science

Optus Aurora

Optus Aurora is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Optus Aurora rather than just read about it. In short: Optus Aurora was a free-to-view satellite television platform in Australia, which aimed at providing television and radio services to remote and black spot areas using the Optus C1 and B3 satellites. The service was available in all areas, using a standard satellite dish and set top box, however commercial stations carried on the platform were restricted to their respective coverage areas.

Key takeaways

Optus Aurora belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Optus Aurora to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Optus Aurora from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Optus Aurora was a free-to-view satellite television platform in Australia, which aimed at providing television and radio services to remote and black spot areas using the Optus C1 and B3 satellites. The service was available in all areas, using a standard satellite dish and set top box, however commercial stations carried on the platform were restricted to their respective coverage areas. Aurora replaced the analogue Homestead and Community Broadcast Satellite Service (HACBSS) in late 1998. HACBSS, carried on the Optus B1 satellite, was originally launched in the 1980s, and was in many areas the first means of receiving television signals. The Viewer Access Satellite Television (VAST) was launched in 2010, as a replacement for Optus Aurora, and now provides a full range of digital channels. Aurora ceased transmission in December 2013, with the last Aurora uplink taking place during February 2014.

Services

Television The remote area broadcast services carried on the platform comprised the major terrestrial networks available in the service's two main coverage areas - remote and regional Western Australia, and remote central and eastern Australia. ABC TV and SBS was available in all areas with the use of a smartcard, however commercial stations were only available to viewers in their respective coverage areas – GWN and WIN WA to regional Western Australia, and Imparja Television and Southern Cross Central to remote viewers in central and eastern Australia. The multichannels of the broadcasters were not available on the service. Indigenous broadcaster National Indigenous Television (NITV) and WA government service Westlink Network were also available on Aurora, in addition to some wagering channels from Sky Racing.

Radio A number of remote commercial and indigenous stations broadcast on Aurora, as did a few in-store radio services. Most of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's radio networks were carried on the platform. SBS Radio's national network was carried for five time zones. SBS Radio 1, SBS Radio 2 and ABC DiG was not carried by Aurora, but they were available on FTA Ku-Band on Optus D1. The Australian government's Community Broadcasting Foundation broadcast a number of services on the platform including the BBC World Service, National Indigenous Radio Service, Vision Australia Radio and the Community Radio Network. Coles Supermarkets, Officeworks and Kmart Australia also used the Aurora service to broadcast their in-store radio to different locations in Australia.

See also Viewer Access Satellite Television Regional television in Australia Television in Australia Television broadcasting in Australia

References

External links Official website

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Optus Aurora

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Optus Aurora claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Optus Aurora before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Optus Aurora ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Optus Aurora

In research: Optus Aurora appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Optus Aurora in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Optus Aurora is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1998 establishments in Australia, 2014 disestablishments in Australia, Australia television stubs, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Optus Aurora outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Optus Aurora in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Optus Aurora means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Optus Aurora out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Optus Aurora in simple terms?

Why does Optus Aurora matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Optus Aurora?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Optus Aurora.