Tara Murphy
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taramurphy.bsky.social
Tara Murphy
@taramurphy.bsky.social
2.4K followers 650 following 370 posts
Professor and Head of School of Physics at the University of Sydney. Radio astronomer looking for transients and gravitational wave events. OzGrav CI. Teaching physics and the apocalypse. https://taramurphy.github.io

Views expressed here are my own :)
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taramurphy.bsky.social
And here's my picture of the photographer :)
A picture of the levels inside the Melbourne Pullman hotel. You can just about see the person on the top floor taking the group photo posted above.
November 28, 2025 at 3:08 AM
taramurphy.bsky.social
I've had an amazing week discussing gravitational wave science (instrumentation, detection and cosmology) at our @ozgrav.bsky.social annual retreat in Melbourne.

Here's our group photo from Carl Knox!

#Physics + #Astronomy
A picture of the OzGrav collaboration members at the annual retreat in Melbourne. The picture is taken from above of about 100 people with hands in the air with white bannisters and railings.
November 28, 2025 at 3:08 AM
taramurphy.bsky.social
Github - free, and easy to maintain/update: taramurphy.github.io
☄️🧪🔭⚛️
Screenshot of front page of a research website: https://taramurphy.github.io/ Left hand column has key information. The top bar has menus. The main page is a picture of the research group.
November 7, 2025 at 7:57 PM
taramurphy.bsky.social
The #Astronomy Genealogy Project (AstroGen) is a cool @aas.org project that links all astronomers with their academic "ancestors" and "descendants" (via PhD supervision).

Sharing because I discovered an astronomer that wasn't aware of it :)

astrogen.aas.org/front/index....

☄️
Excerpt from the "AstroGen" family tree for Tara Murphy. The tree connects academic ancestors and descendants, via PhD supervision. Source: https://astrogen.aas.org/front/index.php
October 19, 2025 at 10:07 PM
taramurphy.bsky.social
It was a privilege to attend our @sydney.edu.au graduation this week to see Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell receive an honorary DSc in recognition of her outstanding contribution to astrophysics, advocacy for under-represented students and as an inspirational role model for women in science.

⚛️ 🔭 ☄️
Photo of a University of Sydney graduation ceremony in which Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell is giving the occasional address. The photo is taken from the back from the Great Hall, and shows the audience and stage. Photo Credit: The University of Sydney/ Frankie Tsang Photo of senior staff with Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell, in graduation gowns. Photo is in the main quadrangle office at the University of Sydney. Left to right: Deputy Dean Prof Chris McErlean, Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell, Pro-Chancellor Dr Lisa McIntye, Emeritus Professor Anne Green. Photo Credit: The University of Sydney/ Frankie Tsang
October 17, 2025 at 3:10 AM
taramurphy.bsky.social
Learning about quantum tunnelling was one of the goosebumps moments that made me continue studying #physics.

From "How can this be possible!?" to "This is already used in all computers" in an hour :)

⚛️ Nobel Prize 2025 --> macroscopic quantum tunnelling ⚛️

www.nobelprize.org/uploads/2025...
Illustration of quantum tunnelling if it existed in the macroscopic world. Left image shows a child throwing a ball that bounces off a wall. Right image shows a child throwing a ball and it going through the wall and out the other side. Source: Nobel Prize in Physics page: https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/2025/press-release/
October 7, 2025 at 8:27 PM
taramurphy.bsky.social
#SciX has some cute new vizualisations that you can use with your existing #ADS private libraries - like this author network plot.

#RadioAstronomy #AstroSci
A circle showing different authors that Tara Murphy has co-authors papers with. Generated by the SciX platform. Related authors are grouped together in different colour bands. Main co-authors are in a larger font.
October 3, 2025 at 8:18 PM
taramurphy.bsky.social
Join us @sydney.edu.au for our 2025 Stibbs Lecture:

"Reflections on the Discovery of Pulsars: An Evening with Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell"

Date: Thursday 16 October 2025
Time: 6pm - 7:15 pm
Venue: University of Sydney

Registration is free: www.sydney.edu.au/science/news...

⚛️ 🔭 🧪

#RadioAstronomy
A slide advertising the Stibbs Lecture at the University of Sydney. Key information is in the main post.
September 16, 2025 at 8:22 PM
taramurphy.bsky.social
When we search for radio transients we exclude extended objects

Hence we discard lots of radio galaxies, like the ones in this ASKAP VAST gallery, compiled by PhD student Surabhi Chandra

Each image shows radio emission from a galaxy with a supermassive black hole at the centre

#RadioAstronomy
A 5 (across) 10 (down) grid of images. Each one shows a radio galaxy from the ASKAP VAST survey. The colour scale ranges from dark blue to bright yellow.
September 15, 2025 at 3:12 AM
taramurphy.bsky.social
Come and join us for the Dr Peter Domachuk Memorial Lecture on "Heat, Light and Passive Cooling" presented by Professor Shanhui Fan.

Wednesday October 1st, 6pm @sydney.edu.au #Physics, followed by a cocktail reception.

Registration is free:
www.sydney.edu.au/science/news...
A poster slide advertising the Peter Domachuk memorial lecture. The picture on the right shows a sun with schematics of passive cooling devices. On the left is the lecture information, which is in the main post.
September 8, 2025 at 9:31 PM
taramurphy.bsky.social
4am lunar eclipse (red moon) on campus @sydney.edu.au

🔭
A red moon during a lunar eclipse, between two sandstone buildings on the University of Sydney campus. A red moon during a lunar eclipse, between a green tree and a sandstone building on the University of Sydney campus. A red moon during a lunar eclipse, above a building on the University of Sydney campus. A bright streetlight is on the left.
September 7, 2025 at 6:42 PM
taramurphy.bsky.social
Interested in owning a part of Australian history? The Molonglo Observatory site is for sale:

www.realestate.com.au/property-hou...

Don't worry, we stopped scientific operations a few years ago and gave it a suitable farewell (see next post).

#RadioAstronomy
Four pictures of the Molonglo Telescope site, from a Ray White real estate advert. The main top image shows the telescope infrastructure, extending out across farming land.
September 3, 2025 at 2:16 AM
taramurphy.bsky.social
Our @sydney.edu.au Physics project Waratah Seed-1, the groundbreaking satellite ride-share mission, has been
named a Finalist for the Small Satellite Mission of the Year Award!

Vote now to support this project:
sites.google.com/aiaa-smstc.o...

More info here:
www.youtube.com/embed/vrgVnH...

⚛️🔭🧪
A picture of a rocket launch with "Australian we need your vote" written in front of it.
August 11, 2025 at 3:42 AM
taramurphy.bsky.social
We cover a range of science topics, through the lens of apocalyptic scenarios, and track the history of apocalyptic thinking, from classic novels to zombie computer games.

Helping science students consider the broader implications...

Helping arts students think about the underlying science...
A screenshot of the Apocalypse in Science and Culture course Canvas page, showing the topics for each week of semester. These range from "Climate Apocalypse" to "Disease and Pandemics"
August 5, 2025 at 12:19 AM
taramurphy.bsky.social
About to give the introductory lecture for my favourite course: "The Apocalypse in Science and Culture" @sydney.edu.au

We introduced this course (unintentionally) in the middle of the pandemic.

It proved to be a great way for students to process their experiences and concerns about the future.
Opening slide for the Apocalypse in Science and Culture course at the University of Sydney. The left gives the course name. The right is an album cover from Midnight Oil, showing a photomontage by Japanese artist Tsunehisa Kimura depicting a nuclear strike on Sydney.
August 5, 2025 at 12:19 AM
taramurphy.bsky.social
Finally completed the Milky Way.

Have spotted heaps of transients already :)

#Astronomy
A completed Lego Milky Way galaxy kit. The colour scheme is blues, pinks, purples and white . A zoomed in part of the Lego Milky Way galaxy kit. It shows a sign that says “You are here.”
August 3, 2025 at 8:43 AM
taramurphy.bsky.social
In the middle of a week of interesting talks on radio transients at Dynamic Radio Sky 2025.

Is great to welcome so many people to @sydney.edu.au and @ozgrav.bsky.social for our meeting - and particularly all postdoctoral reseachers and PhD students.

The next generation of #RadioAstronomy!
A photo of about 60-70 radio astronomers outside the School of Physics building at the University of Sydney. The building is a heritage sandstone building. It is a sunny day
July 30, 2025 at 9:00 PM
taramurphy.bsky.social
Congratulations to my former student Joshua Pritchard for winning this year's @astrosocaus.bsky.social "Emerging Leaders in Astronomy Software Development Prize" for his software package "DStools".

Here's a short write-up:
www.atnf.csiro.au/news/recogni...

#RadioAstronomy
A panel of three plots. Left: A dynamic spectrum of a T8 dwarf, generated by the software package dstools. The x-axis is time in hours, the y axis is frequency in MHz. The colour scheme shows flux density from negative (red) to positive (blue) Right: Two image cutouts of the source (a T8 dwarf star) showing the source in total intensity and circular polarisation. Reference: https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2023ApJ...951L..43R/abstract
July 10, 2025 at 12:33 AM
taramurphy.bsky.social
@drgin.bsky.social launches the Australian Astronomy Decadal Plan at the ASA2025 meeting.

This maps out our #AstroSci plans for the next 10 years.

Access the full plan here:
www.science.org.au/files/userfi...
Slide projected into the stage showing the title Astronomy Decadal Plan
July 9, 2025 at 6:23 AM
taramurphy.bsky.social
Another #Physics ⚛️ public talk coming up this month as part of the @aip.org.au Marie Curie Lecture Series.

Quantum Century: Unlocking the Universe’s Secrets and Shaping our Future by Dr Danielle Holmes

30th July, 6pm at the University of Sydney

Register now: aip.org.au/event-6189783
A flyer for the 2025 Marie Curie Lecture series. The background is aqua. It has a picture of the lecturer Danielle Holmes looking out from behind some quantum lab experiment equipment.
July 6, 2025 at 9:11 PM
taramurphy.bsky.social
@manishacaleb.bsky.social rounds off #skao2025 with the final plenary talk, on cosmology with fast radio bursts.

#RadioAstronomy @ozgrav.bsky.social
Manisha Caleb standing on stage at the SKAO2025 meeting. Her slides are projected in the background.
June 20, 2025 at 1:02 PM
taramurphy.bsky.social
Incredible showing from Australians past, present and future, at #SKAO2025 in Görlitz.

All very excited about getting the first data from the SKAO telescopes!

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie!

#RadioAstronomy
Picture of a large group of Australian radio astronomers on the stage at the SKAO 2025 meeting.
June 20, 2025 at 9:14 AM
taramurphy.bsky.social
@colourfulcosmos.bsky.social
Natasha Hurley-Walker updates us on the mystery of long period transients at #skao2025

Are they magnetars? Are they white dwarf M-dwarf binary systems? Maybe some of each…

#RadioAstronomy
Natasha Hurley-Walker giving a presentation on the stage at the SKAO2025 meeting
June 17, 2025 at 9:21 AM
taramurphy.bsky.social
Sydney radio astronomers (plus a bonus cosmologist) at SKAO 2025!

It's great to be here with so many of our team :)

@manishacaleb.bsky.social @astrolaura.com @cosmichorizons.bsky.social

@ozgrav.bsky.social #RadioAstronomy #SKAO2025
A picture of 11 people from our Sydney radio astronomy team behind giant letters that spell SKAO. The letters are blue/purple/bright pink.
June 16, 2025 at 1:47 PM
taramurphy.bsky.social
Found another candidate…

…but quickly ruled it out when it chimed at 6:01!
Bell tower in Gorlitz. Brown brick tower with an overcast sky
June 16, 2025 at 4:28 AM