Guest Speaker: Alan Chan is an astronomer and Bachelor of Science student in Astronomy and Astrophysics at the Australian National University (ANU), affiliated with Mt Stromlo Observatory and the ANU Centre for Gravitational Astrophysics. Specialising in advanced physics, Alan works as an astronomer at both Mt Stromlo Observatory and Siding Spring Observatory. He is also the President of the ANU Astronomy Society.
The quest to understand the universe's expansion and the mechanisms driving it, such as dark energy, has led astronomers to employ diverse observational techniques and instruments. Traditionally, Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) have served as reliable standard candles. However, emerging research suggests that Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) and multi-messenger events, such as gravitational wave (GW) detections, provide complementary and transformative insights into cosmology. Instruments like the GRACE-FO mission, LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna), and the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) are revolutionizing our ability to probe the universe across a wide range of phenomena and scales.