Australian Institute of Physics - Tasmanian Branch

Free public lecture - All welcome

"Twinkle, twinkle quasi-star,
How I wonder what you are?"
The search for the littlest quasar.

Dr Dave Jauncey

(CSIRO Australian Telescope National Facility)

8PM, Tuesday, 17th September, 2002 
Physics Theatre 1
University of Tasmania, Sandy Bay

ABSTRACT: 

Radio astronomers have found an unusual way to probe the finest details in distant quasars, by making use of the "twinkling" of their "radio light" as it shines through the ionized medium that pervades our Galaxy. This
twinkling is analogous to what we see on a dark, clear night, when the stars twinkle but the planets do not. This unusual technique now provides a radio telescope with an effective diameter of one hundred thousand kilometers, yielding the highest angular resolution achievable from Earth. The discovery of this "interstellar radio telescope" has set off a search for the smallest, most compact radio quasars, to see just how small and bright they really get.

David Jauncey received his PhD at Sydney University far too many years ago. He has enjoyed a very fruitful and enjoyable two-decade collaboration with the University of Tasmania's radio astronomers. All of his professional career has been spent in the quest to view the Universe with the ever finer angular resolution needed to study the most distant quasars. This has taken him to make observations with radio telescopes on all continents of the Earth, and also in space. He currently works with CSIRO's Australia Telescope National Facility, and is also a Research Professor at the University of Tasmania. He is happily married, has three grown up children, and lives in Canberra.

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