General Meeting: September 2025

ASSA monthly meetings are held in-person and are open to the general public.

Due to the University's new AV setup, it is no longer possible to stream these sessions.

Attend In-Person: This is a free public event. A theatre ticket is NOT required for this meeting. Just roll up.

Finding the Venue: The Braggs LT entrance faces the Barr Smith Lawns and is located at E10 on the map.

Meeting Agenda:

• General Meeting
• Radio Astronomy and the Hunt for Radio Stars
• Announcements & Upcoming Events
• Close at 9:30pm

Speaker: Dr Laura Driessen

Abstract: Did you know that black holes can photobomb stars? Hear about how we’ve more than doubled the known number of radio stars using Australia’s ASKAP telescope. Stars might seem easy to find, but it’s a lot trickier with black holes everywhere. I'll talk about the amazing radio telescopes here in Australia and the different kinds of radio astronomy. I'll also share my latest work searching for (and finding!) radio stars and the impact radio stars have on the planets orbiting them. Video didn't kill the radio star, but the radio star might kill the habitable planet!

Bio: Dr Laura Driessen is a radio astronomer and science communicator. Laura loves searching for hard-to-find things in the deluge of data we get from amazing radio telescopes, especially the telescopes right here in Australia. She's passionate about sharing her science and the cool astronomy being done in Australia. Laura is currently a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Sydney and Project Scientist of the Variables and Slow Transients (VAST) survey with ASKAP.

Export this event (iCal)