Blogs

It all started with a telescope. Incredibly, in the 350 years that separate Galileo’s first observations of space and the advent of spacecraft exploration, everything that we knew about the solar system was thanks to the telescope. The invention of the telescope Galileo was not the first to invent the telescope. However, upon ... Continue Reading »

Journey through time and space with Australia's best known astronomer, Professor Fred Watson. He knows all about the madness that drives people to understand the Universe and unlock its secrets. At a special RiAus Book Club event, Fred Watson took us on a unique tour to unravel the ... Continue Reading »

Astronomy, not to be confused with astrology, is the science of the sky. Astronomers observe the movements and magnitudes of all the matter in the sky. Our ancestors have long looked to the sky to make sense of their surrounds. This is why astronomy is considered to be the most ... Continue Reading »

The first time I heard of Galileo was in the backseat of my parent’s car, whilst they were blaring “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen. Galileo (Galileo), Galileo (Galileo), Galileo, Figaro-magnifico I was just a youngster, bobbing away idly in the back seat as my parents were reminiscing about their youth and ... Continue Reading »

12:30pm - Science and art in the Renaissance Science and Art have been intertwined throughout history, feeding and inspiring each other. In this special event we looked back at one of the most pivotal moments in history and how science and art influenced each other through this period. Looking at scientists ... Continue Reading »

http://vimeo.com/55507525 Number 5: Climate change is matching IPCC predictions from 1990 Article from ABC News Number 4: Death of Neil Armstrong, aged 82 Article from The Australian Number 3: Transit of Venus Article from ABC News Solar Eclipse Article from News.com.au Number 2: Mars Curiosity Rover lands Article from ... Continue Reading »

Paul Willis traveled to North Queensland to talk with astronomer Fred Watson about 2012 solar eclipse. A solar eclipse occurs when Moon passes in front of the Sun. This year's total solar eclipse blacked out the Sun on the morning of Wednesday 14 November.     View the video interview http://vimeo.com/53391181 More ... Continue Reading »

http://vimeo.com/52600014 Colour test for detecting diseases Article from MedGadget Anticipation of doing maths activates brain activity in region which processes pain Article from CNN Health Two super-bright supernovae detected allowing insight into the death of some of the oldest stars Article from Cosmos Genetic links for uterine ... Continue Reading »

This inspiring RiAus event on Thursday 25 October 2012 will unearth the real person behind one of Australia’s biggest names in science: Prof Brian Schmidt, joint-winner of the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics. Prof Brian Schmidt stepped into the public eye when he was presented with science’s highest accolade for his ... Continue Reading »

The 2012 Science Inspiration was presented by Professor Brian Schmidt, joint winner of the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics. Brian shares the accolade with two other scientists, having provided evidence that the expansion of the universe is accelerating. As an award winning astrophysicist, Brian spends his time studying exploding ... Continue Reading »

Direct from the Perth Observatory and NASA livestreaming, the transit was broadcast to the world live via the RiAus website. You can listen to the audio clips about the significance and history of the transits from RiAus Director Dr Paul Willis and Curator of Astronomy at the Sydney Observatory Dr ... Continue Reading »

What an amazing year in astronomy! We will have a peak in solar activity as the Sun’s magnetic poles reverse, the asteroid Eros 433 passed as close to the Earth as it ever has and Venus will pass between us and the Sun for the last time in the next ... Continue Reading »

Free Range Films @ Warrambeen Film Festival was a celebration of all things scientific with these extraordinary films made for the big screen. We entertained families with our hand-picked selection of short Scinema films, including winning entries from 2010 and 2011. Audiences enjoyed a stunning feature length documentary, In the ... Continue Reading »

As a humble palaeontologist, I’ve always thought that there are elements of advanced cosmology and physics that appear to be babblings written as riddles. I have to take their word for it when they get into the nonsensical realms of quantum mechanics, relativity (both special and general) and string theory. ... Continue Reading »

Prof Steven Tingay is a Western Australian Premier's Research Fellow, Deputy Director of the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research, and Director of the Curtin Institute of Radio Astronomy. Upon graduating from Catholic College Bendigo, Tingay completed an Honours degree in physics at The University of Melbourne and a PhD in ... Continue Reading »

Professor Peter Quinn was born in Australia and received his BSc (Hons) in Mathematics and Physics from the University of Wollongong in 1978. He conducted graduate studies in astronomy and astrophysics at the Australian National University (ANU) and received his PhD in 1982 with a thesis dissertation on dynamics of ... Continue Reading »

Under the night sky, two worlds collide in this fascinating, very special and singular performance where scientific theory meets traditional belief. Enchanting and interactive, two great characters -- senior custodian of the Wardaman people, Bill Yidumduma Harney, and UK-born and educated CSIRO astrophysicist Ray Norris -- explore their separate, yet hauntingly ... Continue Reading »

Born: 1942, Oxford, UK Stephen Hawking, considered the world's foremost living theoretical physicist, studied physics at University College, Oxford and went on to study theoretical astronomy and cosmology at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, gaining a PhD. In 1974 he became one of the youngest Fellows of the Royal ... Continue Reading »

Born: 1956, Nebraska, US A physicist by training and an astronomer by profession, Professor Sackett was most recently Director of the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics and Mount Stromlo and Siding Spring Observatories (2002 - 2007) at the Australian National University. Other previous appointments include the ... Continue Reading »

Born: 1946, London, UK Paul Davies obtained a doctorate from University College London in 1970. He held academic appointments at Cambridge and London Universities until he was appointed Professor of Theoretical Physics at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. From 1990 until 1996 he was Professor of ... Continue Reading »

Born: 1942, York, England Martin Rees (Baron Rees of Ludlow) was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge. Lord Rees studied at Cambridge University and then held post-doctoral positions at Cambridge, California and Princeton before becoming a Professor at Sussex University.  In 1973, he became a fellow of King's ... Continue Reading »

Born: 1943, Belfast, Northern Ireland Jocelyn Bell Burnell graduated from the University of Glasgow with a BSc in physics in 1965. She completed her PhD at the University of Cambridge (UK) in 1969. Professor Bell Burnell is best known for the discovery of pulsars (rotating neutron stars that ... Continue Reading »

Professor Fred Watson is astronomer in charge of the Anglo-Australian Observatory at Coonabarabran. He received his PhD for a thesis on Multi-object Astronomical Spectroscopy with Optical Fibres, and helped to pioneer the use of fibre optics in astronomy in the early 1980s. He has contributed to several major surveys of ... Continue Reading »

David Malin was initially trained as a chemist and worked for a large chemical company in the north of England, and joined the Anglo-Australian Observatory (AAO) as its photographic scientist in August 1975. This was shortly after scheduled observations began on the then-new, 3.9-metre Anglo-Australian Telescope. While ... Continue Reading »

Born: Sydney, 1973 Professor Bryan Gaensler is an astronomer, working as an ARC Federation Fellow and Professor of Physics in the Sydney Institute for Astronomy within the School of Physics at The University of Sydney. His research focus is cosmic magnetism, which ... Continue Reading »

Born: 1930s, Wardaman country, Northern Territory Bill Yidumduma Harney is the last fully initiated male custodian of the Wardaman people, and is a celebrated artist, writer, didjeridu maker, songman and storyteller.  He was the son of infamous Australian storyteller William E Harney, but grew up with his Aboriginal ... Continue Reading »

Climbing the cosmic ladder and marking out the distance to the stars is one way to fall in love with mathematics, says visiting mathematician Professor Terry Tao. The Adelaide-born prodigy who at 24 became the youngest Professor at the University of California in Los Angeles 10 years ago, is on tour ... Continue Reading »