[ASA] The future of optical astronomy in Australia Town Hall - 9th July

[Sarah Brough]

Dear All,


At the ASA ASM earlier this month, Alex Cooke (Astronomy Australia Ltd), myself (National Committee for Astronomy), Karl Glazebrook (AAT Council) and Christian Wolf (Siding Spring Observatory Director) held a Town Hall on the future of optical astronomy in Australia. During the meeting, Alex and I also discussed these matters with the heads of astronomy departments, the NCA and the ECR Chapter.


As a result of these discussions and the ensuing feedback around prioritisation and focus, we have a consolidated picture of the actions needed to secure Australian optical astronomy into the next decade.



We are awaiting guidance on next steps from the Department, and are advocating that this decision be made soon, especially given that Commonwealth funding for the AAT runs out in June 2027. Noting that:

·      The Strategic Partnership with ESO continues until the end of 2027 and ESO announced the P118 application round last week (noting that fast-track is also available), so I encourage people to put proposals together.

·      We will still benefit from the constructive and positive relationship with ESO via the instruments being built e.g. 4MOST and MAVIS, including guaranteed time.

·      The AAT Workshop is being held at Macquarie University later this week (23-24 July).


Below I include links to the recordings of the Town Hall sessions, attach a text form of the discussion and the slide deck, updated following the discussions, and list 8 key points that will underpin our approach going forward.


Cheers,

Sarah




*Town Hall Recordings

Part 1: https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/L4_vCoV1kpfBRRjMEI1fWfpnLpM?domain=anu.zoom.us

Passcode: $13h at GWS



Part 2: https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/948bCp81lrtvWW1GmIDhxfGQm6w?domain=anu.zoom.us

Passcode: hGj!Qy8?



*Underpinning Approach

·  Maintain Australia’s sovereign optical astronomy capability to access the best astronomy facilities globally: the AAT, ATNF, SKA and its precursors, and decades of investments in instrumentation, data and compute are foundational and will deliver value and impact regardless of the choices of international partners.

·  Frame the case around national value: Make the government-facing argument in terms of sovereign capability, onshore benefit, industry links, workforce, strategic partnerships, STEM capability development and alignment with national priorities — not science excellence alone.

·  Build a strategic access package, not a stop-gap: Secure a coherent mix of facilities and capabilities, rather than simply buying small amounts of telescope time from overseas facilities.

·  Make southern hemisphere capability central: Ensure any model preserves strong southern access, with clear synergies with the AAT, SKA, LSST/Rubin, transient science and future 30-m-class opportunities.

·  Enable ambitious science: Prioritise sustained, substantial access that supports large programmes and community-scale science, not fragmented allocations that force smaller proposals. These big programs will retain Australian STEM capability inspired by the prospect of working on ambitious science proposals.

·  Balance international access with domestic investment: Plan 8-metre access, AAT renewal, instrumentation and data infrastructure together over a 5-, 10- and 20-year horizon.

·  Design fair, coordinated access mechanisms: Use transparent national coordination and trusted TAC-style processes that support the ECRs and the next generation of STEM talent, emerging fields, international collaboration and cross-facility proposals.

·  Keep future flexibility and resilience: Avoid relying on open calls, informal assumptions or long institutional memory; secure explicit, durable arrangements while retaining flexibility for new opportunities.


----------------------
Professor Sarah Brough
Head of School | School of Physics
Chair | National Committee for Astronomy
Australian Observer | European Southern Observatory Council
AD: #G06, Old Main Building (K15) | UNSW Sydney | NSW 2052 | Australia
PH: +61 2 9065 2579

I am sending this message now because it suits me.  I don’t expect that you will read, respond to, or action it outside of your regular working hours.



This email and any files transmitted with it may contain confidential information. If you believe you have received this email or any of its contents in error, please notify me immediately by return email and destroy this email. Do not use, disseminate, forward, print or copy any contents of an email received in error.

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.sydney.edu.au/pipermail/asa/attachments/20260721/2850f4a1/attachment.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: 2607_ASA_Townhall_OpticalTelescopes_Discussion.pdf
Type: application/pdf
Size: 117041 bytes
Desc: 2607_ASA_Townhall_OpticalTelescopes_Discussion.pdf
URL: <http://mailman.sydney.edu.au/pipermail/asa/attachments/20260721/2850f4a1/attachment.pdf>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: Coordinating Access to Large Optical Telescopes - Consolidated - 20-07-26.pptx.pdf
Type: application/pdf
Size: 4314985 bytes
Desc: Coordinating Access to Large Optical Telescopes - Consolidated - 20-07-26.pptx.pdf
URL: <http://mailman.sydney.edu.au/pipermail/asa/attachments/20260721/2850f4a1/attachment-0001.pdf>