Australian Astronomical Optics (AAO) at Macquarie University has delivered its Malya thermal camera system to Queensland-based Gilmour Space Technologies. The camera is scheduled for launch into orbit next year as part of an upcoming Gilmour Space satellite mission. The space-qualified Malya payload consists of two thermal infrared cameras and an…
The International Virtual Observatory Alliance (IVOA) Interoperability meeting 2024 was successfully held at Macquarie University’s Wallumattagal Campus from 19 May to 24 May 2024. Hosted by the Research Data and Software (RDS) section of the Australian Astronomical Optics (AAO) department in the Faculty of Science and Engineering, this event brought…
The Australian Astronomical Optics (AAO) at Macquarie University has been awarded $1.169 million in funding from the highly competitive NSW Government’s National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) Support Program. This substantial investment will bolster AAO’s ongoing efforts to drive innovation and industry engagement in key technology sectors. The NCRIS Support…
The Australian Astronomical Optics (AAO) led an international consortium which won a A$15 million international contract to lead the design and construction of adaptive optics for the Gemini North telescope in Hawaii, one of the world’s largest and most advanced optical telescopes. The Adaptive Optics Bench (AOB) project is led…
The Australian Astronomical Optics (AAO) – Macquarie proudly participated in the 16th Australian Space Forum hosted by the Andy Thomas Space Foundation on 6th December 2023. Building on a legacy of nearly 50 years in designing and building precision telescope technology, AAO is now extending its expertise into the realm…
Australian Astronomical Optics – Macquarie (AAO) at Macquarie University will build a new optical multi-beam laser collimator that will land on the moon as a part of an Advanced Navigation project that has been awarded a $5.2M Moon to Mars Initiative: Demonstrator Mission Grant by the Australian Space Agency. “We…
GHOST Instrument Commissioned at Gemini South Observatory The GHOST instrument been successfully commissioned on the Gemini South Telescope, one of the world’s most powerful optical telescopes. Gemini South in Chile is one half of the International Gemini Observatory, operated by NSF’s NOIRLab. The AAO is the prime contractor for GHOST…
AAO to build thermal imager for Gilmour Space AAO has announced a new partnership with Gilmour Space Technologies, to design and build a new sovereign space technology for launch in late 2023. AAO is world renowned for its ground-based precision instrumentation for telescopes and is now branching out to non-astronomy…
Designed and built by AAO, the AESOP (Australian-European Southern Observatory Positioner) arrived in Potsdam, Germany in late 2021. AESOP is an optical fibre positioner unit for the 4MOST instrument currently under construction for the 4-metre diameter VISTA telescope in Chile, which is operated by the European Southern Observatory (ESO). The…