Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE160100014
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$550,000.00
Summary
VeloceCal: Hyper-Calibrating Australia's Planet Foundry. VeloceCal: hyper-calibrating Australia's planet foundry:
VeloceCal aims to deliver a hyper-calibration capability to Australia's premier high-resolution optical spectrograph, such that instrumental drifts will make an insignificant contribution to the system's Doppler velocity measurement capabilities. This would transform Australian capabilities for the measurement of masses (and so densities) for the lowest mass planets which will be em ....VeloceCal: Hyper-Calibrating Australia's Planet Foundry. VeloceCal: hyper-calibrating Australia's planet foundry:
VeloceCal aims to deliver a hyper-calibration capability to Australia's premier high-resolution optical spectrograph, such that instrumental drifts will make an insignificant contribution to the system's Doppler velocity measurement capabilities. This would transform Australian capabilities for the measurement of masses (and so densities) for the lowest mass planets which will be emerging from NASA's next-generation Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) from 2017 onwards. VeloceCal would play a pivotal role in determining whether the smallest planets found by TESS are terrestrial (like the Earth) or icy (like Neptune), and in unambiguously discovering terrestrial planets orbiting low-mass stars in habitable orbits.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE140100052
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$350,000.00
Summary
TAIPAN - a spectrograph to survey the southern sky. TAIPAN - a spectrograph to survey the southern sky: The TAIPAN spectroscopic survey of the southern sky aims to quadruple the number of nearby galaxies with measured redshifts, distances and velocities. Science goals include measuring the expansion rate of the universe to 1 per cent precision, and combining optical spectroscopy and radio data for each galaxy to measure the rate at which gas is being converted into stars in the local universe. T ....TAIPAN - a spectrograph to survey the southern sky. TAIPAN - a spectrograph to survey the southern sky: The TAIPAN spectroscopic survey of the southern sky aims to quadruple the number of nearby galaxies with measured redshifts, distances and velocities. Science goals include measuring the expansion rate of the universe to 1 per cent precision, and combining optical spectroscopy and radio data for each galaxy to measure the rate at which gas is being converted into stars in the local universe. This project supports construction of the TAIPAN high-performance spectrograph that will be used to carry out the survey on the UK Schmidt Telescope (UKST). The results of the survey will be made freely available to all Australian astronomers.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE130100104
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$740,000.00
Summary
Mapping the universe with the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (PanSTARRS). This project plans to build a powerful new observatory, Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (PanSTARRS-2), to be located in Hawaii. PanSTARRS-2 will have an enormous fish-eye-lens view of the northern stars, which we will combine with Australian telescopes to give a unique view of the entire sky. Australian scientists will use this data to solve fundamental problems in astrophysics an ....Mapping the universe with the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (PanSTARRS). This project plans to build a powerful new observatory, Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (PanSTARRS-2), to be located in Hawaii. PanSTARRS-2 will have an enormous fish-eye-lens view of the northern stars, which we will combine with Australian telescopes to give a unique view of the entire sky. Australian scientists will use this data to solve fundamental problems in astrophysics and cosmology.Read moreRead less
ARC Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics. The ARC Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics (CAASTRO) will establish Australia as a world-leader in the emerging discipline of wide-field astronomy. CAASTRO will answer fundamental questions about the nature of the Universe, develop innovative ways of processing enormous data-sets, and enable a diverse set of opportunities for students and early career researchers. By bringing Australia's top astronomers together into a focused collabo ....ARC Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics. The ARC Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics (CAASTRO) will establish Australia as a world-leader in the emerging discipline of wide-field astronomy. CAASTRO will answer fundamental questions about the nature of the Universe, develop innovative ways of processing enormous data-sets, and enable a diverse set of opportunities for students and early career researchers. By bringing Australia's top astronomers together into a focused collaboration, CAASTRO will cement Australia's reputation as an international leader in astrophysical research, will build unique expertise in wide-field radio and optical astronomy and will position Australia to lead the science programmes planned for the Square Kilometre Array.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0882778
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$201,224.00
Summary
Water vapour radiometers for millimetre-wave phase correction for the Australia Telescope. Australia has a tradition of excellence in astronomy. Inspired by wonder about the cosmos, it stimulates public interest in science, so leading to the training of highly skilled graduates. In turn, this drives the development of technologies needed to pursue the science. The nation has invested in the technology for millimetre-wave astronomy, building the first interferometer in our hemisphere. This equipm ....Water vapour radiometers for millimetre-wave phase correction for the Australia Telescope. Australia has a tradition of excellence in astronomy. Inspired by wonder about the cosmos, it stimulates public interest in science, so leading to the training of highly skilled graduates. In turn, this drives the development of technologies needed to pursue the science. The nation has invested in the technology for millimetre-wave astronomy, building the first interferometer in our hemisphere. This equipment will capitalise on this investment, extending the capabilities of the Australia Telescope to maintain it as a front line instrument, attracting the best scientists here to use it. This will help nurture a vigorous radio-science community, one able to actively participate in the billion-dollar investment being made internationally in the field.Read moreRead less
Mapping the dark matter with early type galaxies. Unidentified dark matter outweighs luminous matter (stars, gas, and galaxies) by several times and is detected by its gravitational effects in the Universe. The Six Degree Field Galaxy Survey is now complete and this project will prepare a larger survey, which will put the team clearly in the lead in understanding the distribution of dark matter.
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE180100009
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$340,160.00
Summary
Doubling the power of a unique astronomical survey facility. This project aims to double the number of fibres in the spectrograph on the UK Schmidt Telescope and so double the number of stars and galaxies that it can observe simultaneously. This would allow rapid and timely completion of two major projects: the Taipan galaxy survey would be first to test a potential discrepancy in the expansion rate of the universe that may signal new physics, while the FunnelWeb stellar survey would (in tandem ....Doubling the power of a unique astronomical survey facility. This project aims to double the number of fibres in the spectrograph on the UK Schmidt Telescope and so double the number of stars and galaxies that it can observe simultaneously. This would allow rapid and timely completion of two major projects: the Taipan galaxy survey would be first to test a potential discrepancy in the expansion rate of the universe that may signal new physics, while the FunnelWeb stellar survey would (in tandem with two space missions) identify potential nearby exoplanets and trace the history of the Milky Way. The benefits include high scientific impact for the two surveys, international showcasing of the Australian Starbug technology, and a national astronomical survey facility for the next decade.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE150100055
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$560,000.00
Summary
The Australian European Southern Observatory Positioner (AESOP). The Australian European Southern Observatory Positioner (AESOP): The aim of the Australian European Southern Observatory Positioner (AESOP) is to fund the construction costs of an innovative instrument to be built in Australia and installed onto the European Southern Observatory's (ESO) VISTA telescope. Australia leads the world in fibre-positioning instrumentation and their scientific exploitation. This project will allow Australi ....The Australian European Southern Observatory Positioner (AESOP). The Australian European Southern Observatory Positioner (AESOP): The aim of the Australian European Southern Observatory Positioner (AESOP) is to fund the construction costs of an innovative instrument to be built in Australia and installed onto the European Southern Observatory's (ESO) VISTA telescope. Australia leads the world in fibre-positioning instrumentation and their scientific exploitation. This project will allow Australian researchers to take a leading role through major studies of the spatial distributions of galaxies. The outcomes of the project will be construction and delivery of an optical fibre-positioning system to the ESO, resulting in general access to the ESO's premier survey facility for eight Australian researchers.Read moreRead less