Ragbir Bhathal was an Australian

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, g ...

and author, based at the

Western Sydney University Western Sydney University, formerly the University of Western Sydney, is an Australian multi-campus university in the Greater Western region of Sydney, Australia. The university in its current form was founded in 1989 as a federated network ...

(WSU),

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. He was known for his work on Optical

Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence The search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) is a collective term for scientific searches for intelligent extraterrestrial life, for example, monitoring electromagnetic radiation for signs of interstellar communication, transmissions fro ...

(OSETI). He continued lecturing and research at WSU until he died at the age of 86 on 30 November 2022.

Career

He did his Ph.D. in magnetism at the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

. He served as a UNESCO consultant on science policy for the ASEAN group of nations, as an Adviser to the Federal Minister for Science and was the Project Director for the million dollar

Sydney Observatory The Sydney Observatory is a heritage-listed meteorological station, astronomical observatory, function venue, science museum, and education facility located on Observatory Hill at Upper Fort Street, in the inner city Sydney suburb of Millers P ...

restoration building program. He designed and built the twin dome

Campbelltown Rotary Observatory Campbelltown Rotary Observatory in City of Campbelltown (New South Wales), Campbelltown, NSW, Australia was opened in 2000 and is owned by Western Sydney University. It consists of twin domes of 4.5m and 2.9m diameter. The patron of the Observa ...

at the WSU Campbelltown Campus, was Director of the Observatory 2000-2022 and was Patron of

Macarthur Astronomical Society Macarthur Astronomical Society is an organisation of amateur astronomers, based in the Macarthur Region of outer South Western Sydney, NSW, Australia, including the local government areas of the City of Campbelltown, Camden Council, Wollo ...

from 1997 to 2011. On 16 May 2018, ''The Macarthur Advertiser'' newspaper reported in its printed version that Dr. Bhathal "was recently elected as a Fellow of the London-based

Royal Astronomical Society (Whatever shines should be observed) , predecessor = , successor = , formation = , founder = , extinction = , merger = , merged = , type = NGO ...

Research

Dr Bhathal carried out research in nanosecond laser pulsed communications, astrophysics, galactic surveys, astronomical image analysis and processing at UWS. In December 2008, he observed a sharp 'laser look-alike' signal emanating from the

globular cluster A globular cluster is a spheroidal conglomeration of stars. Globular clusters are bound together by gravity, with a higher concentration of stars towards their centers. They can contain anywhere from tens of thousands to many millions of membe ...

47 Tucanae 47 Tucanae, or 47 Tuc (also designated NGC 104) is a globular cluster located in the constellation Tucana. It is about away from Earth, and 120 light years in diameter. 47 Tuc can be seen with the naked eye, with an apparent magnitude of 4.1. It ...

. However, despite further searches, the signal has yet to be replicated.

Awards

* Fellow, Royal Astronomical Society. *Fellow,

Royal Society of New South Wales The Royal Society of New South Wales is a learned society based in Sydney, Australia. The Governor of New South Wales is the vice-regal patron of the Society. The Society was established as the Philosophical Society of Australasia on 27 June ...

. * Bicentennial Royal Society of NSW Medal for services to science and research. * CJ Dennis Award for excellence in natural history writing. * Nancy Keesing Fellowship by the State Library of NSW.

Published books

* ''Australian Astronomer John Tebbutt: The Life And World Of The Man On The 100 Dollar Note.'' * ''Under the Southern Cross: A Brief History of Astronomy in Australia'' (1991) (co-author with G.White). * ''Australian Astronomers: Achievements at the Frontiers of Astronomy'' (1996). * ''Australian Backyard Astronomy'' (2006) (co-author with J.Bhathal). * ''Profiles: Australian Women Scientists.'' * ''Selected Documents In Aboriginal Astronomy.'' * ''Aboriginal Astronomy.'' * ''Mt Stromlo Observatory: From Bush Observatory to the Nobel Prize'' (2013) (co-author with Ralph Sutherland and Harvey Butcher). * ''University Physics With Modern Physics''(2011) (co-author with H.Young & R.Freedman). * ''Communication with extraterrestrial intelligence'' (2011). * ''The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) in the Optical Spectrum III.'' (2001) (co-author with S.Kingsley). * ''The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (2000). * ''Scientific and Cultural Aspects of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence'' (1998). * ''Searching For ET'' (1996). * '' Astronomy for the Higher School Certificate'' (1993).

References

External links

Faculty profile
at Western Sydney University
UWS Campbelltown Rotary Observatory
official website

Obituary (Macarthur Astronomical Society)

Obituary (Royal Society) {{DEFAULTSORT:Bhathal, Ragbir 21st-century Australian astronomers Living people Writers from Sydney Australian people of Indian descent Year of birth missing (living people) University of Queensland alumni Western Sydney University faculty Fellows of the Royal Society of New South Wales Fellows of the Royal Astronomical Society