Macarthur Astronomy Forum
Expand Your Universe

We created Macarthur Astronomy Forum as a platform for notable Australian and international astronomers to share their discoveries about the Universe with the Macarthur community. Our speakers will present their findings in a format understandable to non-scientists.
Organised by Macarthur Astronomical Society. Held at Western Sydney University **(Campbelltown Campus), the Macarthur Astronomy Forum is held 7.30 pm – 9.30 pm on the 3rd Monday of each month (Jan to Nov) and 1st or 2nd Monday in December.
Details of our next Forum can be found on our News & Events page.
** We hope to be returning to WSU sometime in 2022 but in the meantime Macarthur Astronomy Forums will continue to be held online for members only.

Guest Speaker List 2022
DATE | LOC | SPEAKER | TOPIC |
17 Jan | Zoom | Dr Devika Kamath (MaqU) | “Unravelling the Chemical Diversity that Shapes our Universe.” |
21 Feb | Zoom | Dr Brad Tucker (ANU) | “Shocking Supernova and discovering their progenitors of exploding stars” |
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 hunt, 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 | tba | Dr Simon Ellis (Macq Uni) | “The Origin of Galactic Positrons” |
15 Aug | tba | Prof Joss Bland-Hawthorn (USYD) | “Giant waves across the Milky Way” |
19 Sep | tba | Dr Luke Barnes (WSU) | TBA |
17 Oct | tba | Dr Emil Lenc (ATNF) | TBA |
21 Nov | tba | Malcolm Ellis (MAS member) | TBA |
05 Dec | tba | Prof Geraint Lewis (USYD) | TBA |
Guest Speaker List 2021
DATE | LOC | SPEAKER | TOPIC |
18 Jan | Zoom | Dr Devika Kamath (Maq Uni) | Cosmic Alchemy: Origin of chemical 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 Observations. |
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: from Type 1a supernovae to LISA |
21 Jun | Zoom | Prof Geraint Lewis (USYD) | Do I expand with the universe? Understanding modern cosmology |
19 Jul | Zoom | Dr Jonty Marshall (ASIAA) | Rocks fall, everything fries: the fate of comets around other stars. |
16 Aug | Zoom | Dr Emil Lenc (CSIRO) | An ASKAP update – Episode II – Attack of the Pilots. |
20 Sep | Zoom | Dr 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. |
6 Dec | Zoom | Prof Geraint Lewis (USYD) | From the quantum to the cosmos. |
Guest Speaker List 2020
DATE | LOC | 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. |
7 Dec* | Zoom | Dr Brad Tucker (ANU) | Ultraviolet Astronomy from High-Altitude Balloons. |

The Guest Speaker List for previous years 2003-2019 is now 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.