Museums Victoria Research Institute is responsible for the state’s scientific and cultural collections, providing public access through three museums.
We also oversee a wide range of research programs, the continued development of the state’s collections, and run major education and research based websites.
We are the largest public museums organisation in Australia.
It’s National Science Week and this year the annual citizen science project run by ABC Science is astronomy-themed. No guesses for knowing that I’m excited about that! It’s also a nod to 2015 being the…
For the first time, astronauts on board the International Space Station (ISS) have enjoyed munching down on food they have grown themselves. That’s a really special achievement considering the three things…
Over the last few nights, bright Venus, Jupiter and the lovely crescent moon have been capturing people’s attention in the western sky. But hidden from view has been an interloper making a rare trip through…
What an amazing time for space exploration. The picture of the solar system from my childhood is now complete, as seen in this great family portrait produced by Ben Gross, a research fellow at the Chemical…
They are the two brightest planets in the night sky – the cloud-covered world of Venus and the enormous gas giant Jupiter. Put them together and it’s a double delight. We are set for a stunning sight at…
Saturn is the most distant planet that can be seen with the naked eye and this weekend brings it closest to Earth for 2015. Seen as a small star, with a steady light and a slightly yellow-tinge, the planet…
It’s the image that back in 1995 saved the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). It turned around five years of public mockery by demonstrating loud and clear that Hubble would live up to – and grow to exceed…
The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) has now been in orbit for 25 years and this achievement has been a wonderful excuse to pour over the telescope’s beautiful imagery, to consider its valuable contribution…
Tanya Hill, Museums Victoria Research Institute; Amanda Bauer, Australian Astronomical Observatory, and Sarah Brough, Australian Astronomical Observatory
What happens to a galaxy when it runs out of the stuff needed to forge new stars?
A total lunar eclipse will be visible from across all Australia this Saturday, April 4. But it will be a quick one. Rather than passing deep into the Earth’s shadow, the moon is skimming close to the shadow’s…
A new light in the southern night sky is thought to be an exploding star. It comes as astronomers reveal an ancient nova explosion is now thought to have been two stars colliding.
The past week saw a fantastic treat for aurora watchers. Generally it is the southern part of the country, Tasmania in particular, that sees the most impressive displays. But this aurora has been so intense…
When NASA’s Dawn spacecraft is captured into orbit around the dwarf planet Ceres on Friday, March 6, there will be no fanfare in mission control. In fact, the spacecraft won’t even be in radio contact…
Over the past few weeks, Venus and Mars have been drifting closer together in the evening sky and this weekend the two will meet low in the west. What’s more, on Saturday February 21, the thin crescent…
Two white dwarfs found orbiting each other at the centre of a planetary nebula are now known to have enough mass that they will eventually trigger a special kind of supernova, according to research published…
Jonti Horner, University of Southern Queensland; Donna Burton, University of Southern Queensland, and Tanya Hill, Museums Victoria Research Institute
Meteors have been seen since people first looked at the night sky. They are comprised of small pieces of debris, typically no larger than a grain of dust or sand, which continually crash into the Earth’s…