Themiya Nanayakkara – The Conversation

The Big Wheel alongside some of its neighbours. Weichen Wang et al. (2025)

March 17, 2025

You’ve heard of the Big Bang. Now astronomers have discovered the Big Wheel – here’s why it’s significant

Themiya Nanayakkara, Swinburne University of Technology

This enormous disk object formed soon after the Big Bang, challenging what we know about how galaxies grow.

Dust in the heart of galaxy NGC628. NASA / ESA / CSA / Judy Schmidt

December 24, 2024

From dead galaxies to mysterious red dots, here’s what the James Webb telescope has found in just 3 years

Themiya Nanayakkara, Swinburne University of Technology; Ivo Labbe, Swinburne University of Technology, and Karl Glazebrook, Swinburne University of Technology

The James Webb Space Telescope is celebrating three years from its launch. Its discoveries have already changed our understanding of the early universe.

NASA / ESA / CSA / Ivo Labbe (Swinburne) / Rachel Bezanson (University of Pittsburgh) / Alyssa Pagan (STScI)

February 28, 2024

What ended the ‘dark ages’ in the early universe? New Webb data just brought us closer to solving the mystery

Themiya Nanayakkara, Swinburne University of Technology

With the help of a magnifying glass 4 million lightyears wide, astronomers may have solved the riddle of what burned away the hydrogen fog that pervaded the early universe.

NASA

March 17, 2022

The James Webb Space Telescope has taken its first aligned image of a star. Here’s how it was done

Themiya Nanayakkara, Swinburne University of Technology

The telescopes primary mirror segments are now working together to provide a single, sharp image.

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