PhD student Cara Parsons is calling for citizen scientists to collect data on mature eucalypts as part of her research into the dangers of falling branches.

Dr Noelia Martinez Rey creates artificial stars in space using lasers to correct for the twinkling effect of atmospheric turbulence. “When you see a star twinkle, that twinkle is created by turbulence in our atmosphere,” she explains.

Let’s say a new irrigation scheme is proposed and all the land it’ll take up needs to be cleared — trees felled, soil upturned, and habitats destroyed. Water will also have to be allocated. Would the economic gain of the scheme outweigh the damage to the environment?

It is all around us. Every day in our lives we are in contact with it. In fact, we are made from it: ancient stardust.

Night vision goggles, infrared cameras and other similar devices detect infrared light reflected from objects or rather detect infrared light emitted from objects in the form of heat.

As a kid, Dr Lara Malins loved playing with Lego. Now she is using those same skills to build new drug leads in the fight against antibiotic resistance.

Scientists already know the oceans are rapidly warming and sea levels are rising. But that’s not all. Now, thanks to satellite observations, we have three decades’ worth of data on how the speeds of ocean surface currents are also changing over time.

In this video we asked Professor Saul Cunningham for his take on 2020, when he saw much of the South Coast in flames, and a community changed by the pandemic.

We met Professor Nicotra in the Snowy Mountains and asked what she learned from 2020.