We have a Christmas comet

We’re in for a pre-Christmas treat this weekend, as the cosmos entertains us with two equally exciting gifts: the Geminid meteor shower and the interplanetary comet 46P/Wirtanen.

The problems with small satellites – and what Australia’s Space Agency can do to help

Australia is part of the global explosion in space industries – including the design and engineering of satellites smaller than a loaf of bread – and Australia’s new space agency can help tackle some of the problems associated with this expansion.

Australia takes a new lead in astronomy research

Australian scientists will lead the design phase of a multi-million-dollar project to help one of the world’s most powerful optical telescopes produce images up to three times sharper than the Hubble Space Telescope.

In sight of the red planet

The latest spacecraft to complete the journey to Mars, NASA’s Insight lander, continues mankind’s long held fascination with the red planet.

Where to next on the final frontier?

A critical mass of participants, initiatives and developments are riding a wave of government enthusiasm and private-sector support for Australia’s space industry. It’s a good time to be involved in the sector, but what should its priorities be from here?

Australia should become a leader in strategic space diplomacy

Now that we have a dedicated space agency, we have an opportunity to influence international behaviour through strategic space diplomacy by overtly espousing a non-militaristic approach. The key question is whether the Australian Space Agency’s strategic focus should be on science or on commerce.

We can send people to Venus

While the surface of Venus is utterly hostile, it should be possible to float in its clouds and study a planet which was once Earth’s twin and may hold clues for the future of climate change.

Australia probes space mystery

Australian researchers using a CSIRO radio telescope in Western Australia have nearly doubled the known number of ‘fast radio bursts’— powerful flashes of radio waves from deep space.

Sky hopping with Australia’s first space telescope

Australia has entered a new chapter in the exploration and understanding of space by creating a National Space Agency. Now innovative design is combining with new, low-cost nano-satellite technology to build Skyhopper, Australia’s first space telescope.

Getting it right: The most complex space telescope ever built

The Hubble Space Telescope has revolutionised astronomy and produced images of space that have captured the public’s imagination like no other telescope. But as Hubble approaches its 30th birthday, its successor is waiting in the wings.

First Buccaneer satellite mission declared a success

A satellite jointly developed by UNSW Canberra Space and Defence Science and Technology (DST) has been operating on-orbit successfully for more than nine months, performing a range of experiments as part of a mission that is paving the way for small spacecraft development in Australia.

A quiet Sunday night discovering a super-massive black hole

The story of how a small team of researchers from Australian universities found the ‘hungry monster’ – one of the most exciting discoveries in astronomy this year.