OzGrav

20 billion galaxies: new survey of the sky will reveal the universe in unprecedented detail The Rubin Observatory in Chile has the largest camera ever built – and is set to find objects never before seen by human eyes.

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 Astronomers captured the clearest example yet of one of these hidden explosions.

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...

How Many Kilonovae Will Rubin Observatory Help Us Spot? - AAS Nova Vera C. Rubin Observatory will detect an astonishing number of transients — including kilonovae from colliding neutron stars.

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 Astronomers have spotted runaway black holes screaming through space, leaving trails of stars in in their wake.

🕳️ 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.

OzGrav Associate Investigator Matt Dodds awarded the 2025 Prime Minister’s Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching in Secondary Schools - OzGrav OzGrav celebrates Matt Dodds, awarded the 2025 Prime Minister’s Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching for inspiring physics education in rural Australia

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...

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube. - YouTube

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...

Read more in the paper, available now: doi.org/10.3847/2041...

Media Release: www.ozgrav.org/news/twin-bl...

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...

Twin Black Hole Mergers Reveal Secrets of Cosmic Evolution - OzGrav An international team of scientists from the LIGO, Virgo, and KAGRA collaborations, including researchers from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery (OzGrav), has detected two ...

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...

Kicking Neutron Stars from the Nest - AAS Nova Neutron stars are born running, and recent research explores just how fast they start off.

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!

Ten years ago, in 2015, we heard the universe for the very first time. Gravitational waves, once a prediction of Einstein’s theory, had finally been detected in an event labelled GW150914. It was a… 10 Years of Gravitational Wave Science: The Australian Story

Find out more about Australia’s story in gravitational wave science in our full documentary, available on YouTube now youtu.be/n12Ml1sI2Kw

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. Find out more about… This happened 10 years ago, and it was weird! #GW10Years

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...

Ten years ago, in 2015, we heard the universe for the very first time. Gravitational waves, once a prediction of Einstein’s theory, had finally been detected in an event labelled GW150914. It was a… 10 Years of Gravitational Wave Science: The Australian Story

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

10 years ago, gravitational waves changed astronomy. A new discovery shows there’s more to come First, gravitational waves proved Einstein correct. Now, they’ve confirmed Stephen Hawking was right about black holes.

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. The gravitational wave event GW250114, observed by the LIGO, Virgo and KAGRA collaborations, is… We heard the universe ring... loudly. OzGrav researchers explain!

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...

Binary stars everywhere: Monash University scientists help rewrite cosmic origin story - OzGrav Binary stars everywhere: Monash University scientists help rewrite cosmic origin story A new international study, published in Nature Astronomy, reveals that massive stars are about as likely to form…

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-...

Milestone Moyal Medal awarded to astrophysicist Tamara Davis Professor Davis, an astrophysicist at UQ’s School of Mathematics, will receive the medal and deliver the 2025 Moyal Lecture on Thursday 9 October. Her lecture, titled ‘New light on dark energy: the…

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...

We recognise that this loss may be deeply felt by many in our community, particularly those
who had the privilege of working closely with Rai.

Our thoughts are with you during this time.

His legacy lives on through the discoveries we continue to make, including the GWTC-4 results that have just been announced, and through the thriving community of researchers he inspired.

Rai was larger than life, continuing to make important contributions and provide invaluable
guidance and advice to postdocs and students right until the last month of his life. He always took the time to listen and encourage new ideas.

We are saddened to hear of the passing of Rai Weiss, whose vision and dedication
laid the foundations for gravitational-wave astronomy. Rai’s pioneering work and
steadfast commitment to science made LIGO possible, opening an entirely new
window on the universe.

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)

Gravity Tests with the Double Pulsar Honoured - OzGrav 2025 Frontiers of Science Award for the international Double Pulsar research team The research paper “Strong-Field Gravity Tests with the Double Pulsar” led by OzGrav Partner Investigator Michael…

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...

Decoding the Universe | National Science Week @ Swinburne Hands‑on science + a powerhouse astrophysics panel: Decode the Universe this National Science Week at Swinburne.

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!

Decoding the Universe | National Science Week @ Swinburne Hands‑on science + a powerhouse astrophysics panel: Decode the Universe this National Science Week at Swinburne.

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