Dr Alex Andersson

Postdoctoral Fellow

Alex is a fellow working on finding radio transients with the MeerKAT telescope. As part of the ThunderKAT survey team, I use MeerKAT to identify some of the explosive, dynamic systems that until very recently have eluded astronomers. To do this I am utilising the telescope's large field of view along with the plethora of data available from both my team and other survey projects on the telescope. From stars like our Sun flaring up to colliding black holes, the range of interesting astrophysics that can be captured by telescopes like MeerKAT is incredibly broad and so it's part of my job to try to squeeze as much science out of every picture we take. As part of this, citizen scientists help us sift through the large amounts of data we have available, using the Zooniverse platform. Over two million volunteers around the world have helped to find exoplanets, describe galaxies and hunt for supernovae. They even host lots of non-astronomical research projects, such as reviewing camera footage from the Serengeti or digitalising ancient books for modern readers.