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The Era of global Astronomy and how anyone/anywhere can get involved
Sat 16th
09:15-10:30
The Era of global Astronomy and how anyone/anywhere can get involved
Dr Sara Webb
Swinburne University of Technology
We live in an exciting era of Astronomy where data far outweighs astronomers, and the discoveries to be made are almost limitless. In this presentation I will give an overview of the transient universe and some of the most unique discoveries assisted by Amateur astronomers and citizen scientists. I'll also highlight how you can get involved in assisting current research and even help in the hunt for elusive cosmic events!
I am a current postdoctoral researcher at Swinburne University of Technology and my research has focused on observational transient astronomy, fuelling my fascination for the unknown. I work with thousands of images of the night sky, taken only seconds apart, to measure the brightness of stars, galaxies and even cosmic explosions. These measurements over time produce light curves, giving us astronomers insight into the physical processes of the sources. I use new and exciting machine learning techniques to help identify only the most interesting sources, hoping to uncover the rarest stellar activity and cosmic explosions in the Universe. I am also a keen science communicator and work across multiple programs to facilitate astronomy and science education across all ages.