Ngarlbugala 2023 Bec’s blog
Last week, we had students from Yalgoo and Pia Wadjarri visit Inyarrimanha Ilgari Bundara, our Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory. They heard from engineers from CSIRO, Curtin University and SKA-Low on all the things to consider when operating the different telescopes on a remote site.
One particular highlight was Andy McPhail from the MWA team at Curtin University teaching the students about how the MWA works through creative dance moves – a hit with both the kids and adults in attendance.
For those of us in Perth, we had the chance to engage with people of all ages at Astrofest recently. Held annually, Astrofest is one of the largest community astronomy events in the country. This year was a bit different for us, as we were part of a large SKA project in Australia stall, where visitors met researchers and engineers from SKAO, CSIRO, ICRAR, Pawsey and AusSRC all working on the SKA project. With a project this big, it really takes a wealth of expertise from all sorts of organisations. At the booth, visitors were asked to draw or write what they hoped the SKA-Low telescope would discover once it was operating. There was a beautiful array of responses: lots of aliens as well as lots of galaxies, black holes and the dawn of time.
A child stands in front of a table with their back to the viewer, looking up towards a pin board covered in black paper with colourful drawings of aliens, planets, stars, rockets and ideas for what the SKA telescopes will find.
A young visitor creates their artwork to add to the wall of ideas for what the SKA telescopes will discover. Credit: SKAO/Seb Neuweiler
The SKA project was not confined to the floor of the huge hall of Astrofest – talks and panel discussions allowed keen visitors to hear more on the different aspects of this project. Jennylyn Hamlett and Des Mongoo spoke on Wajarri culture and heritage, and how the SKA project is enabling broad awareness of the importance of Country. George Simpson with Riley Keel and Dev Null discussed what jobs are, and will be, available as part of the project, and a panel from SKAO, CSIRO (our own Chris Brayton) and Wajarri focussed on construction of the telescope and how we all come together to create great science and engineering.
I’m sure many people came away with a greater understanding of what we’re doing and why we’re doing it and were inspired to become our future colleagues and collaborators.
A large group of people pose in front of banners explaining the SKA project in Australia.
Some of the team at Astrofest. Credit: SKAO/Seb Neuweiler.
Sometimes that future is very near as our team continues to grow. Leanne Brosnan has joined us as our Project Support Officer, ensuring we’re all meeting deadlines and keeping everyone on track. You can meet her in our Welcomes section, which also includes a mention of Geoff King’s wonderful return to our team. We’re so excited to have him back, in a slightly different role to before.
We also welcomed the staff from our Boolardy Accommodation Facility into CSIRO employment with a celebratory BBQ at the observatory. Though we’ve always considered everyone there our team members, it’s now official, and we’re honoured they have joined us.
And so next year beckons, and with the great partnerships we’ve developed along this year – the first year for so many things – I am sure next year will be another one of hard work as well as successes, as we work towards achieving something that only a few years ago may have seemed impossible.
Congratulations on everything you have all achieved in 2023 and thank you for a great year. See you for the next one!
Bec