Macquarie University PhD candidate Duane Hamacher was interested in trying something a little different when he came to Australia from the US to undertake PhD research. That something different turned out to be a world first when he unearthed a previously unknown meteorite crater using an Aboriginal Dreaming story. Hamacher has a background in astrophysics but has been researching Aboriginal astronomy within the Department of Indigenous Studies at the University. He has spent the last year investigating Aboriginal perceptions of comets, meteors and cosmic impacts in collaboration with Professor Ray Norris from the CSIRO. Read more
An aboriginal dreaming story about a star crashing to Earth with a noise like thunder has led to the discovery of an ancient meteorite crater in central Australia. A Sydney astronomer, Duane Hamacher, found the bowl-shaped crater in Palm Valley, about 130 kilometres south-west of Alice Springs, by searching on Google Earth. He was inspired to look there after learning of traditional stories told by the local Arrernte people about a star that had fallen into a waterhole called Puka in the valley. Read more