An astronomer on what it’s really like to stargaze for a living

By Alix Violet Freckelton, Research Fellow - Sun, Stars, and Exoplanets, University of Birmingham

Jodie Foster tearing up a dirt road, yelling stellar coordinates into a walkie-talkie à la the 1997 sci-fi film Contact. Control rooms alive with a cacophony of “enhance that signal”. Real-time discovery. That’s what I pictured when my PhD supervisor told me I’d be going observing at a telescope.

Cut to 2am on top of a mountain in La Palma last April, at an altitude that makes you forget you’re in the Canary Islands. It was utterly freezing, and I had dressed for the sunny archipelago in thin layers. I almost dropped my mug trying to close the telescope…

Read complete article

~	New laws to make tech companies pay for news will help, but there are 4 key problems

~	A-level results: key takeaways for language learning

~	Don’t know what to do after your exams? Six ways to find your next step

~	Why children often eat less in hot weather – and when parents should worry

~	Got ice-cream brain freeze? Here’s what is happening

~	Why snake venom may have evolved to catch dinner, not for defence

~	Russia bets on ballistic missiles to combat the success of Ukraine’s drone warfare

~	Safe havens protect Australian mammals from invasive predators. Why aren’t they working for other animal groups?

~	Why the $2.5 billion Tomago aluminium deal is no ordinary bailout

~	As Brisbane 2032 gets closer, Australian girls are quitting organised sports. What can be done?