Astronomers have measured the distance to one of the Milky Way’s most bizarre objects for the first time, using the Australian Mopra radio telescope near Coonabarabran.
Australia’s Mopra telescope, nestled in NSW’s Warrumbungle National Park, is earmarked for closure in a year thanks to CSIRO funding cuts. But this one-of-a-kind telescope is well worth saving, writes Michael Burton.
Using a telescope installed at the driest place on earth, Antarctica's Ridge A, a UNSW-led team has identified the early stages of a giant cloud of molecular gas – the birthplace of stars.
A UNSW-led team of astronomers has begun to map the location of the most massive and mysterious objects in our galaxy – the giant gas clouds where new stars are born.