astronomy

Simon Ellingsen

Simon Ellingsen is a astronomy 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 Simon Ellingsen rather than just read about it. In short: Simon Ellingsen is an Executive Director of the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) and is based at the University of Western Australia node. Education Ellingsen attended University of Tasmania, located in Hobart, Tasmania, where he received a Bachelor's degree (First-class honours) in 1991.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Simon Ellingsen is an Executive Director of the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) and is based at the University of Western Australia node.

Education Ellingsen attended University of Tasmania, located in Hobart, Tasmania, where he received a Bachelor's degree (First-class honours) in 1991. He went on to obtain a PhD in 1996, with the thesis "Class II Methanol Masers in Star Formation Regions"

Career Ellingsen is best known for his work on star formation and the structure of the Milky Way, particularly through observations of methanol masers. Notable contributions include the first unbiased search for 6.7 GHz methanol masers, which identified a large number of previously unknown regions of high-mass star formation, discovery of a number of new interstellar methanol maser transitions and the demonstration that class II methanol masers trace a very early phase of high-mass star formation. He has used observations of methanol absorption to help constrain changes in the proton-to-electron mass ratio and made the first detection of extragalactic class I methanol and HC3N masers toward NGC253. He continues to work as a researcher at the University of Tasmania. Ellingsen has contributed to efforts to locate the Wow! signal with American data analyst, astronomer, and author Robert H. Gray. In 1998 Ellingsen and Gray conducted searches using the 26-meter dish at the Mount Pleasant Radio Observatory in Hobart, Tasmania. Gray and Ellingsen made six 14-hour observations where the Big Ear was pointing when it found the Wow! Signal. Gray and Ellingsen published "A Search for Periodic Emissions at the Wow Locale" in the October 2002 issue of The Astrophysical Journal, reporting on searches for the Wow! signal. Ellingsen had a number of roles at the University of Tasmania. Ellingsen has been involved in running research facilities and associated projects at The University of Tasmania for many years, most recently a Space Infrastructure Fund grant to construct a new satellite tracking antenna at the Greenhill Observatory. Ellingsen was appointed as a lecturer in physics in 2000, promoted to senior lecturer in 2005, to Associate Professor in 2010 and to Professor in 2015. He was Head of Discipline for Physics from 2015 – 2019, becoming Acting Head of School for the School of Natural Sciences in July 2019 and was appointed to the position of Dean of Natural Sciences in November 2020. In April 2024 he commenced as the Executive Director for the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) and is based at the University of Western Australia node.

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Simon Ellingsen

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Simon Ellingsen claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, 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 Simon Ellingsen 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 Simon Ellingsen 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 Simon Ellingsen

In research: Simon Ellingsen appears in astronomy 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 Simon Ellingsen 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: Simon Ellingsen is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1969 births, 21st-century Australian physicists, Academic staff of the University of Tasmania, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Simon Ellingsen 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.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Simon Ellingsen” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Simon Ellingsen in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Simon Ellingsen 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 Simon Ellingsen out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Simon Ellingsen in simple terms?

Simon Ellingsen is an Executive Director of the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) and is based at the University of Western Australia node. Education Ellingsen attended University of Tasmania, located in Hobart, Tasmania, where he received a Bachelor's degree (First-class ho…

Why does Simon Ellingsen matter?

Because it connects several astronomy 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 Simon Ellingsen?

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 Simon Ellingsen.