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Issue 21: Ngarlbugala (Summer) 2024

Welcome to the Summer edition of The News!

We’ve been so busy this year, we haven’t even had time for our newsletter! As we are in the thick of Ngarlbugala (Summer), I’m glad to wrap up the year from Inyarrimanha Ilgari Bundara, our Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory, and wish all our friends in the Murchison a safe holiday season and happy New Year.

The Christmas Tree might have been cancelled due to weather, but it has still been a festive end to the year for my team after another year of supporting science and construction out at the observatory site.

Planning is well under way for an extension of the Boolardy Homestead airstrip, not only helping with the increasing construction traffic, but also bringing a sealed strip to the east of the Murchison River. The project to bring fibre to the Murchison Settlement and the Pia Wadjarri Aboriginal Community is already progressing well – the fibre backbone is now in place and the next stage is set for next year. There’s also more ability to respond to any medical emergencies surrounding the observatory with the additional emergency response capacity from the SKAO Nyingari Ngurra construction village.

Not only that, but there’s been some amazing science from our ASKAP radio telescope and the Curtin University-led Murchison Widefield Array this year as well.

Enjoy our Christmas edition of The News for this year, with everyone connected to the observatory wishing you all the best for this time of year.

Barndi Grijimiji (happy Christmas),

Bec

Bec's blog

Bec updates us on the busy year at the observatory, full of support for construction and science achievements.

Australian SKA Office update

Natalie Weddell has joined the team at the Australian SKA Office and recalls the year of strong partnership with Wajarri Yamaji during this time of holiday reflection.

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SKA-Low update

Ant Schinckel shares some of the highlights from a year of incredible progress for the SKA-Low telescope, as well as the Christmas spirit going strong on site.

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Science from the Murchison

CSIRO’s ASKAP and the Curtin University-led Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) are sharing the Murchison’s brilliant skies to the world – while the SKA Observatory’s mega-science instrument is under construction down the road.

Slow-spinning neutron star

In June ASKAP helped discover something new out in space that breaks all the rules – a slowly-spinning neutron star. The team say they would never have found it if it wasn’t for ASKAP’s unique capabilities and location!

Transient source located

The MWA has also been discovering unusual objects, including some very slowly repeating radio pulses called transients. In November the team identified a source for these radio waves leading to the discovery of how they might be formed.

Welcome Pete

The Site Entity team is now complete with a warm welcome to Pete Gooda, our Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA) Manager, and we all wish you a very happy holidays.

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We acknowledge the Wajarri Yamaji as the Traditional Owners and Native Title Holders of Inyarrimanha Ilgari Bundara, our Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory site.