Astronomy & Astrophysics

Astronomy & Astrophysics

About

The ANU Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics operates Australia’s largest optical observatory and has access to the world’s largest optical telescopes.

Our staff and students have made major contributions to astronomy, mapping the structure and formation of the Milky Way, discovering planets orbiting other stars, measuring dark matter both within our Galaxy and in the wider Universe, and discovering the accelerating expansion of the Universe.

Our astronomers include winners of the Prime Minister’s Prize for Science and the Nobel Prize.

At our administrative home at the Mount Stromlo Observatory we host the Advanced Instrumentation and Technology Centre which is a national facility established to support the development of the next generation of instruments for astronomy and space science.

Our research telescopes are situated in the ANU Siding Spring Observatory, located in the Warrumbungle region of New South Wales. The observatory began as a field station for the Mount Stromlo Observatory and has since become Australia’s premier optical and infrared observatory, housing the state-of-art SkyMapper telescope.

The University also has a ten per cent share in the Giant Megellan Telescope under construction in Chile. When completed, it will be the world’s most powerful telescope.

Facilities

The Advanced Instrumentation and Technology Centre (AITC) at the University’s Mount Stromlo Observatory is a world-class facility for the design, manufacturing, assembly, integration and testing of ground-based and space-based instruments, and small satellites.

View the facility

The Centre for Advanced Microscopy (CAM) provides state-of-the art microscopy and microanalysis equipment to researchers, students and industry partners.

View the facility

The Giant Magellan Telescope will be the world’s most powerful telescope, with a resolution ten times better than the Hubble Space Telescope.

View the facility
Kioloa Campus

The 348-hectare ANU Kioloa Coastal Campus is one of Australia’s premier field stations, offering a diverse ecology which encourages research across all scientific disciplines.

View the facility

The ANU MakerSpace is an initiative by the Research School of Physics and Engineering, where we know people learn by doing.  

View the facility
Mount Stromlo Observatory

The Mount Stromlo Observatory (MSO) is the headquarters of RSAA, located in Canberra in the Australian Capital Territory.

View the facility

The National Computational Infrastructure (NCI) is home to the Southern Hemisphere’s most highly-integrated supercomputer and filesystems, Australia’s highest performance research cloud, and one of the nation’s largest data catalogues—all supported by an expert team.

View the facility

The CPAS Podcast Studio is open to staff and students throughout ANU (not just scientists!) to record and grow podcast series. Your success is our success: we want to help you make the biggest and best podcast series in the world.  

View the facility
Science precinct

Our new $240-million science precinct on the ANU campus has state-of-the-art biological and chemical research laboratories, as well as a teaching hub.

View the facility
Aerial picture of Siding Spring Observatory

Siding Spring Observatory, on the edge of the Warrumbungle National Park near Coonabarabran, NSW, is Australia's premier optical and infrared astronomical observatory.

View the facility

SkyMapper is a state-of-the-art automated wide-field survey telescope that represents a new vehicle for scientific discovery.

View the facility

Designed by Eggleston, MacDonald and Secomb, the Forestry Building (#48) was officially opened on 16 May 1968 by HRH the Duke of Edinburgh with the unveiling of a wooden sculpture in the building’s main foyer.

View the facility

Articles

A cut away diagram of a telescope in a building

Astronomers around the world are celebrating an announcement from the European Union that they will fund development of a concept for an ‘ultimate survey telescope’ in Chile.

Read the article
Pluto and one of its moons

Much mystery still surrounds Pluto and its moons. But in new research published in Nature Communications researchers announced they’ve found carbon dioxide and hydrogen peroxide on the surface of Pluto's largest moon, Charon.

Read the article
Stargazing at Parliament House

ANU PhD scholar Peter Swanton is using Indigenous knowledge of our night skies to unlock the secrets of our universe, and inspiring young people along the way.

Read the article
star cluster

Astronomers observed the radiation of a dense star cluster and achieved a scientific first: measuring how quickly these particles change direction due to fluctuations in interstellar magnetic fields.

Read the article
Milky Way stars in the night sky.

Light pollution is a relatively recent problem. So, what happened? And what can we do to help darkness reign supreme again?

Read the article
Composite image of six headshots

A number of talented ANU researchers have been elected as Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science.

Read the article