Thrilled to be one of this year's NSW Young Tall Poppy Science Award recipients! 🥳 aips.org.au/2026-young-t... 🧪
Dr Laura Driessen
@astrolaura.com
Radio astronomer and science communicator at the University of Sydney. Die hard Melbourne demons fan. Opinions are my own. www.astrolaura.com
Trying to watch The Dish but it keeps getting all blurry. Feeling totally heartbroken, Sam Neill you were an absolute legend
New long period radio transient just dropped! Brand spanking new work by @funfactscience.com 👀 🔭🧪
Fun Fact Science with Kovi@funfactscience.com · 2mo agoOfficially 5 years to the day since I submitted my PhD thesis! And yes, it was pink throughout 😎
At the ABC today to chat science with Dr Karl on Triple J at 11am AEDT! Important to say hi to Big Ted, Little Ted and Jemima
An hour until the partial lunar eclipse starts! Then the total lunar eclipse at 10:04pm AEDT. I'm in cloudy Canberra, but I've heard that Brisbane and Perth have lovely clear skies! 🌚🔭
Selling stars is big business. If you missed my written rant about it last week, you can listen to me rant about it on the ABC instead 😆 www.abc.net.au/listen/progr... 🔭🧪
Lab Notes: Why buying a star name is nonsense - ABC listen
A quick online search reveals multiple paid services for naming stars as commemorative gifts. You'll be provided with a certificate and a map for finding your star in the sky. But these names are not ...
abc.net.au
Today's Conversation article brought to you by extreme frustration 😖 theconversation.com/for-40-you-c... 🧪🔭
For $40, you can name a star for your Valentine. But it won’t mean much
So what names do astronomers use for stars and how are official star names selected?
theconversation.com
Auroras are pretty fickle beasts, but fingers crossed the geomagnetic storm will continue into the Australian night so some of us can see it! 🔭 The further south you are the better, Tasmania is best 😆 bottom of the south island of NZ even better 🤣
Literally a few hours ago I commissioned @bsky.rennatelier.art to draw my dog Astro and she already finished it for me! How cute is this?! I love it! vgen.co/rennatelier ❤️
Grateful for Earth's global magnetic field today. Protecting us from cosmic radiation and putting on a light show?! Mars could never 💅
Want to see the aurora? Tonight might be the night! There have been a bunch of coronal mass ejections (big flares of plasma) from the Sun that are all arriving at Earth today and tonight. theconversation.com/aurora-likel...
Aurora likely tonight as string of solar flares heads for Earth
Four big outbursts from the Sun mean skies may light up much further from the poles than usual.
theconversation.com
I've been thinking a bit about how talking about aliens affects how we share new astronomy discoveries, so I wrote an article about it 👽🔭🧪 theconversation.com/is-it-aliens...
Is it aliens? Why that’s the least important question about interstellar objects
The alien question, while fun, generates misinformation and distracts from the science.
theconversation.com
Are you a grad student interested in writing for Astrobites, or do you know one? We're recruiting! Apply by November 26 :) astrobites.org/2025/10/31/a...
Apply to Write for Astrobites 2025!
Love astronomy, astrophysics, and science communication? Come join the Astrobites team! Applications due November 26th.
astrobites.org
ARC says Discovery Projects outcomes will be tomorrow (Tuesday). Linkage Projects (2025, round 1) on Wed. Over past ~year, it's often been at about 11am (Canberra). My bot will pick up the change to RMS & post immediately. ARC should email outcomes to lead CIs, but might take an 1hr or so for DPs
Hailstone from the balcony in Brisbane, this storm is intense! Even after melting a bit it's bigger than a 50 cent piece!
Stopping in to say hi to one of my fav telescopes on the way to Siding Spring Observatory! Tonight, I'm on a panel in a pub in Coonabarabran. Siding Spring is an optical Observatory, but I'm a radio astronomer. So I had to stop in at the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) first! 🔭📡
2 out of 3 Aussies will be changing their clocks forward this weekend, but why do the days get longer? Find out in my article on daylight savings: theconversation.com/daylight-sav...
Daylight saving is about to start. But why do the days get longer?
Earth’s tilt means the Sun both rises earlier and sets later as we head towards summer.
theconversation.com
Did you even see the eclipse if you don't post a fuzzy phone camera photo of it? 🌚
It's cleared up in Sydney and I can see the shadow creeping across the Moon! 🥳🌚🔭
Dr Laura Driessen@astrolaura.com · 11mo agoLunar eclipse fans, there's a total lunar eclipse this weekend! All of Australia (and a bunch of other countries) will be able to see all the best bits. The eclipse will be in the evening of Sunday the 7th or the morning of Monday the 8th of September 🧪🔭🌝 www.abc.net.au/news/science...
Lunar eclipse fans, there's a total lunar eclipse this weekend! All of Australia (and a bunch of other countries) will be able to see all the best bits. The eclipse will be in the evening of Sunday the 7th or the morning of Monday the 8th of September 🧪🔭🌝 www.abc.net.au/news/science...
When and where can I see Monday's total lunar eclipse from Australia?
A total lunar eclipse, also known as a "blood moon", will be visible across all of Australia next week. Here's what you need to know to get the best view and snap the best photo.
abc.net.au
There's a black moon on Saturday! Sounds very cool, but is it actually cool? I wrote an article for @aunz.theconversation.com about this very recent term for a "special" new moon 🌚🧪🔭 theconversation.com/whats-a-blac...
What’s a ‘black moon’? Here’s why it’s worth looking up at the sky this week
The Moon will indeed be black, kind of. But that’s not why you should look up this weekend.
theconversation.com
It's the first day of National Science Week in Australia, so here's a friendly astronomy PSA: the Perseid meteor shower is not for us It's not a great meteor shower for those of us down under. For more info, check out this article by Prof Horner: theconversation.com/everyones-ta... 🧪📡
Everyone’s talking about the Perseid meteor shower – but don’t bother trying to see it in Australia or NZ
Use our interactive globe to see if you’re in the ‘zone of disappointment’ for the Perseids – then save these dates for better meteor showers to watch.
theconversation.com
I'm the voice of an audiobook! Not something I ever thought I'd do, but I was so excited when Dr Karl asked me to voice the audiobook version of Vital Science It was loads of fun, thanks to the fantastic reading material and the amazing producer I worked with at Bolinda Audio
I heard that Chiron was in retrograde, but I didn't even know what Chiron was... I wrote an article about it so you can learn about Chiron too! 🧪🔭 theconversation.com/move-over-me...
Move over Mercury – Chiron is in retrograde. What even is Chiron?
If you’re like most people, you’ve never heard of it. Meet the ringed asteroid-comet hybrid prowling the outer reaches of the Solar System.
theconversation.com
Join us at the Chau Chak Wing museum to National Science Week! I'll be giving a talk, exact time TBD
Sydney Mathematical Research Institute (SMRI)@sydmathinst.bsky.social · 12mo agoScience at the Museum is happening at the Chau Chak Wing Museum on Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th August! Join us as we team up again with the museum for a program loaded with activities for the whole family! #MathSky #NationalScienceWeek mathematical-research-institute.sydney.edu.au/event/scienc...
Totally agree! But it could also be because they measured this using X posts and X posts only... so a contributing factor could be that women scientists have bailed from that terrible place and are posting their science results elsewhere
Abigail Goben @hedgielib.bsky.social · last yr.Well sure, because they are also building a new program, mentoring 18 students, and carrying the service load. phys.org/news/2025-07...
This image is just too good! 🤩 some awesome work by Ryan and team!
Ryan White@astroryan.bsky.social · last yr.Exciting news! My second first-author paper is out on the arXiv today!! arxiv.org/abs/2507.14610 We present a brand new JWST image of the Apep colliding wind binary in the mid-infrared, and we study what this nebula can tell us about the THREE stars in it's centre. Read on for more... 1/?🔭🧪
OK, so what are we gonna name Betelgeuse's new friend? It's fun that astronomers found that Betelgeuse has a little buddy, but Betelgeuse A and Betelgeuse B just doesn’t roll off the tongue... anyone have ideas? 🧪🔭 share.google/idDc5XW1eIXJ...
It's official. Betelgeuse has a companion star. But it won't last long – one day Betelgeuse will swallow its buddy | BBC Sky at Night Magazine
Betelgeuse's companion star was found in a tight orbit using the ‘Alopeke instrument on Gemini North at the International Gemini Observatory.
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