With the formal signing at the Astro. Soc. Aus. annual meeting 2017, there would be just 12 short months left for the AAO as we know and love it. #askAAO

To support the cost of the ESO strategic partnership, enabling ESO Australia, the AAO would need to be moved out of the Department of Department of Industry, Science and Resources, and into the research sector. And there was just one year to do it. #askAAO

To help things along, the ANU Vice-Chancellor had agreed that the ANU would take on operations of the Anglo-Australian Telescope. Universities nationwide were rallied to contribute to the operating costs, forming a new AAT Council, coordinated by AstronomyAustralia. #askAAO

But the AAO is also a world leading instrumentation powerhouse, building unique technology for telescopes worldwide. What was to become of that part of the organisation? #askAAO

Hi Terry. Sure! Like I said, Tamara Davis and Brian P Schmidt are the experts, and they work with Chris Lidman, the new Director of Siding Spring Observ, who is leading the OzDES survey at the AAT for the latest discoveries. I'll leave it to them to give you the details! #askAAO x.com/terry_tjb/stat…

The expression of interest process resulted in a consortium led by Macquarie University, together with Science & Medicine at ANU and Sydney Science, being awarded the opportunity to take on the AAO's instrumentation capability, announced in Dec. 2017. Six months and counting... #askAAO

The subsequent six months saw an amazing flurry of activity by Macquarie University, Science & Medicine at ANU, and Department of Industry, Science and Resources, not to mention your very own @AAOastro. There is a huge amount of work in transitioning a 44yr old organisation into two new university homes. Chris

So, with a huge effort, and a big shout out to Mike Steel who will be the interim Director for the new AAO-MQ, and to 𝙈𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙬 𝘾𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨 for shepherding through the new AAT Consortium and Council, we are now poised for our new futures, starting on Sunday! #askAAO

It's been a roller coaster ride for everyone at @AAOastro for the past year. We are sad to see the end of the amazing organisation that has led optical astronomy in Australia for almost half a century, but also excited by the new future ahead. #askAAO

Signing off now, for the last time from the current AAO. We'll be back at our regularly scheduled time in due course, perhaps with a short break while we find our feet in our new homes. Stay tuned for the next exciting episode in the life of the AAO! #askAAO

Beautiful display of "Australian Astronomical Optics" in the skies over Sydney today - a 22 degree halo, sundogs, and a rare complete parhelic arc (atoptics.co.uk/halo/pchigh.htm) ^SDR

Come along to our next department colloquium, Tues 27 November at 1pm in 14SCO T5. Professor Andrew Hopkins Andrew Hopkins from AAO Astronomy will be speaking about the Taipan Survey. We hope you can make it. Science and Engineering @ MQU FSE 101 MU PhysAstro Society

Tune in to tonight's ESO Cosmic Duologue at 7pm AEST to hear AAOptics/Science and Engineering @ MQU's own Andrew Hopkins discuss whether large and small stars form in the same ratio everywhere. eso.org/sci/meetings/2… Image: eso.org/public/images/…

How long is a piece of string? 🧵Our #ASKAP radio telescope partnering with eROSITA space telescope detects 50 million light year long gas filament - threadlike structure of hot gas surrounding and connecting galaxies - confirming previously predicted model of the Universe!

Professor of Astronomy Andrew Hopkins Andrew Hopkins has been involved in leading this research project, which has mapped a portion of the SCORPIO field for the first time with #ASKAP.

An international group of astronomers has created images with never-before-seen detail of a galaxy cluster with a black hole at its centre. Data from the AAO Astronomy led EMU project helped unlock this finding with Andrew Hopkins CSIRO Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn macq.it/3vXGDdW

New images from the Evolutionary Map of the Universe Early Science Project, co-authored by Professor Andrew Hopkins will provide a benchmark for researchers to study in greater detail how stars form and the structure of galaxies: macq.it/3yVIMsS Andrew Hopkins CSIRO

A study co-authored by Prof Andrew Hopkins from MU PhysAstro Society has measured radio waves from thousands of stars and galaxies never before identified, providing a new benchmark to study star formation and galaxy structures: macq.it/3yVIMsS Andrew Hopkins CSIRO Jodrell Bank

Check out this new article discussing combining single dish radio data from #Parkes with interferometry ray from #ASKAP #EMU theconversation.com/astronomers-re…

You saw the zebra loose in Seoul story, right? abc.net.au/news/2023-03-2… You probably didn’t see this picture - it’s so perfectly camouflaged! Nature is so clever!