[ASA] Reminder: Histories and Mysteries series

[GIULIA GOLINI]

Dear ASA community,

Thank you to everyone who joined us for the first talk in the ECR Histories and Mysteries series. There was a fantastic turnout, and the discussion was very successful, making for a great start to the series!
Special thanks go to Professor Andrew Hopkins for his engaging presentation on 'The History and Mystery of the Stellar Initial Mass Function'.
If you were unable to attend, you can watch the recorded talk at:

https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/jouXC1WLPxcOzq2Y0uLfp1sVUwis?domain=youtube.com


I am also happy to announce that our next speaker will be Professor Nick Seymour (CIRA), on


What Powers Active Galactic Nuclei (Wrong Answers Only)?


Abstract: Over the decades active galactic nuclei (AGN) have moved from being esoteric objects to being a fundamental part of galaxy evolution via feedback processes. There is now (almost) universal consensus that AGN are powered by accretion onto supermassive black holes. However, this was not the first explanation and even after it was first proposed in the mid-1960's, the idea took decades to become firmly accepted. In this talk I will review some of the early ideas put forth to explain the origin of the power produced by quasi-stellar objects. These include exotic supernovae, stellar collisions, massive super-stars as well as stranger ideas. I will then look to see if we can learn anything from these ideas.


📅 5 November 2026
🕐 1:00 pm Sydney time (AEDT) 🕙 10:00 am Perth time (AWST)
💻 Online

If you have not yet registered and would like to attend, please do so via the link below to receive the Zoom details and event information:

👉 https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/hy5NC2xMQzi6l8Pw4f1h3ws5lQEk?domain=trybooking.com


——


We will also have Michelle Cluver (Swinburne University) on 19 November with

The History and Mystery of Dust: Half the Light, None of the Credit


Abstract: Dust makes up only about one percent of the interstellar medium by mass, yet it has absorbed and re-radiated roughly half of all the starlight ever emitted. It plays a central role in ISM physics: it catalyses the formation of molecular hydrogen, depletes metals from the gas phase, and regulates the heating and cooling of astrophysical gas. But for all its importance, we remain in the dark about much of it, from where the earliest dust came from to what produces some of its strongest spectral fingerprints.


From the dark constellations of Aboriginal Australian astronomy and Herschel’s “holes in the heavens”, to the infrared revolution of IRAS, Spitzer and JWST, this talk tours the Universe that dust both hides and reveals — from buried starbursts to complex carbon grains in the first billion years. Along the way we’ll take a few detours, including dust as an impostor and as the subject of a rock star’s PhD. We’ll also meet the unsolved problems waiting for the next generation of astronomers.



We look forward to seeing many of you there and continuing to explore the histories and mysteries of astronomy together.


Best,

Giulia on behalf of The ASA ECR Committee


This email was sent at a time convenient to me; I do not expect a response outside of normal working hours.
Dr Giulia Golini
Research Associate
School of Physics, UNSW Sydney
Email: g.golini at unsw.edu.au


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