Upcoming
Expand Your Universe
The Universe is expanding and so is our scientific understanding of it. Macarthur Astronomical Society spreads this knowledge to our members and the public through the Macarthur Astronomy Forum at Western Sydney University.
We provide a platform for notable Australian and international astronomers to share their discoveries about the Universe with the Macarthur community – in a non-technical format which is understandable to non-scientists.
The monthly Forums are held at 7.30 pm – 9.30 pm on the Third Monday of each month (Jan-Nov) and the First Monday in December. Details can be found on our News & Events page. Go to our Forum Map page for details of how to get there.
Guest Speaker Lists
| Speaker List 1997-2019: > here < | Speaker List 2020 onwards: below. |
Guest Speaker List 2025
| DATE | VENUE | SPEAKER | TOPIC |
| 20 Jan | WSU | Dr Caroline Foster (UNSW) | Why do galaxies slow down as they age? |
| 17 Feb | WSU | Prof Richard de Grijs (Macquarie Uni) | The Sound of Silence: Listening to the Universe. |
| 3 Mar | WSU | Prof Fred Watson (AM) | Tomorrow’s Universe – The Discoveries that will Change Science |
| 17 Mar | WSU | Dr Theresa Fruth (USYD) | Building a Detector for the Invisible |
| 21 April | WSU | AGM – then Elizabeth Arcadi (MSc Mac Uni) | Detection of Exoplanets |
| 19 May | WSU | Dr Laura Driessen (USYD) | tba |
| 16 Jun | WSU | Dr Emil Lenc (CSIRO) | tba |
| 21 Jul | WSU | Prof Roberto Soria (INAF) | Measuring the Universe, from the solar system to the cosmological horizon. |
| 18 Aug | WSU | Dr Luke Barnes (WSU) | tba |
| 15 Sep | WSU | Dr Brad Tucker (ANU) | tba |
| 20 Oct | WSU | Prof Charley Lineweaver (ANU) | tba |
| 17 Nov | WSU | Dr Jesse Van Der Sande (UNSW) | tba |
| 1 Dec | WSU | Prof Geraint Lewis (USYD) | tba |
Guest Speaker List 2024
| DATE | VENUE | SPEAKER | TOPIC |
| 15 Jan | WSU | Dr Ciaran O’Hare (USYD) | The Biggest Objects are Influenced by the Tiniest. |
| 19 Feb | WSU | Dr Stefania Barsanti (ANU) | The Spinning of Galaxies in the Web of Our Universe. |
| 18 Mar | WSU | Prof Ray Norris (WSU) (Zoom) | Odd Radio Circles: Explosions in distant galaxies. |
| 15 Apr | WSU | AGM + Phil Kidd (MAS) | Smart Telescopes. The new thing in Astronomy. |
| 20 May | WSU | Dr Laura Driessen (USYD) | Radio Astronomy And The Hunt for Radio Stars |
| 17 Jun | WSU | Prof Roberto Soria INAF (Zoom) | Astronomy in Shakespeare |
| 15 Jul | WSU | Dr Brad Tucker (ANU) | Mt Stromlo: The first 100 years, and into the future. |
| 19 Aug | WSU | Prof Jonti Horner (USEQ) (Zoom) | A Comet’s Tale |
| 16 Sep | WSU | Frank Alvaro (MAS Member) | Backyard to Deep Space. A Journey in Astrophotography. |
| 21 Oct | WSU | Prof Richard de Grijs (Macquarie Uni) | Postponed to 17th February 2025 |
| 18 Nov | WSU | Dr Tayyaba Zafar (Macq Uni) (Zoom) | Australia’s Next Frontier: MANIFEST at the Giant Magellan Telescope |
| 2 Dec | WSU | Prof Geraint Lewis (USYD) | Stress Testing the Cosmological Principle |
Guest Speaker List 2023
| DATE | VENUE | SPEAKER | TOPIC |
| 16 Jan | Zoom | David Nelson (MAS member) | Meteorites 101 |
| 21 Feb | Zoom | Dr Jonty Marshall | Spilling The Secrets Of Exoplanets |
| 20 Mar | Zoom | Sarah Caddy (Macq Uni) | The Huntsman Telescope at the AAO |
| 17 Apr | Zoom | AGM then Prof Charley Lineweaver (ANU) | The Galactic Habitable Zone |
| 15 May | Zoom | Prof Jonti Horner (USQ) | The Search for Alien Worlds |
| 19 Jun | Zoom | Dr Brad Tucker (ANU) | Exploding Stars and Dark Energy |
| 17 Jul | Zoom | Prof Matthew Bailes (Swinburne) | Postponed |
| 14 Aug | WSU | Prof Joss Bland-Hawthorn (USYD)|(Zoom) | Daily Life of Supermassive Black Holes |
| 4 Sep | WSU | Prof Matthew Bailes (Swinburne) | Exploring Einstein’s Universe |
| 18 Sep | WSU | Dr Doris Grosse (ANU) (Zoom) | Twinkle, Twinkle Little Junk |
| 16 Oct | WSU | Prof Geraint Lewis (USYD) (Zoom) | Black Holes, Time & the Early Universe |
| 20 Nov | WSU | Dr Luke Barnes (WSU) | Is there life out there in the Universe? |
| 04 Dec | WSU | Dr Lucyna Chudczer | The European Southern Observatory |
Guest Speaker List 2022
| DATE | VENUE | SPEAKER | TOPIC |
| 17 Jan | Zoom | Dr Devika Kamath (MaqU) | Unravelling Chemical Diversity Shaping our Universe. |
| 21 Feb | Zoom | Dr Brad Tucker (ANU) | Shocking Supernova & discovering progenitors. |
| 21 Mar | Zoom | Prof Roberto Soria (UCAS) | Revisiting the expansion of the universe. |
| 18 Apr | Zoom | Dr Tayyaba Zafar (Macq Uni)+AGM | Distant faint galaxies, like an Easter Egg hunt |
| 16 May | Zoom | Prof Charley Lineweaver (ANU) | The Origin of the Universe from ‘Nothing’. |
| 20 Jun | Zoom | Prof Roberto Soria (UCAS) | Sagittarius A* Black Hole. |
| 18 Jul | Zoom | Dr Simon Ellis (Macq Uni) | MAVIS, for the Very Large Telescope in Chile. |
| 29 Aug | Zoom | Prof Joss Bland-Hawthorn (USYD) | Giant waves across the Milky Way. |
| 22 Sep | Zoom | Dr Luke Barnes (WSU) | Aristotle, Newton, Einstein. |
| 17 Oct | Zoom | Dr Emil Lenc (ATNF) | ASKAP. |
| 21 Nov | Zoom | Malcolm Ellis (MAS member) | Neutrino Telescopes. |
| 05 Dec | Zoom | Prof Geraint Lewis (USYD) | Dark Matter & Dark Energy. |
Guest Speaker List 2021
| DATE | VENUE | SPEAKER | TOPIC |
| 18 Jan | Zoom | Dr Devika Kamath (Maq Uni) | Cosmic Alchemy: Origin of elements in the Universe. |
| 15 Feb | Zoom | Dr Tayyaba Zafar (AAO) | Dust: Wipe It Or Keep It, It’s Ubiquitous |
| 15 Mar | Zoom | Dr Brett Addison (USQ) | Exoplanets, TESS & Minerva-Australis Telescope. |
| 20 Apr | Zoom | Dr Angel Lopez Sanchez | Observing with The AAT – LIVE! |
| 17 May | Zoom | Dr Ashley Ruiter (UNSW Can) | White dwarfs in close binaries: Type 1a supernovae to LISA |
| 21 Jun | Zoom | Prof Geraint Lewis (USYD) | Do I expand with the universe? Understanding cosmology |
| 19 Jul | Zoom | Dr Jonty Marshall (ASIAA) | Rocks fall, everything fries: the fate of comets around stars. |
| 16 Aug | Zoom | Dr Emil Lenc (CSIRO) | An ASKAP update – Episode II – Attack of the Pilots. |
| 20 Sep | Zoom | Kirsten Banks (UNSW) | Diving deep inside stars. |
| 18 Oct | Zoom | Prof Tim Bedding (USYD) | Planets & starquakes: NASA’s Kepler & TESS Missions. |
| 15 Nov | Cancelled | Dr Devika Kamath (Maq U) | Unravelling the Chemical Diversity Shaping our Universe. |
| 06 Dec | Zoom | Prof Geraint Lewis (USYD) | From the quantum to the cosmos. |
Guest Speaker List 2020
| DATE | VENUE | SPEAKER | TOPIC |
| 20 Jan | WSU | Ric Forster (MAS) | How radio telescopes create an image. |
| 17 Feb | WSU | Prof Fred Watson | Cosmic chronicles. |
| 16 Mar | Cancelled | Prof Tim Bedding | Planets & Starquakes: NASA’s Keppler/TESS Missions. |
| 20 Apr | Cancelled | Les Dalrymple | AGM held on Zoom. |
| 18 May | Zoom | Dr Luke Barnes (UWS) | Cosmic Revolutionary’s Handbook. |
| 15 Jun | Zoom | Dr Lucyna Chudczer | Infrastructure for Australian Astronomers. |
| 20 Jul | Zoom | Prof Roberto Soria | Galaxies, Galaxy Clusters, Mass & Dark Matter. |
| 17 Aug | Zoom | Dr Emil Lenc (ASKAP) | ASKAP Update – Let the Science Begin! |
| 21 Sep | Zoom | Prof Michael Wheatland (USYD) | Solar Activity. |
| 19 Oct | Zoom | Prof Geraint Lewis (USYD) | The Southern Stellar Stream Spectroscopic Survey (S5). |
| 16 Nov | Zoom | Prof Charley Lineweaver (ANU) | Progress in the Search for Life Beyond Earth. |
| 07 Dec | Zoom | Dr Brad Tucker (ANU) | Ultraviolet Astronomy from High-Altitude Balloons. |
| A Historical Guest Speaker List for 1997-2019 is available > here < |
Credit
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Macarthur Astronomy Forum and other outreach initiatives are made possible by collaboration with Western Sydney University and Campbelltown Rotary Observatory.