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Michael J. I. Brown

Associate professor, Monash University
I am an observational astronomer, studying how galaxies evolve over billions of years.

I was born and raised in Melbourne’s southeastern suburbs. My interest in astronomy began as a child, when the Voyager spacecraft visited the outer planets. I undertook my undergraduate and postgraduate studies at the University of Melbourne during the 1990s. For my PhD, I used (now antiquated) photographic plates to identify thousands of galaxies and measure their distribution in space.

In 2000 I joined the staff of the National Optical Astronomy Observatory, and started working on surveys of the distant Universe with large ground-based telescopes and satellites. In 2004 I was awarded Princeton University’s Henry Norris Russell Fellowship, and studied the growth of the most massive galaxies. Using thousands of galaxies in the constellation of Bootes, I found that the most massive galaxies have grown slowly over the past seven billion years, which is almost certainly due to mergers of galaxies.

Since 2007 I have been at Monash University’s School of Physics and Astronomy. I am measuring spectra of galaxies across the electromagnetic spectrum, which is useful for measuring the distances to galaxies, the luminosities of galaxies and how rapidly galaxies form stars. I am also using large astronomical surveys to measure how rapidly galaxies are growing, and how this growth compares to the growth of dark matter halos.

When you look up, how far back in time do you see?

Dec 27, 2018 23:58 pm UTC| Science

Our senses are stuck in the past. Theres a flash of lightning, and then seconds pass until we hear the rumble of distant thunder. We hear the past. We are seeing into the past too. While sound travels about a...

Looking at the universe through very different 'eyes'

Jan 22, 2018 11:39 am UTC| Insights & Views Science

We are bathed in starlight. During the day we see the Sun, light reflected off the surface of the Earth and blue sunlight scattered by the air. At night we see the stars, as well as sunlight reflected off the Moon and the...

Space Science Series

We can learn a lot from the changing night sky

Jan 07, 2017 01:10 am UTC| Science

You cannot feel or hear the world turning. It does not rumble through space. But you can see it turn with your own eyes every day and night. And, with patience, you can see Earth travel around the Sun. As the globe...

How to quickly spot dodgy science

Jan 04, 2017 05:00 am UTC| Science

I havent got time for science, or at least not all of it. I cannot read 19,000 astrophysics papers every year. No way. And I have little patience for bad science, which gets more media attention than it deserves. Even...

Trump has embraced pseudoscience and its deceptive tactics in a post-truth world

Dec 12, 2016 09:30 am UTC| Science Politics

As a scientist, I expect the Trump presidency to have a curious familiarity. Why? Because the relentless stream of falsehoods and character attacks of Trumps campaign mainstreamed disinformation tactics that biologists,...

Space Science Series

Less secrecy could help astronomy stop the bullying and harassment within its ranks

Nov 23, 2016 03:00 am UTC| Insights & Views Science

Shocking allegations of bullying, harassment and sexual assault at CSIROs Astronomy and Space Sciences (CASS) division were revealed on Sunday by the ABCs Background Briefing program. In CASS alone, the Radio National...

UFOs, climate change and missing airliners: how to separate fact from fiction

Jun 20, 2016 06:47 am UTC| Insights & Views

If youve been on social media then perhaps youve seen the Ancient Aliens meme; a wild-haired alien aficionado Giorgio A. Tsoukalos attributing all manner of things to aliens. Giorgio A. Tsoukalos is a well known...

Economy

Soybean Futures Slip as Traders Await Trump-Xi Trade Signals

Chicago soybean futures edged lower on Thursday as traders closely watched Chinese President Xi Jinpings state visit to Washington for signs of progress on U.S.-China agricultural trade and future soybean purchases. CBOT...

European Stocks Fall as Bond Yields and Geopolitical Risks Weigh

European stocks closed lower on Thursday as rising bond yields, geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East and concerns surrounding artificial intelligence weighed on investor sentiment. The pan-European STOXX 600 dropped...

Trump, Xi Focus on Trade and AI at White House Summit

U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping to the White House on Thursday, opening high-level talks focused on trade, artificial intelligence, security and broader U.S.-China relations. Xis trip...

Oil Prices Jump 3% as Houthi Attack Revives Supply Fears

Oil prices surged about 3% on Thursday, with Brent crude reaching a one-week high after a Houthi missile attack on Saudi Arabia renewed concerns over Middle East supply disruptions. Gains eased later as reports emerged...

Wall Street Ends Flat as Oil, Treasury Yields and Fed Jitters Rattle Markets

Wall Street finished mostly unchanged on Thursday after a volatile session driven by surging oil prices, rising U.S. Treasury yields and increasingly hawkish Federal Reserve signals. The SP 500 closed nearly flat at...

Politics

Trump Asks Supreme Court to Restore Third-Country Deportations

President Donald Trumps administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday to allow it to continue deporting migrants to countries other than their homelands without automatically giving them an opportunity to raise...

Netanyahu Defends Israel at UN as Delegates Stage Walkout

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a defiant address to the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday, defending Israels military actions as dozens of delegates walked out in protest. The speech came as...

US Backs Musk in Fight Against EU’s €120 Million X Fine

The U.S. government has formally moved to join Elon Musks legal challenge against a 120 million ($136.5 million) European Union fine imposed on his social media platform X, escalating a dispute over the reach of European...

Netanyahu’s Brief US Trip Highlights Strains With Trump

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to make an unusually short visit to the United States for his UN General Assembly address, underscoring signs of strain in US-Israel relations ahead of Israels October...

Abbas Reaffirms November 28 Palestinian Elections

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas reaffirmed plans to hold legislative elections on November 28, potentially marking the first Palestinian parliamentary vote in two decades, even as political and logistical obstacles...

Science

Blue Origin New Glenn Explosion Could Delay Launch Operations Until 2028

Blue Origin is facing a significant setback after a dramatic explosion involving its New Glenn rocket severely damaged a launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida. According to NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, repairs to the...

Blue Origin New Glenn Rocket Explodes During Launch Pad Test, Delaying Space Ambitions

Blue Origin suffered a major setback after its uncrewed New Glenn rocket exploded during a launch pad test in Florida on Thursday, raising new challenges for Jeff Bezos space company as it competes with Elon Musks SpaceX...

SpaceX Delays Starship V3 Launch Ahead of Potential Record IPO

SpaceX on Thursday postponed the highly anticipated launch of its 12th Starship rocket test from Texas after technical issues interrupted the final countdown. The company now plans to attempt the Starship V3 launch again...

Trump Administration Releases New UFO Files and Apollo Mission Records

The U.S. Defense Department has released dozens of previously classified UFO-related files following an order from President Donald Trump, sparking renewed debate over unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) and government...

China vs. NASA: The New Moon Race and What's at Stake by 2030

The space race is back and this time, its a direct competition between the United States and China for dominance on the lunar surface. NASAs Artemis II mission recently made history when four astronauts flew farther into...

Technology

Former OpenAI Data Center Chief Chris Malone Joins Nvidia

Chris Malone, the former head of data centers at OpenAI, has joined Nvidia as vice president of its DSX Platform, strengthening the chipmakers leadership team as demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure continues...

Akamai Shares Surge on $11.6B Anthropic AI Cloud Deal

Akamai Technologies shares jumped as much as 20% in after-hours trading Thursday after the cloud computing company announced an $11.6 billion, seven-year agreement with artificial intelligence firm Anthropic. The contract...

Oracle Shares Fall as New Mexico AI Data Center Faces Power Delays

Oracle Corp. shares fell after reports that the technology giant is seeking protection from financial obligations linked to its massive artificial intelligence data center project in New Mexico amid regulatory and...

BlackBerry Shares Rise as Q2 Earnings, Revenue Beat Estimates

BlackBerry shares climbed more than 2% in premarket trading Thursday after the cybersecurity and software company reported stronger-than-expected second-quarter results and issued an upbeat full-year revenue outlook....

Apple Extends Qualcomm Patent Licensing Deal

Qualcomm said Thursday that Apple has extended its patent-licensing agreement with the U.S. chip designer, maintaining a key part of their relationship even as the iPhone maker works to reduce its dependence on Qualcomm...