to aluminise the mirror, but SSO staff usually do it in 4 days. This time round they did it in 3.
Left, a picture of the mirror with the coating removed, as it was about to be placed in the aluminising tank. Right, a picture of the freshly coated mirror 24 hours later with very happy SSO staff.

Changes at DISER

There have been some executive changes in the Science and Commercialisation Division at the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources:
  • Janean Richards, the new Head of Science and Commercialisation Policy Division, is Australia’s representative on the SKAO Council Board and is the Australian Government Observer to the ESO Council.
  • David Luchetti is now General Manager of Science Commercialisation Branch,
  • David’s former SKA role has been taken on by Ben Scandrett, who is now Executive Manager of the Australian SKA Office.
  • Steph Gorecki Natik is General Manager of the International and Astronomy Branch, and is Australia’s representative on the SKAO Council Finance Committee.
Jemma Payne, Andrew Stevenson, DISER

Space Briefs…

New Space Discovery Centres opened

The Australian Space Agency’s home at Lot Fourteen in Adelaide hosted the Prime Minister, the Hon Scott Morrison MP; the Premier of South Australia, the Hon Steven Marshall MP; and other dignitaries on 31 March 2021 for the launch of the Australian Space Discovery Centre on the site. Developed in a partnership between the Australian Space Agency and Questacon, the National Science and Technology Centre, it opened to the general public on 5 May. Its mission is to ‘inspire the Australian community and the next generation of the space workforce through stories of opportunity, curiosity and technology’.
Two children look at an exhibit
The Discovery Centre includes: 
  • a space gallery featuring hands-on experiences and information on Australia’s growing space sector
  • a Careers Hub, which will showcase job opportunities in the local space industry
  • information on STEM education options for young people to explore pathways for a future in space
  • an operational Mission Control Centre, viewable through a theatrette for live space events, guest speakers and opportunities to engage with space experts
A second exhibition was opened at Questacon on Star Wars day, May the fourth, with the Chief Scientist Dr Cathy Foley, DISER Secretary David Fredericks, and other dignitaries in attendance. Australia in Space complements the permanent exhibition at Lot Fourteen, and will inspire space enthusiasts and newcomers alike in Canberra for the next year or so, before travelling throughout the country.
DISER media

Science Snippets

ESO Observations of Interstellar Comet 2I/Borisov

Comet 2I/Borisov was discovered in August 2019, and quickly identified to be the second interstellar visitor to the Solar System after asteroid ‘Oumuamua  in 2017. Polarimetric observations of the comet using FORS2 on the ESO VLT demonstrated that it is a pristine remnant of the gas and dust cloud in which it formed, and has never been modified by passing close to a star. These conclusions were also supported by observations made with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), in which ESO is a partner.
 

Another Odd Radio Circle turns up

Observations made with ASKAP in 2019 led to the discovery last year of an apparently new class of object, dubbed Odd Radio Circles (ORCs). The mechanism by which these features are formed is not understood, but of the four found last year, two have an elliptical radio galaxy at their centre. Now, a fifth ORC has been discovered with ASKAP, again with an elliptical radio galaxy at its centre. The CSIRO and Western Sydney University researchers who led the project speculate that the ORC could be the relic lobe of the radio galaxy seen end-on or the result of a giant blastwave.
 

And don’t forget…

A total lunar eclipse on the evening of 26 May will be visible from the whole of Australia. Because the eclipse occurs while the Moon is close to perigee, the popular media are sure to have a field day in proclaiming a Super Blood Moon Eclipse…
 
Chris Lidman, ANU, on behalf of the team at SSO.
SKA Australia Twitter
Department of Industry, Innovation and Science LinkedIn
Australia’s Square Kilometre Array on YouTube
Australian ESO user community forum
Department of Industry, Innovation and Science astronomy email

On behalf of the Astronomy teams

Professor Fred Watson
Astronomer-at-large
Science and Commercialisation Policy Division
Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources
Square Kilometre Array | ska@industry.gov.au
Optical astronomy in Australia | opticalastronomy@industry.gov.au

 

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