ScienceNetwork WA

THE highest resolution images ever obtained of a supernova remnant are giving astronomers insights into how these massive explosions occur and in understanding the origins of life.

A RECENT study of stromatolites containing fossils of ancient life in WA’s Pilbara region suggests the most effective method of finding evidence of life on Mars is with a manned mission rather than robotic spacecraft.

SCIENTISTS have drilled 65m into the core of one of Western Australia’s youngest craters in a bid to pinpoint the precise age of the meteor that produced it and its composition.

ASTRONOMERS around the world are keeping their eyes on the recently discovered comets PanStarrs, Lemmon and ISON that are currently making their way through our solar system.

TWO WA scientists have published a study based on analyses of impact-molten rock samples from the 76-million-year-old Lappajärvi crater in Finland, and now they are shifting their focus to craters much closer to home.

A UNIQUE picture of three galaxies was presented to a year 12 Trinity College student yesterday, after he won a competition to suggest a region of space for the Gemini South telescope to capture.

THE SKA project is already heralding a new era of science in WA and promises to turn the State into a major science and technology hub and diversify its mining-dominated economy.

ASTRONOMER and photographer John Goldsmith says the next few months present the best opportunities to photograph aurora australis from Australia.

A NEW image of a galaxy-scale cosmic jet baring a striking resemblance to a fighter jet’s afterburner flow may provide astronomers with new insights into how galaxies form and grow.

SCIENTISTS predict that the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP)—Australia’s newest radio telescope and forerunner to the Square Kilometre Array project (SKA)—will be capable of discovering an unprecedented 700,000 new galaxies.