Friday 8th December 2017 – Dr Chris Flynn on “Fast Radio Bursts”
8pm Friday 8th December we have Dr Chris Flynn from Swinburne University of Technology talking to us about “Fast Radio Bursts”
The UTMOST project is an upgrade of the Molonglo Radio Synthesis Telescope, sited near Bungendore in NSW, and the largest telescope in the Southern Hemisphere. By installing new electronics and a bank of GPUs – also known as video game cards – we have vastly increased its sensitivity and sky coverage — all in order to solve the mystery of Fast Radio Bursts. FRBs are bright, very short (a few millisecond) bursts of energy at radio wavelengths the origin of which is unknown. If they are produced in events billions of light years away, as we think, they will allow us to measure the mass of the Universe! No FRB has been seen at other than radio wavelengths, and finding host galaxies for a FRBs remains a major challenge, to which UTMOST could be the key.
Chris Flynn & Shivani Bhandari from @Swinburne who will be talking for us about Fast Radio Bursts tonight! pic.twitter.com/7lkPENr0xW
— Mount Burnett Observatory (@MBObservatory) December 8, 2017
Australia has found about 90% of all FRBs, at @PULSEatParkes, UTMOST & ASKAP @SKA_Australia
— Mount Burnett Observatory (@MBObservatory) December 8, 2017
Each of the 7744 antennas is lovingly protected by a plastic flowerpot as the galahs love to swing on them! pic.twitter.com/VzsLk94sok
— Mount Burnett Observatory (@MBObservatory) December 8, 2017
Here's what a high-definition version of an FRB looks like! pic.twitter.com/SXnWoiElDO
— Mount Burnett Observatory (@MBObservatory) December 8, 2017
Chris Flynn & Shivani Bhandari from @Swinburne with the MBO 18" telescope! pic.twitter.com/IfP63YN0JZ
— Mount Burnett Observatory (@MBObservatory) December 8, 2017
First light on the new 14" telescope in the new dome! So new we've not even set up the motor drive yet so it's purely manual. :-) pic.twitter.com/ggZuLz8xD1
— Mount Burnett Observatory (@MBObservatory) December 8, 2017
Members’ Night is on every Friday night commencing at 8PM sharp (doors open 7:30PM). Guests are always welcome.
Please consider the neighbours and drive in and out quietly using low beam only, or better still, parking lights.
Please note: MBO will always be closed on days of Severe, Extreme and Code Red fire ratings, please see the CFA website for up-to-date information.
For weather information please see our useful links.
