Monash Astrophysics
@monashastro.bsky.social
Welcome to the official Bluesky for Monash University Astrophysics! 🌠Follow us for research updates, department life and seriously cool science. ✨ 🚀#MonashAstrophysics #science #physics #astrophysics
A huge congratulations to Dr Madeline Howell and Dr Thomas Maunder on their PhD graduations! 💫 Maddy has gone onto a postdoc job in the US and Tom is doing data science in industry. We couldn’t be prouder!!
September 16, 2025 at 11:30 PM
A huge congratulations to Dr Madeline Howell and Dr Thomas Maunder on their PhD graduations! 💫 Maddy has gone onto a postdoc job in the US and Tom is doing data science in industry. We couldn’t be prouder!!
Front page news! 📰 Monash PhD researcher Christian Adamcwicz leads new LVK results revealing the mysterious 40 M☉ gap in black hole populations. Exciting clues about how the universe’s heaviest stars live and die! #BlackHoles #LVK #Astrophysics www.theaustralian.com.au/science/grav...
August 29, 2025 at 3:16 AM
Front page news! 📰 Monash PhD researcher Christian Adamcwicz leads new LVK results revealing the mysterious 40 M☉ gap in black hole populations. Exciting clues about how the universe’s heaviest stars live and die! #BlackHoles #LVK #Astrophysics www.theaustralian.com.au/science/grav...
Monash Astrophysics was well represented at GR24 & Amaldi16 in Glasgow! 🖤🌌
Our PhD students & postdocs presented cutting-edge research on gravitational waves, black holes, and fundamental physics at this major international conference. #GR24 #Amaldi16 #GravitationalWaves
Our PhD students & postdocs presented cutting-edge research on gravitational waves, black holes, and fundamental physics at this major international conference. #GR24 #Amaldi16 #GravitationalWaves
August 4, 2025 at 1:42 AM
Monash Astrophysics was well represented at GR24 & Amaldi16 in Glasgow! 🖤🌌
Our PhD students & postdocs presented cutting-edge research on gravitational waves, black holes, and fundamental physics at this major international conference. #GR24 #Amaldi16 #GravitationalWaves
Our PhD students & postdocs presented cutting-edge research on gravitational waves, black holes, and fundamental physics at this major international conference. #GR24 #Amaldi16 #GravitationalWaves
Great to see so many Monash researchers sharing their work at the ASA in Adelaide this week. Great science and great conversations all around.
July 8, 2025 at 11:27 PM
Great to see so many Monash researchers sharing their work at the ASA in Adelaide this week. Great science and great conversations all around.
Monash researchers have simulated one of the lightest neutron stars ever—just 1.192 solar masses—bringing us closer to solving a key astrophysics puzzle. A leap forward for supernova science. 🌟🧠 #NeutronStars #Astrophysics #Supernova #MonashScience
April 16, 2025 at 1:36 AM
Monash researchers have simulated one of the lightest neutron stars ever—just 1.192 solar masses—bringing us closer to solving a key astrophysics puzzle. A leap forward for supernova science. 🌟🧠 #NeutronStars #Astrophysics #Supernova #MonashScience
Today our first year astros did some solar observing 🌞 Lucky for them the Sun is near the peak of its 11 year cycle so we were able to spot some beautiful Sunspots. 🔭😮 Swipe to see them for yourself! ➡ #sun #telescope #space #monash
April 2, 2025 at 2:47 AM
Today our first year astros did some solar observing 🌞 Lucky for them the Sun is near the peak of its 11 year cycle so we were able to spot some beautiful Sunspots. 🔭😮 Swipe to see them for yourself! ➡ #sun #telescope #space #monash
Monash University takes all three prizes at the OzGrav bingo ice breaker activity at the 2024 retreat! @ozgrav.bsky.social
December 11, 2024 at 1:05 AM
Monash University takes all three prizes at the OzGrav bingo ice breaker activity at the 2024 retreat! @ozgrav.bsky.social
Reposted by Monash Astrophysics
Coverage in The SMH!
www.smh.com.au/national/a-s...
www.smh.com.au/national/a-s...
‘A ship on the ocean of reality’: New maps show universe is even weirder than we thought
A decade ago, astronomers observed gravitational waves for the first time. What has emerged since is a picture of the universe as a vast ocean – dark and powerful.
www.smh.com.au
December 8, 2024 at 11:48 PM
Coverage in The SMH!
www.smh.com.au/national/a-s...
www.smh.com.au/national/a-s...
Exciting news! Monash University’s, Rowina Nathan, has authored a groundbreaking study using the powerful MeerKAT telescope to create the most detailed map of the gravitational wave background to date: shorturl.at/KRXKj
Check out an article on Rowina’s work: shorturl.at/oS3G1
Check out an article on Rowina’s work: shorturl.at/oS3G1
December 3, 2024 at 9:53 PM
Exciting news! Monash University’s, Rowina Nathan, has authored a groundbreaking study using the powerful MeerKAT telescope to create the most detailed map of the gravitational wave background to date: shorturl.at/KRXKj
Check out an article on Rowina’s work: shorturl.at/oS3G1
Check out an article on Rowina’s work: shorturl.at/oS3G1
Reposted by Monash Astrophysics
Optimist: The cup is half full
Pessimist: The cup is half empty
Astronomer: There are Type I cups and Type II cups but clearly this is a rare transitional Type 1.5 cup.
Pessimist: The cup is half empty
Astronomer: There are Type I cups and Type II cups but clearly this is a rare transitional Type 1.5 cup.
Optimist: The cup is half full
Pessimist: The cup is half empty
Astronomer: In this work, we propose HoFITCh (HOw Full Is That Cup), a Bayesian model for sampling the fullness of cups from imaging data and prior beliefs.
We sample the posterior of our model, and find that the cup is 50±2% full.
Pessimist: The cup is half empty
Astronomer: In this work, we propose HoFITCh (HOw Full Is That Cup), a Bayesian model for sampling the fullness of cups from imaging data and prior beliefs.
We sample the posterior of our model, and find that the cup is 50±2% full.
Optimist: The cup is half full
Pessimist: The cup is half empty
Writer: …did I have a plan for this cup? Was it supposed to link to some other part of the plot? Crap. I really don’t want to go through and take every mention of the cup out. Maybe I can kill someone with it.
Pessimist: The cup is half empty
Writer: …did I have a plan for this cup? Was it supposed to link to some other part of the plot? Crap. I really don’t want to go through and take every mention of the cup out. Maybe I can kill someone with it.
November 24, 2024 at 9:34 PM
Optimist: The cup is half full
Pessimist: The cup is half empty
Astronomer: There are Type I cups and Type II cups but clearly this is a rare transitional Type 1.5 cup.
Pessimist: The cup is half empty
Astronomer: There are Type I cups and Type II cups but clearly this is a rare transitional Type 1.5 cup.
Reposted by Monash Astrophysics
What is the difference between gravitational-wave signals measured by LIGO and pulsar timing arrays? Well lots of things, but mainly the mass of the black holes. This infographic summarises the differences. 👀🕳️💫
November 25, 2024 at 12:43 AM
What is the difference between gravitational-wave signals measured by LIGO and pulsar timing arrays? Well lots of things, but mainly the mass of the black holes. This infographic summarises the differences. 👀🕳️💫
Reposted by Monash Astrophysics
How can pulsars be used to detect gravitational waves? Ripples in spacetime affect the path of light!
I'll be posting some fun infographics in the lead up to my paper release on December 3! Follow along so you're ready for the release 🌟 @ozgrav.bsky.social
I'll be posting some fun infographics in the lead up to my paper release on December 3! Follow along so you're ready for the release 🌟 @ozgrav.bsky.social
November 21, 2024 at 11:57 PM
How can pulsars be used to detect gravitational waves? Ripples in spacetime affect the path of light!
I'll be posting some fun infographics in the lead up to my paper release on December 3! Follow along so you're ready for the release 🌟 @ozgrav.bsky.social
I'll be posting some fun infographics in the lead up to my paper release on December 3! Follow along so you're ready for the release 🌟 @ozgrav.bsky.social
Reposted by Monash Astrophysics
~Infer gamma-ray burst jet physics with this one weird trick!~
A population of neutron star-black hole mergers might let us discover new physics about GRB jets. 🔭 🧪
Check out my brand new paper with @plasky.bsky.social and Eric Thrane to find out more.
arxiv.org/abs/2411.07035
A population of neutron star-black hole mergers might let us discover new physics about GRB jets. 🔭 🧪
Check out my brand new paper with @plasky.bsky.social and Eric Thrane to find out more.
arxiv.org/abs/2411.07035
November 12, 2024 at 5:34 AM
~Infer gamma-ray burst jet physics with this one weird trick!~
A population of neutron star-black hole mergers might let us discover new physics about GRB jets. 🔭 🧪
Check out my brand new paper with @plasky.bsky.social and Eric Thrane to find out more.
arxiv.org/abs/2411.07035
A population of neutron star-black hole mergers might let us discover new physics about GRB jets. 🔭 🧪
Check out my brand new paper with @plasky.bsky.social and Eric Thrane to find out more.
arxiv.org/abs/2411.07035
Huge congratulations to Tom who submitted his PhD thesis “Multi-Dimensional Radiative Transfer Calculations for Asymmetric Stripped-Envelope Supernovae” today ✨🎉💥
November 11, 2024 at 1:25 AM
Huge congratulations to Tom who submitted his PhD thesis “Multi-Dimensional Radiative Transfer Calculations for Asymmetric Stripped-Envelope Supernovae” today ✨🎉💥
Reposted by Monash Astrophysics
Almost forgot!
Oct 31 is the anniversary of Murriyang starting operations in 1961!
63 years of operation, and it’s still giving us solid science/discoveries.
Iconic Aussie astronomy infrastructure.
Wrote some words on this a few years back: www.spaceaustralia.com/index.php/fe...
📸 CSIRO 🔭📡
Oct 31 is the anniversary of Murriyang starting operations in 1961!
63 years of operation, and it’s still giving us solid science/discoveries.
Iconic Aussie astronomy infrastructure.
Wrote some words on this a few years back: www.spaceaustralia.com/index.php/fe...
📸 CSIRO 🔭📡
October 31, 2024 at 10:37 PM
Almost forgot!
Oct 31 is the anniversary of Murriyang starting operations in 1961!
63 years of operation, and it’s still giving us solid science/discoveries.
Iconic Aussie astronomy infrastructure.
Wrote some words on this a few years back: www.spaceaustralia.com/index.php/fe...
📸 CSIRO 🔭📡
Oct 31 is the anniversary of Murriyang starting operations in 1961!
63 years of operation, and it’s still giving us solid science/discoveries.
Iconic Aussie astronomy infrastructure.
Wrote some words on this a few years back: www.spaceaustralia.com/index.php/fe...
📸 CSIRO 🔭📡
A spooky pulsar, jack-o-lantern binary carved pumpkin 🎃 Happy Halloween from Monash Astrophysics ✨ #science #space #spooky #halloween
October 31, 2024 at 4:30 AM
A spooky pulsar, jack-o-lantern binary carved pumpkin 🎃 Happy Halloween from Monash Astrophysics ✨ #science #space #spooky #halloween
Reposted by Monash Astrophysics
I talk about the artificial objects you might see streaking through the skies #SpaceJunk 🧪
www.abc.net.au/news/science...
www.abc.net.au/news/science...
Reports of 'fireballs' streaking overhead are becoming more common. Here's why
Social media reports of fireballs lighting up the night sky seemingly pop up very regularly — just this week hundreds of people saw one over the US and Canada. Are they becoming more frequent or are w...
www.abc.net.au
October 24, 2024 at 2:21 AM
I talk about the artificial objects you might see streaking through the skies #SpaceJunk 🧪
www.abc.net.au/news/science...
www.abc.net.au/news/science...
Congratulations to Monash Astrophysicist Dr Fan Liu who was awarded the Monash Faculty of Science Publication Award for their paper At Least One in a Dozen Stars Shows Evidence of Planetary Ingestion, Nature (2024).
October 24, 2024 at 5:29 AM
Congratulations to Monash Astrophysicist Dr Fan Liu who was awarded the Monash Faculty of Science Publication Award for their paper At Least One in a Dozen Stars Shows Evidence of Planetary Ingestion, Nature (2024).
Today we had our beyond third year event, to encourage undergraduate students to consider further study in physics and astronomy. 🪐 🧲 Students mingled with potential supervisors and we are looking forward to welcoming them next year! ✨
October 15, 2024 at 2:15 AM
Today we had our beyond third year event, to encourage undergraduate students to consider further study in physics and astronomy. 🪐 🧲 Students mingled with potential supervisors and we are looking forward to welcoming them next year! ✨
Fingerprints of 1M stars reveal Milky Way's history! The Aussie-led GALAH project releases data from the AAT’s 50th birthday. Monash astrophysicist Madeline Howell contributed key spectroscopic data on M4, an ancient globular cluster that holds clues to our Galaxy's formation. shorturl.at/HwXng
Almost a million stars mapped by Anglo-Australian Telescope
Follow the latest news headlines from Australia's most trusted source. Read in-depth expert analysis and watch live coverage on ABC News.
shorturl.at
October 8, 2024 at 5:07 AM
Fingerprints of 1M stars reveal Milky Way's history! The Aussie-led GALAH project releases data from the AAT’s 50th birthday. Monash astrophysicist Madeline Howell contributed key spectroscopic data on M4, an ancient globular cluster that holds clues to our Galaxy's formation. shorturl.at/HwXng
Reposted by Monash Astrophysics
New research shows that unusual binary systems containing a magnetar and an unlucky companion star can explain the bumps in the light curves of certain supernovae. aasnova.org/2024/09/11/e... 🔭🧪 @monashastro.bsky.social
Evaporating Stars, Magnetars, and Bumpy Supernova Light Curves - AAS Nova
New research shows that binary systems containing a magnetar and an unlucky companion star can explain bumps in supernova light curves.
aasnova.org
September 11, 2024 at 4:15 PM
New research shows that unusual binary systems containing a magnetar and an unlucky companion star can explain the bumps in the light curves of certain supernovae. aasnova.org/2024/09/11/e... 🔭🧪 @monashastro.bsky.social
Reposted by Monash Astrophysics
GRB optical catalog with contributions from S. Belkin
@monashastro.bsky.social "rivals Messier catalog"; sure, but Messier objects just sit there waiting for you to observe them at your leisure, not like GRB optical counterparts which disappear in <~ 1 day! ras.ac.uk/news-and-pre...
@monashastro.bsky.social "rivals Messier catalog"; sure, but Messier objects just sit there waiting for you to observe them at your leisure, not like GRB optical counterparts which disappear in <~ 1 day! ras.ac.uk/news-and-pre...
Huge gamma-ray burst collection ‘rivals 250-year-old Messier catalogue’
Hundreds of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) have been recorded as part of an enormous global effort so extensive it "rivals the catalogue of deep-sky objects created
by Mess...
ras.ac.uk
September 16, 2024 at 10:25 AM
GRB optical catalog with contributions from S. Belkin
@monashastro.bsky.social "rivals Messier catalog"; sure, but Messier objects just sit there waiting for you to observe them at your leisure, not like GRB optical counterparts which disappear in <~ 1 day! ras.ac.uk/news-and-pre...
@monashastro.bsky.social "rivals Messier catalog"; sure, but Messier objects just sit there waiting for you to observe them at your leisure, not like GRB optical counterparts which disappear in <~ 1 day! ras.ac.uk/news-and-pre...
🎉 Huge congratulations to our talented Honours student, Amber Tilly, for being the Regional Winner of the 2024 Global Undergraduate Awards for her report on modelling disk kinematics in protoplanetary disk AS209! 🏆✨
September 18, 2024 at 2:23 AM
🎉 Huge congratulations to our talented Honours student, Amber Tilly, for being the Regional Winner of the 2024 Global Undergraduate Awards for her report on modelling disk kinematics in protoplanetary disk AS209! 🏆✨
New research from Monash Astrophysicists shows how next-gen gravitational-wave detectors will revolutionise our understanding of neutron stars. They could measure neutron star radii with 10x better precision than LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA! 🌌🌠 #GravitationalWaves shorturl.at/hRMxZ
Precision constraints on the neutron star equation of state with third-generation gravitational-wave observatories
It is currently unknown how matter behaves at the extreme densities found within the cores of neutron stars. Gravitational waves from binary neutron star mergers encode rich information about the star...
shorturl.at
September 5, 2024 at 7:49 AM
New research from Monash Astrophysicists shows how next-gen gravitational-wave detectors will revolutionise our understanding of neutron stars. They could measure neutron star radii with 10x better precision than LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA! 🌌🌠 #GravitationalWaves shorturl.at/hRMxZ
On Friday Maddy and Giulia submitted their PhD theses and went on the famous walk to the graduate research office to collect their pens. We’re proud of their hard work and excited for the bright futures ahead. Congratulations Maddy and Giulia!
September 3, 2024 at 8:16 AM
On Friday Maddy and Giulia submitted their PhD theses and went on the famous walk to the graduate research office to collect their pens. We’re proud of their hard work and excited for the bright futures ahead. Congratulations Maddy and Giulia!