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Neutron stars are arguably the most exotic objects in the universe. Like one of those annoying friends who seemingly must overachieve in every aspect of life, neutron stars exceed in almost every category: surface gravity; magnetic field strength; density; and temperature.
>> Read more @ The Conversation
Late last year I was interviewed by Pratap for his excellent science blog
Brains Matter. Give it a listen for
a brief intro to my research on neutron stars
Science
reported this month on a planet discovered orbiting around a
rotation-powered millisecond pulsar. The discovery was made by astronomers
from Swinburne University, CSIRO, and several other institutions worldwide,
using the Parkes Radio Telescope.
Remarkably, the planet – likely the remnant of some flavour of white
dwarf, possibly composed of carbon and oxygen – has a density so high,
that it must be crystalline. Hence, a gigantic diamond.
This was my
first piece for The Conversation,
a fantastic new independent site featuring news and commentary sourced from
the university and research sector. Check it out!
>> Read more @ The Conversation
2009 has been designated the International Year of Astronomy by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) and UNESCO. I think I can speak for most astronomers when I say that we think astronomy is too much fun to keep to ourselves! There is a lot going on throughout the year, and a group here at Monash have been planning a bunch of fun and interesting activities. Check out the website iya09.monash.edu.au to find out more
On November 9th we had a fun morning following the progress of the transit of Mercury. We climbed up onto the roof of the Physics building before dawn, but sadly missed first and second contact. Later on we moved down to the court east of the Student Union, where we had a steady stream of onlookers curious about what we were doing with a large telescope and an assortment of whiteboards. My own photos of the projected image didn't come out too well, but Ivy's were much better, and she put together this composite image illustrating Mercury's progress across the disk of the sun.
See also the writeup in the School of Physics Alumni Newsletter issue 5, Dec 2006
Research scientist working on astrophysical transients with wide-field optical telescopes; satellite X-ray observations of accreting neutron-star binaries; and searches for gravitational waves. Associate professor at Monash University.
orcid.org/0000-0002-6558-5121
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