Australia’s National Science Agency Australia Telescope National Facility Annual Report 2019–20 Contents Chair’s report 2 Director’s report 3 Management team 4 About us 5 Performance indicators 9 Science highlights 13 Observatory reports 19 Square Kilometre Array 29 Technology development 33 People and community 37 Appendices 45 A: Financial summary 46 B: Staff list 47 C: Demographic data 50 D: Committee membership 51 E: Postgraduate students 52 F: PhD theses 53 G: Observing programs 54 H: Publications 60 I: Abbreviations 72 CSIRO Australia Telescope National Facility Annual Report 2019–20 ISSN 1038-9554 This is the report of the CSIRO Australia Telescope National Facility for the period 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020 and is approved by its Steering Committee. Editor: Nic Svenson Science highlights: Helen Sim Cover: The Parkes radio telescope with the Moon and the surface of the Moon. Images: Alex Cherney and NASA. Inside cover: Buzz Aldrin steps onto the lunar surface, as received by the Parkes radio telescope. Image: NASA. Chair’s report The Australia Telescope National The mid-term review and the ATSC Facility Steering Committee (ATSC) also both made recommendations met twice this year. By our May 2020 highlighting the importance of Prof David Skellern, Chair, ATNF Steering meeting, COVID-19 constraints were instrumentation development. We Committee. Photo: John Sarkissian. in full force and we met virtually, hold that the ATNF’s radio astronomy not in Perth as had been planned. engineering and computing group investment in ASKAP and potentially is of long-term value to CSIRO. Its provide the global astronomy While we didn’t get to see the work sustains and advances the community with cost effective remarkable Australian Square nation’s science in astronomy, and commercial solutions for radio Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP), it demonstrably adds value to other interference mitigation. we were impressed mightily by the telescopes around the world. But it also results coming from it. The images adds value to Australia’s growing space Another commercial activity endorsed from the Rapid ASKAP Continuum sector (where ATNF know-how is being this year is that of a small team Survey (RACS) are beautiful, while the applied) and it could be better utilised undertaking a feasibility study of latest news from the fast radio burst in support of advanced manufacturing, potential near horizon business (FRB) team is truly extraordinary (see computing, big data, and models that leverage the telescopes Science highlights) and the critically telecommunications, the latter notably and other infrastructure of the ATNF. important ASKAP pilot survey in software defined radio engineering. While opportunistic commercial use program has provided more than Ensuring an appropriately skilled has occurred in the past, the team is just hints of how impressive full-scale workforce is vital to Australia’s future taking a more structured approach to surveys will be. A fully functioning industries. While the ATNF is playing its the sale of telescope time, scoping in ASKAP and transition to the era of part in ensuring that Australia’s future areas such as future Lunar missions, the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) engineering, computing and data deep space missions, space situational are clearly, and rightly, the ATNF’s analytics professionals acquire high awareness (including asteroid top priorities. level occupational skills, we believe tracking), education and tourism. We were this year presented with there is untapped potential here. We continue our strong endorsement a science case for the Australia After a year of rigorous market of the ATNF’s plans to increase Telescope Compact Array (ATCA). analysis and thorough consultation gender diversity, particularly in The ATNF, and facilities around the with industry, the ATSC was this the engineering disciplines. The world, are being asked to keep aging year presented with a plan that appointment this year of the instruments operational longer would see technology developed first Macquarie University, CSIRO than expected. That is, until the SKA for ASKAP applied to the looming Astronomy and Space Science Women is online. We found the case for bottleneck in satellite communications. in Engineering Scholarship holder is ATCA operation until this time to be Development of the plan was led a welcome step. compelling, a position mirrored by by commercialisation specialist, On the operational front, the ATSC the Australian Academy of Science Dr Ilana Feain, whose position we National Committee for Astronomy’s appoints the ATNF Users’ Committee recommended be created, so it is (ATUC) and the Time Assignment mid-term review of its Decadal tremendously satisfying to see a solid Plan for Australian Astronomy. The Committee (TAC). We are grateful commercial opportunity that leverages for the connection to the community ATNF’s partners in the university ATNF technology laid out in detail. sector clearly feel the same way and provided by ATUC and of the diligence We wish Dr Feain every success in her of the TAC. were this year successful in securing efforts to get the plan funded. Apart Australian Research Council funding from solving a pressing problem for The ATSC is an advisory committee for an urgent and essential upgrade the satellite communication industry to the CSIRO Board. As such, of ATCA’s digital system that should and end users, the realisation of we commend this Annual see it through until at least 2025. this opportunity would provide a Report to the Board and to the clear demonstration of return on astronomy community. 2 Australia Telescope National Facility | Annual Report 2019–20 Director’s report This year our newest telescope, Our innovative low frequency ASKAP, achieved a major milestone by ultra-wideband receiver has been completing a program of pilot surveys operating on Parkes for a year and Dr Douglas Bock, Director, ATNF. with the full 36-antenna array. Each is now requested by almost all Photo: Wheeler Studios. of the survey teams received around users. Parkes continued to support 100 hours of observing time to test the Breakthrough Listen program These include using our high-speed and optimise their survey strategies. searching for ‘technosignatures’ digital processing expertise on The strong engagement of the wider (evidence of technology) beyond our small satellites, our antennas for ASKAP community throughout Solar System and to follow up pulsar space situational awareness and the pilot surveys was particularly discoveries made by China’s Five- our cutting-edge receivers for space important. hundred metre Aperture Spherical communications. Telescope (where our 19-beam The scientific highlight of the year receiver has been in operation for This year has been a challenging one. was again ASKAP fast radio burst some two years). The next major The summer was one of the hottest (FRB) detections. These flashes of receiver development for Parkes is a on record and catastrophic bushfires high intensity radio waves have now cryogenically cooled, next-generation, raged in the eastern states. While our been used to discover the missing phased array feed receiver, supported telescopes were largely unscathed, ‘ordinary’ matter of the Universe. by our university partners and the some staff lost property, and many Sadly, celebrations were cut short Australian Research Council (ARC). spent their holidays volunteering with with the death of one of the principal emergency services or community investigators: Jean-Pierre Macquart. Also with the support of the ARC and groups supporting them and the university partners, we commenced affected communities. Then came The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) a project to replace the Australia the COVID-19 pandemic. We took project made a major advance by Telescope Compact Array’s aging special precautions around our passing its Critical Design Reviews. digital signal processing ‘back end’ operations staff and telescope sites. We continued to prepare for with cutting-edge digital technology As a consequence, and because construction and commenced work as developed in our Technologies for the virus did not spread in regional the Site Entity, delivering Australia’s Radio Astronomy program. Along Australia, we were able to maintain obligations under the SKA Convention with increased bandwidth and greater operations. The stresses of these (treaty). South Africa became the first observing flexibility, this technology strange times have been felt by all of SKA host nation to ratify the treaty: will allow active mitigation of radio us and I particularly wish to thank the it was also examined by Australia’s frequency interference, which is staff of the ATNF for their tolerance, parliamentary Joint Standing an important area of research as perseverance and for the support that Committee on Treaties, which interference continues to increase. they have provided one another. supported ratification in Australia. The planned partnership between Alongside growth in Australia’s space My thanks to the ATSC, ATUC, TAC, and CSIRO and the SKA Observatory to industry, we started to explore new my management team, for their advice operate SKA in Australia is reflected applications for our technologies. and guidance over the year. in a memorandum of understanding negotiated during the year. 2019 marked the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing and we include here a feature on the role our Parkes radio telescope, and Australia’s space tracking facilities, played in the legendary broadcast.