Congratulations to OzGrav’s Dr Iris de Ruiter on being awarded a prestigious 2026 Gruber Foundation Fellowship in collaboration with the International Astronomical Union. Read more: www.ozgrav.org/awards/ozgra...

The latest gravitational-wave catalog from the LIGO–Virgo–KAGRA Collaboration has added 161 new detections, bringing the total number of observed signals to 390. Researchers found evidence that black holes may form through multiple different pathways. Read more: www.ozgrav.org/news/scienti...

What happens after a star explodes? Researchers from OzGrav have completed one of the most sensitive searches yet for continuous gravitational waves from young supernova remnants. www.ozgrav.org/news/hunting...

How do you check the accuracy of instruments designed to detect ripples in spacetime? By using colliding black holes. OzGrav researchers have demonstrated a new way to use gravitational waves themselves to help calibrate the detectors that observe them. Read more: www.ozgrav.org/news/how-bla...

OzGrav Director Professor Matthew Bailes has officially launched Swinburne’s Virtual Universe ✨ www.ozgrav.org/news/ozgrav-...

Exclusive: Swinburne’s Virtual Universe! In this piece, OzGrav's Director, Prof Matthew Bailes, shares how this immersive space is transforming the way we explore and communicate astronomy, bringing the Universe to life in ways you can’t experience anywhere else. www.facebook.com/watch/?v=192...

🍻 Canberra - science meets the pub. OzGrav’s Dr Rowina Nathan and Dr Liana Rauf are speaking at the Canberra edition of Pint of Science, bringing gravitational waves, galaxy mapping, and cutting-edge astrophysics to the stage. 📅 Wed 20 May | 6:30pm 🎟️ $15 pintofscience.com.au/event/traver...

You can measure a black hole with echoes. OzGrav PhD student Hugh explains how astronomers use the flickering of light around supermassive black holes to measure their mass from afar. Echoes become rulers. youtube.com/shorts/40IIQ...

This week, OzGrav researchers from two of our key programs came together at the University of Melbourne for a Collaboration Planning Workshop — bringing different expertise into the same room, sharing tools and approaches, and creating space to spark new projects.

A study led by Anais Möller, Simon Stevenson & Jade Powell has now been featured in Nature Astronomy. The research explores how kilonovae will appear in data from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory. 🔗 Read the highlight: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

We’re excited to share that OzGrav has been featured on NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day 🌌 This stunning visual combines real astrophotography of the Tarantula Nebula with an OzGrav simulation of two black holes in their final “death dance”. 🔗 See the full feature: apod.nasa.gov/apod/fap/ap2...

What if some stars explode… and leave nothing behind? 💥 OzGrav-led research has uncovered evidence of pair-instability supernovae—explosions so powerful they completely obliterate the star. 🔗 Read more: www.ozgrav.org/news/new-stu...

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...

OzGrav postdoc Dr Rowina Nathan attended Science Meets Parliament last week, bringing gravitational-wave science into conversations with policymakers. From discussing the role of missions like GRACE in tracking water movement during floods, to learning how science can better inform policy!

Our first Space Times newsletter for 2026 is out now 🚀 This March edition highlights new insights into twin black hole mergers, alongside the outreach, mentoring, and Centre-wide efforts that keep OzGrav thriving. Explore the latest edition: www.ozgrav.org/space-times-... → Click March 2026

OzGrav Associate Investigator Dr Anaïs Möller explains how the Vera C. Rubin Observatory is about to create a 10-year “movie” of the southern sky — and help us probe dark energy. She also co-leads Fink, one of Rubin’s AI-powered community brokers. Read more: theconversation.com/20-billion-g...

A cosmic explosion with the force of a billion Suns went unseen — until we caught its echo. OzGrav’s Prof Tara Murphy & PhD student Ashna Gulati have uncovered what may be the clearest “orphan afterglow” yet, the radio ghost of a hidden gamma-ray burst. Read: theconversation.com/a-cosmic-exp...

When two neutron stars collide, they shake spacetime and light up the cosmos in a brilliant flash called a kilonova. OzGrav researchers Dr Anais Möller, Dr Jade Powell and Dr Simon Stevenson explore how the Vera C. Rubin Observatory could help spot these rare events. aasnova.org/2026/02/04/h...

🕳️ New fear unlocked: runaway black holes What happens when two black holes merge unevenly? OzGrav’s Prof David Blair explains how uneven black-hole mergers can launch newly formed black holes across galaxies at extraordinary speeds. 👉 Read more: theconversation.com/new-fear-unl...

Last week we brought together more than 160 OzGrav members for our combined ECR Workshop and Annual Retreat in Melbourne. It was a full week of learning, collaboration, and community. Thank you to everyone who contributed, presented and helped make the week such a productive and enjoyable one.

Congrats to OzGrav Associate Investigator, Matt Dodds, recipient of the 2025 Prime Minister’s Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching in Secondary Schools! We’re incredibly proud to see Matt’s dedication to STEM education recognised on a national stage. 🙌 #PMPrizes www.ozgrav.org/awards/ozgra...

Happy Halloween from OzGrav! Space can be spooky, from black holes to zombie stars, and the eerie silence to the possibility of life. Here's what our OzGrav'ers think is the most spooky about the universe. Music by Mikhail Smusev from Pixabay youtube.com/shorts/0ULtz...

We’re closer to solving dark matter thanks to these black holes! OzGrav PhD student at ANU, Aswathi, was part of the analysis team of the GW241011+GW241110 special event paper. Here she explains how these events helped refine our understanding of dark matter. youtube.com/shorts/wW4yp...

Two #blackhole mergers, GW241011 & GW241110, detected a month apart in 2024 are helping scientists learn how black holes form, spin & evolve. Researchers from OzGrav & ANU, incl. PhD student Aswathi P Subhash & CI Dr Ling (Lilli) Sun contributed key analysis. www.ozgrav.org/news/twin-bl...

New research by OzGrav PhD student Paul Disberg and Chief Investigator Prof. Ilya Mandel (Monash University) explores how newborn neutron stars get a powerful natal kick — a supernova shove that launches them at hundreds of km/s! 👉 aasnova.org/2025/09/24/k... #Astrophysics #NeutronStars #Supernova

✨ OzGrav Space Times is back! We’re thrilled to relaunch our official newsletter, your go-to source for updates, discoveries, and stories from the gravitational-wave community. Check out the October 2025 issue and catch up on all things OzGrav! 🔗 www.ozgrav.org/space-times-...

Celebrating 10 Years of Gravitational Waves! Last week, OzGrav hosted a two-day workshop at Swinburne to mark a decade since the first detection of gravitational waves, GW150914, a discovery that reshaped astrophysics and confirmed Einstein’s prediction. Here’s to the next decade of discovery!

This happened 10 years ago, and it was weird! GW150914 was the first ever detection of gravitational waves, when two black holes collided, sending ripples through space. youtube.com/shorts/_GEr2...

A decade ago, we heard the universe for the first time. Gravitational waves changed physics forever. Here’s how Australia helped make it happen. 🎓 Discover the story in our new documentary: youtu.be/n12Ml1sI2Kw

A new gravitational wave event rocked detectors almost 10 years after the first detection. But this time, it was up to four times as loud thanks to a decade of upgrades. OzGrav Associate Investigator Dr Simon Stevenson explains more in The Conversation: theconversation.com/10-years-ago...

Ten years ago, we heard the universe for the first time. Now, we’ve heard it again... only louder. OzGrav researchers, Neil Lu, PhD student at the Australian National University (ANU), and Teagan Clarke, PhD student at Monash University, explain! youtube.com/shorts/edkqk...

New in Nature Astronomy: An international study co-authored by OzGrav’s Prof Ilya Mandel reveals massive stars are just as likely to form in close binaries in the early Universe as today, reshaping our understanding of stellar evolution & gravitational wave origins. www.ozgrav.org/news/binary-...

Congratulations to OzGrav's Deputy Director, Professor Tamara Davis AM, recipient of the 2025 Moyal Medal awarded by Macquarie University for her outstanding contributions to astrophysics and cosmology. Read more here: lighthouse.mq.edu.au/media-releas...

Vale Rai Weiss Image: Rainer Weiss after receiving his Nobel Prize at the Stockholm Concert Hall, 10 December 2017. (Credit: Pi Frisk/Nobel Media AB 2017)

Congratulations to OzGrav Partner Investigator Dr Michael Kramer and OzGrav Chief Investigator Prof Adam Deller, whose international team has been awarded the 2025 Frontiers of Science Award for their research on the Double Pulsar. Read more here: www.ozgrav.org/awards/gravi...

Last chance to register for our National Science Week event! 📅 13 Aug ⏰ 5:30 PM: Science Outreach Activities | 6:30 PM: Panel + Audience Q&A 📍 AMDC301, Swinburne University 🎟️ Tickets: 2 adults for $10 ($5 each!) 👧 Children (0–16 years): FREE Link: www.eventbrite.com.au/e/decoding-t...

Dynamic Radio Sky 2025 at USyd wrapped up last Friday with an amazing turnout of over 90 radio astronomers from Australia and abroad. The feedback has been fantastic, with standout talks from students and experts alike. A huge thank you to everyone who attended and made the conference a success!

Join us this National Science Week! 📅 Date: Wednesday, 13 August 2025 ⏰ Time: 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM: Science Outreach Activities | 6:30 PM – 7:30 PM: Panel + Audience Q&A 📍 Venue: AMDC301, Swinburne University 🎟️ Tickets: $10 adults | Free for kids Link: www.eventbrite.com.au/e/decoding-t...

Congrats to Natasha Van Bemmel on winning an MNRAS Student Prize. The MNRAS editors selected her first‑author paper, An Optically Led Search for Kilonovae to z~0.3 with KNTraP, as one of six best student‑led publications this year, what a debut! #OzGrav #Swinburne #MNRAS #NatashaVanBemmel

GW231123: Heaviest black‑hole merger yet detected in gravitational waves. ~100 M☉ + ~140 M☉ → ~225 M☉ remnant, spins near physical limit. “This blip forces us to rethink how very heavy, rapidly spinning black holes come to be.” – Prof Eric Thrane Read: www.ozgrav.org/news/ligo-de...

OzGrav has been awarded the Gold Pleiades Award by the Astronomical Society of Australia’s IDEA Chapter! The award recognises our sustained commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion, and reflects the collective effort of our community in building an inclusive and supportive research environment.

Blink and you’ll miss it! Astronomers have captured a 30-nanosecond radio ‘spark’ from NASA’s long-silent Relay 2 satellite. See how this surprise find sharpens our hunt for Fast Radio Bursts 👉 www.ozgrav.org/news/astrono...

Swinburne’s Indigenous Astrophysics Work Experience Program returns this July, giving First Nations Year 10-12 students a week of hands-on astrophysics, blending cutting-edge research with the world’s oldest sky stories. 🔗 Read more: nit.com.au/13-06-2025/1... #IndigenousSTEM #OzGrav #Astrophysics

🌟 Huge congrats to OzGrav Deputy Director Prof Tamara Davis AM FAA, newly elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science! Her work on dark energy is changing how we understand the Universe. 🔗 smp.uq.edu.au/article/2025/05/uq-professors-named-australian-academy-science-fellows #WomenInSTEM

inSTEM 2025 wrapped up last week & what an inspiring 2 days it was! Huge thanks to all who joined, especially to Prof Emma Lee OAM for her powerful keynote. Shoutout to OzGrav's Diana Haikal & Kirsten Banks for their brilliant Networking 101 workshop. 📸 ozgrav.org/gallery/instem-2025

Congrats to OzGrav AI, Dr Anais Möller, who has secured a prestigious CNRS International Emerging Actions grant for Project CHANDELIER. This French-Australian collaboration will merge #LSST & #ASKAP data to probe cosmic explosions and dark energy. #CHANDELIER #LSST #ASKAP

Researchers at ICRAR & OzGrav, together with an international collaboration, have identified ASKAP J1832-0911—a long-period transient that emits 2-minute pulses in both radio and X-ray wavelengths every 44 minutes. Results published in Nature. Read more: www.ozgrav.org/news/cosmic-...

Tiny beginnings. Catastrophic endings. One unforgettable night. Public Lecture featuring Dr Katie Mack @astrokatie.com 📅 Date: Tuesday, 15 July 2025 ⏰ Time: 6:00 PM 📍 Venue: AMDC301, Swinburne University 🎟️ Tickets: $15 Link to register: www.eventbrite.com.au/e/public-lec... @spaceaustralia.com

🎉 Huge congratulations to our brilliant Deputy Director Professor Tamara Davis on being elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science! 🌟@tamarastro.bsky.social www.science.org.au/news-and-eve...

A new study led by OzGrav’s Dr Daniel Reardon from Swinburne University used a twinkling pulsar to reveal hidden plasma structures—and for the first time, peer inside a pulsar bow shock. Published in Nature Astronomy. Read more via The Conversation: theconversation.com/twinkling-st...