The VAST Extragalactic Survey footprint, showing the number of observations of each field. The sky map is plotted with J2000 equatorial coordinates in the Mollweide projection. The VAST Galactic survey is plotted in grey for reference. Typically, each field has been observed 10–11 times to date. Image from de Ruiter et al. (2026)

Excited to announce the first data release from our ASKAP Variables and Slow Transients survey is now available!

doi.org/10.1017/pasa...

This is a database of 6.4 million measurements of 0.5 million radio sources in our survey footprint.

(By @ozgrav.bsky.social Iris de Ruiter)

#RadioAstronomy

Example light curves of radio transients. There are 4 rows. Each row represents a different source. Each row has three panels. Left: VAST Extragalactic DR1 light curve. Black points are integrated flux density measurements from Selavy. White points are the forced-fitted flux density for images where there was no Selavy detection. Middle: VAST cutout for the epoch with the maximum flux density, the ellipse in the lower right corner of the radio image shows the FWHM of the restoring beam. Right: RGB image (details in text) of optical data from the Legacy Surveys Image from de Ruiter et al. (2026)

Posting a new version of the radio transients image as the first one has some issues :)

#RadioAstronomy

Many people have contributed to VAST. Some are on BlueSky, including:
@scibry.bsky.social
@astrolaura.com
@elenchically.bsky.social
@manishacaleb.bsky.social
@cosmicpinot.bsky.social
@funfactscience.com
@duncankgalloway.bsky.social
@colourfulcosmos.bsky.social
And more!

#RadioAstronomy

We proposed VAST in 2008 and it was accepted as one of the key Survey Science Projects on the ASKAP telescope.

17 years later we have finally released our first survey data!

Science is slow 🙂

Our youngest collaboration members had not started kindergarten when we proposed the survey!

Example light curves of radio transients. There are 4 rows. Each row represents a different source. Each row has three panels. Left: VAST Extragalactic DR1 light curve. Black points are integrated flux density measurements from Selavy. White points are the forced-fitted flux density for images where there was no Selavy detection. Middle: VAST cutout for the epoch with the maximum flux density, the ellipse in the lower right corner of the radio image shows the FWHM of the restoring beam. Right: RGB image (details in text) of optical data from the Legacy Surveys Image from de Ruiter et al. (2026)

Here are some examples of the kind of transient and variables sources we are finding with VAST Pulsars, radio stars, active galactic nuclei...

#RadioAstronomy

The VAST Extragalactic Survey footprint, showing the number of observations of each field. The sky map is plotted with J2000 equatorial coordinates in the Mollweide projection. The VAST Galactic survey is plotted in grey for reference. Typically, each field has been observed 10–11 times to date. Image from de Ruiter et al. (2026)

Excited to announce the first data release from our ASKAP Variables and Slow Transients survey is now available!

doi.org/10.1017/pasa...

This is a database of 6.4 million measurements of 0.5 million radio sources in our survey footprint.

(By @ozgrav.bsky.social Iris de Ruiter)

#RadioAstronomy

Dr Cullan Howlett - 2026 Pawsey Medal This is "Dr Cullan Howlett - 2026 Pawsey Medal" by Australian Academy of Science on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.

Congrats to OzGrav’s Dr Cullan Howlett - awarded the 2026 Pawsey Medal 👏
His research, focused on assembling the largest & most complete map of our universe ever made, has shaped our understanding of the fundamental forces & ingredients that make up the world around us.
vimeo.com/1164875635/b...

#Physics #Astrosci

ArXiv, the pioneering preprint server, declares independence from Cornell As an independent nonprofit, it hopes to raise funds to cope with exploding submissions and “AI slop”

#arXiv, the granddaddy of #preprints servers, has announced it’s splitting from Cornell U., its long-time host institution. Leaders there explain why. #OpenAccess #ScholComm @science.org www.science.org/content/arti...

Looking for a postdoc in radio astronomy? We have an opportunity at @herts.ac.uk. Please share with anybody interested.

Extreme Radio Flares from Young Stellar Objects (closing date: 2026-04-16)

Apply here: ce0997li.webitrent.com/ce0997li_web...

🔭 #RadioAstronomy #highenergyastro #stellarastro

Astronomers discover long-period radio transient of unknown origin Using the Australian SKA Pathfinder (ASKAP), astronomers have discovered a new long-period radio transient source, which received the designation ASKAP J142431.2–612611 (ASKAP J1424 for short). The ne...

A story about our new, mysterious, long period transient.

Interesting work by Joshua Pritchard and others, including (@elenchically.bsky.social, @manishacaleb.bsky.social, @funfactscience.com, @a-zic.bsky.social, @colourfulcosmos.bsky.social...)

phys.org/news/2026-03...

#RadioAstronomy #AstroSci

#astronomy :)

The Dr. Peter Domachuk Postgraduate Research Stipend Scholarship honours the life and work of Dr. Peter Domachuk, a physicist and researcher at the University of Sydney. Dr. Domachuk completed his undergraduate and Ph.D. studies at the University of Sydney, focusing on optofluidics.

Dr Peter Domachuk Postgraduate Research Stipend Scholarship

We have a great opportunity to research optics or photonics @sydney.edu.au #physics

Two postgraduate scholarships for international or domestic students

www.sydney.edu.au/scholarships...

Also comes with a $2000 pa research allowance. Deadline April 24th

Lightcurves from all ASKAP, ATCA, and MeerKAT radio observations phase-folded to the radio period of 2147.27 s. Green shading indicates the range of uncertainty in predicted pulse time around the expected pulse phase of 0.5. Pulses are only detected in the ASKAP and ATCA observations between 2025-01-09 and 2025-01-17.

New LPT who dis? #radioastro

We've found a new long-period radio transient to add to the small but growing population! 📡🔭🧪

In a recently accepted @pasajournal.bsky.social Letter, Joshua Pritchard details the bursts detected from this system during a brief active period.

arxiv.org/abs/2603.07857

Reposting in #RadioAstronomy!

The full scientific article is here:
ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2026arXi...

Published in the Astrophysical Journal.

ASKAP keeps finding transients :)

Interesting result from my talented @ozgrav.bsky.social + @sydney.edu.au PhD student Ashna Gulati.

Strong evidence for radio detection of an orphan afterglow from a gamma-ray burst

OR...

a tidal disruption event from an intermediate mass black hole.

🔭 ☄️ 🧪

theconversation.com/a-cosmic-exp...

Illustrated graphic with the boot-shaped Rubin Observatory atop its site on Cerro Pachón beneath a sparkling night sky and the glowing band of the Milky Way stretching from lower left to upper right. Sprinkled throughout are many "Data alert!" popups, labeled with icons that represent supernovae, asteroids, hungry black holes, and more.

A 3-by-4 grid of grayscale astronomical images zoomed in on single objects. From left to right, the columns are labeled Template, New image, and difference. From top to bottom, the rows are labeled supernova, variable star, active galactic nucleus, and solar system object.

The largest spot-the-difference effort EVER has begun!🚨

On the night of Feb 24, NSF–DOE Rubin Observatory officially released its first ~800,000 public alerts of detected changes in the night sky!🔍

A new era of discovery is here✨ 🔭🧪☄️

🔗: rubinobservatory.org/news/first-a...

A new map offers new perspective on the city, revealing the steady, ever-present natural radiation emerging from the ground beneath our feet.

👉 Read the full story: theconversation.com/the-gro...

Radiation dose rate map for metropolitan Sydney. Colour scale from dark blue (low) to yellow (higher). Original image is in the paper: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0265931X2600024X

A map of radiation levels across Sydney

⚛️

Sydney’s first terrestrial gamma-radiation map Natural background radiation originates mainly from the decay of long-lived isotopes in rocks and soils, and the distribution of these radionuclides i…

The full scientific article is here:

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Cartoon summarising a new article about radioactivity levels in Sydney, by physicist Laura Manenti. The full article is: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0265931X2600024X

A very interesting article about radioactivity levels in Sydney (mainly due to the different rock types underneath the city).

Mapped in detail for the first time by Laura Manenti @sydney.edu.au and undergraduate students Tengiz Ibrayev and Matilda Lawton.

www.smh.com.au/national/nsw...

⚛️

VLITE Marks 11 Years of Capturing the Dynamic Radio Sky - National Radio Astronomy Observatory The U.S. National Science Foundation National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NSF NRAO) and the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) are celebrating the 11th anniversary of the VLA Low-band Ionosphere an...

VLITE Marks 11 Years of Capturing the Dynamic Radio Sky

A collaboration between the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory and the NRAO celebrates over a decade of commensal observing with the NSF Very Large Array. @usnrl.bsky.social

#Astronomy #RadioAstronomy

Chirp for LIGO Supercut Trailer YouTube video by Unruly Curiosity

Tomorrow marks the 10th anniversary of the announcement of our first detection!

Back in 2016, excitement was building with everyone getting into the spirit with #ChirpForLIGO (thank you @astrokatie.com!)

Reminisce with this supercut www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uzi...

#GW10Years ⚛️🧪🔭

This is fun, and I am... in my expected location, amongst #Astronomy people.

Two of my closest neighbours are @astrolaura.com and @cosmicpudding.bsky.social - very appropriate!

And is that @funfactscience.com just out of view...

🔭 ☄️ 🧪

Astronaut Bruce McCandless about 100 yards from the space shuttle during an EVA, with no tether. The Earth is bright and blue below him, with a scattering of feathery white clouds across the surface. McCandless is suspended above, small and white against the black backdrop of space.

In this photo, taken #OTD in 1984, Bruce McCandless is an *football field away from the space shuttle with no safety tether.*

No astronaut, before or since, has been that far away from their ship while in orbit. (2/n)

Astronaut Bruce McCandless about 100 yards from the space shuttle during an EVA, with no tether. The Earth is bright and blue below him, with a scattering of feathery white clouds across the surface. McCandless is suspended above, small and white against the black backdrop of space.

Another shot of Bruce McCandless during an EVA, this time much closer to the shuttle. The Earth below him is covered in clouds. Space above the Earth is black and featureless; any stars that would be visible are washed out by the bright surface below. McCandless is in his white, clunky spacesuit with its reflective copper-colored visor and a large, blockish maneuvering unit on his back.

Bruce McCandless and Robert Stewart, mission specialists on the Space Shuttle Challenger during STS-41-B, used nitrogen-propelled maneuvering units to perform the first untethered spacewalks #OTD in 1984. 🧪 🔭 🚀
(1/n)

Images: NASA

Thank you! It’s a pity we don’t know more about which books were in the Austen family library

Carbonaceous Cosmic Dust Analogs Distinguish between Ion Bombardment and Temperature Carbonaceous Cosmic Dust Analogs Distinguish between Ion Bombardment and Temperature, Losurdo, Linda R., McKenzie, David R.

And the full scientific article:

iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3...