Uniting Under One Sky: An International Collaboration Answering Some of the Biggest Questions in Astronomy

What did the young universe look like? If life is out there, what does it look like? Why is the universe expanding?

Researchers at Curtin University are at the forefront of astronomy, seeking answers to some of the biggest questions in astrophysics. Curtin’s Institute of Radio Astronomy (CIRA) is a world leading research group, utilising the Murchison region in Western Australia, one of the most radio quiet areas on Earth, to make world leading discoveries.

CIRA, located in Perth, Western Australia, is a hub for collaboration among experts in areas of astrophysics, engineering and computer science. The Institute is on a mission to develop and build the next generation of radio telescopes to further explore these cosmic mysteries, while also connecting their findings with local Indigenous knowledge and the culture of the Yamaji people. CIRA has already made game-changing discoveries and has played an important role in bringing global projects to Western Australia, such as the Square Kilometre Array (SKA).

But what is radio astronomy and why is it so important? Radio astronomy uses radio telescopes that detect and amplify radio waves from space, turning them into signals that astronomers can study to enhance our understanding of the universe. Much like tuning a radio to a particular station, radio astronomers tune their telescopes to pick up radio waves from billions of light years away. This technology will continue to change the way we view the universe and significantly expand our knowledge of the laws of physics that govern it.

Using the telescopes to search the far stretches of the universe, researchers have uncovered an unusual object unlike anything astronomers have seen before. The unusual object emitted powerful bursts of energy for up to a minute, every 18 minutes over three months, then abruptly stopped. Despite being one of the brightest radio objects in the sky, it went unnoticed until 2020, when undergraduate student Tyrone O’Doherty revisited data collected by the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) as part of his Honours project. Astrophysicist Associate Professor Natasha Hurley-Walker, Tyrone’s supervisor, led the team that made this significant discovery. “When it is on, it is brighter than the next brightest thing in the sky in that area which is a supermassive black hole millions of light years away.”

Analysis of the pulses ruled out artificial sources (like aliens) or interference by Earth-based technologies, indicating it was a new type of radio transient – objects that turn on and off. Discovering something that remained active for a minute was highly unusual and challenges the understanding of cosmic theory, as most repeating sources flash on and off within milliseconds or seconds. A/Prof Hurley-Walker and her team believe the object could be a remnant of a collapsed star, either a neutron star or white dwarf star, with a strong magnetic field that has become twisted or tangled. “We’ve predicted these things exist, but nobody expected them to be detectable.” The team is closely monitoring the object with the MWA to see if it reactivates and will continue searching for more unusual objects within the data already collected.

Significant findings like A/Prof Hurley-Walker’s using the MWA, are paving the way for future discoveries and have been crucial in securing the low frequency part of the SKA project for Western Australia. With a sensitivity 1,000 times greater than the MWA, the SKA will enable researchers to find more distant and fainter objects therefore aiding further scientific advancement.

Leading the effort at Curtin in securing the SKA project is Professor Steven Tingay, Executive Director of CIRA and the Director of the MWA. He has been instrumental in the Institute’s success, founding the Institute in 2007. Prof Tingay was named WA Scientist of the Year in 2020 and, more recently, 2024 Western Australian of the Year Award in the Professions Category.  Since the beginning of the MWA, Prof Tingay has been dedicated to merging science with cultural and educational outreach. He has collaborated with the Wajarri Yamaji community on various art projects, celebrating the rich cultural heritage connected to the night sky.

An art project led by the SKA Observatory, Shared Sky, grew out of these collaborations and brought together Indigenous artists from Australia and South Africa, the two main SKA sites, emphasising the shared human connection to the sky. This collaborative exhibition embodies the SKA’s vision of “One Sky”, highlighting that the night sky belongs to all humanity, transcending borders and uniting diverse communities.

Artists like Charmaine Green, member of the Wajarri Cultural Group of the Yamaji Nation in Western Australia, have contributed to this artistic dialogue, drawing upon ancestral stories and celestial observations.  Green, who is a visual artist, poet and writer has been influential in shaping the collaboration with CIRA. The Australian artwork depicts the dark shape of an emu in the Milky Way, signifying the season for collecting emu eggs, and exemplifying this deep connection to the sky.

With the SKA project due for completion in 2029, it is expected to be one of this century’s major science endeavours. Not only will it uncover the mysteries of the cosmos, but it will also deliver extensive benefits to the Western Australian community and economy. Watch this space!