Duane's research explores the crossroads of science and Indigenous culture, with a special emphasis on astronomical knowledge. He graduated in physics from the University of Missouri and completed a Masters thesis in observational astronomy at the University of New South Wales. He was then awarded a Research Excellence Scholarship at Macquarie University to complete a doctoral thesis investigating the astronomical knowledge of Aboriginal Australians.

Duane has published extensively on Australian Indigenous astronomy, gives regular public talks on the subject, and maintains a successful research blog. He also works as an astronomy educator and consultant curator at Sydney Observatory.

Click here for Duane’s CV and here for his personal webpage

 

Refereed Publications

Norris, R.P., Hamacher, D.W. & Fuller, R.S. (2013). The Astronomy of Indigenous Stone Arrangements. Australian Archaeology, in review

Hamacher, D.W. (2013). More Accounts of Meteoritic Events in the Traditions of Indigenous Australians. Archaeoastronomy, in review

Hamacher, D.W. & O’Neill, C. (2013). The Discovery and History of the Dalgaranga Meteorite Crater, Western Australia. Australian Journal of Earth Sciences, in review.

Hamacher, D.W. & Goldsmith, J. (2013). Aboriginal Oral Traditions of Australian Impact Craters. Journal of Astronomical History & Heritage, in review.

Norris, R.P. & Hamacher, D.W. (2013). Australian Aboriginal Astronomy: An Overview. In "Handbook of Cultural Astronomy", edited by Clive Ruggles.  Springer, in press.

Fuller, R.S.; Hamacher, D.W. & Norris, R.P. (2013). Astronomical Orientations of Bora Ceremonial Grounds in Southeast Australia. Australian Archaeology, No. 77, in press.

Norris, R.P.; Norris, P.M.; Hamacher, D.W. & Abrahams, R. (2012). Wurdi Youang: an Australian Aboriginal stone arrangement with possible solar indications. Rock Art Research, Vol. 30(1), pp. 55-65.

Hamacher, D.W.; Fuller, R.S. & Norris, R.P. (2012). Orientations of Linear Stone Arrangements in New South Wales. Australian Archaeology, Vol. 75, pp. 46-54.

Hamacher, D.W.; Clegg, J.K., & Pankhurst, R.S. (2012). Rock art at the ‘Mini-Yengo’ site near Kulnura, New South Wales, Rock Art Research, Vol. 29(2), pp. 23-25.

Hamacher, D.W.; Buchel, A.; O'Neill, C. & Britton, T.R. (2011). A Meteorite Crater in Palm Valley, Central Australia? A preliminary Survey. In "Australian Space Sciences Conference Series", Vol. 11, edited by Wayne Short & Iver Cairns. National Space Society of Australia, pp. 129-140.

Hamacher, D.W. & Norris, R.P. (2011). Eclipses in Australian Aboriginal Astronomy. Journal of Astronomical History & Heritage, Vol. 14(2), pp. 103-114.

Hamacher, D.W. (2011). Meteoritics and cosmology among the Aboriginal cultures of Central Australia. Journal of Cosmology, Vol. 13, pp. 3743-3753.

Hamacher, D.W. & Norris, R.P. (2011). Comets in Australian Aboriginal Astronomy. Journal of Astronomical History & Heritage, Vol. 14(1), pp. 31-40.

Norris, R.P. & Hamacher, D.W. (2011). Astronomical symbolism in Australian Aboriginal rock art. Rock Art Research, Vol. 28(1), pp. 99-106.

Hamacher, D.W. & Norris, R.P. (2011). "Bridging the Gap" through Australian Cultural Astronomy. In "Archaeoastronomy & Ethnoastronomy: building bridges between cultures", edited by Clive Ruggles. Cambridge University Press, pp. 282-290.

Hamacher, D.W. & Frew, D.J. (2010). An Aboriginal Australian record of the Great Eruption of Eta Carinae. Journal of Astronomical History & Heritage, Vol. 13(3), pp. 220-234.

Hamacher, D.W. & Norris, R.P. (2010). Meteors in Australian Aboriginal Dreamings. WGN - Journal of the International Meteor Organization, Vol. 38(3), pp. 87-98.

Hamacher, D.W. & Norris, R.P. (2009). Australian Aboriginal Geomythology: eyewitness accounts of cosmic impacts? Archaeoastronomy: The Journal of Astronomy in Culture, Vol. 22, pp. 60-93.

Norris, R.P. & Hamacher, D.W. (2009). The Astronomy of Aboriginal Australia. In "The Role of Astronomy in Society and Culture", edited by D. Valls-Gabaud & A. Boksenberg. Cambridge University Press, pp. 39-47.

Christiansen, J.L.; Derekas, A.; Kiss, L.L.; Ashley, M.C.B.; Curran, S.J.; Hamacher, D.W.; Hidas, M.G.; Thompson, M.R.; Webb, J.K. & Young, T.B. (2008). The University of New South Wales Extrasolar Planet Search: a catalogue of variable stars from fields observed 2004-2007. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 385(4), pp. 1749-1763.

Christiansen, J.L.; Derekas, A.; Ashley, M.C.B.; Webb, J.K.; Hidas, M.G.; Hamacher, D.W. & Kiss, L.L. (2007). The first high-amplitude delta-scuti star in an eclipsing binary system. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 382(1): 239-244.

Christiansen, J.L.; Hidas, M.G.; Ashley, M.C.B.; Webb, J.K.; Hamacher, D.W.; Young, T. & Lopez-Morales, M. (2007). Byproducts of the University of New South Wales Extrasolar Planet Search. In "Transiting Extrapolar Planets Workshop", edited by C. Afonso, D. Weldrake, and Th. Henning. ASP Conference Series, Vol. 366, pp. 102-104.

Hidas, M.G.; Webb, J.K.; Ashley, M.C.B.; Phillips, M.A.; Christiansen, J.L.; Hamacher, D.W.; Curran, S. J.; Irwin, M.; Aigrain, S. & Irwin, J. (2007). The University of New South Wales Extrasolar Planet Search. In "Transiting Extrapolar Planets Workshop", edited by C. Afonso, D. Weldrake, and Th. Henning. ASP Conference Series, Vol. 366, pp. 45-50.

Hamacher, D.W. (2005). The Umm Al Binni Structure and Bronze Age Catastrophes. The Artifact: Publications of the El Paso Archaeological Society, Vol. 43, pp. 115-138.

Unrefereed Publications

Hamacher, D.W.; O'Neill, C.; Buchel, A. & Britton, T.R. (2010). Evidence for a putative impact structure in Palm Valley, Central Australia. Meteoritics & Planetary Science, Vol. 45(Supplement), p. A73.

Hamacher, D.W. (2011). Letter - Reply: Meteors in Australian Aboriginal Dreamings. WGN - Journal of the International Meteor Organization, Vol. 39(3), p. 58.

Hamacher, D.W. (2009). Meteorite Falls & Cosmic Impacts in Australian Aboriginal Mythology. Meteoritics & Planetary Science, Vol. 44(7), p. A85.

Hamacher, D.W.; Eyermann, S.; Speck, A.K. & Meixner, M. (2005). HST study of the molecular gas in planetary nebulae. Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 37, p. 1162.

Theses

Hamacher, D.W. (2012). On the Astronomical Knowledge and Traditions of Aboriginal Australians. Doctor of Philosophy thesis, Department of Indigenous Studies, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.

Hamacher, D.W. (2008). A Search for Transiting Extrasolar Planets from the Southern Hemisphere. Master of Science thesis, Department of Astrophysics, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.

Selected Media

Australian Cultural Astronomy, Nura Gili News (March 2013)

Eclipse holds deeper meaning for Indigenous Aussies, World News Australia (14 November 2012)

Meteors and Aboriginal Traditions, The Wire – Real Radio (11 February 2013)

Rare Aboriginal Rock Art Under Threat, ABC 7.30 Show (30 November 2012)

Stories in the Sky, Uniken Magazine, Spring 2012, Issue 66, pp. 22-23.

Meteorites: when fireballs strike the earth, Australian Geographic (Issue 107, March-April 2012, p. 36-38)

Dreaming on the Stars, Campus Review (17 October 2011)

Walls may hold heavenly secrets, Sydney Morning Herald (11 October 2011)

Australian Aboriginal Astronomy, BBC World Discovery Programme (4 October 2011)

Aboriginal Astronomy - Visions of Space seminar in Melbourne, Sydney Observatory Blog (27 September 2011)

Ancient Aborigines Understood Eclipses, ABC Science (15 June 2011)

Beware the Eclipse: Common History of Fear, Australian Geographic (14 June 2011)

Dreamtime Astronomers Understood Meteors, ABC Science (15 March 2011)

Were Aborigines The World's First Astronomers? The Freeborn Times (25 February 2011)

"Ancient Aborigines were keen astronomers" - Wurdi Youang and Aboriginal Astronomy, Noosa Community Radio (21 February 2011)

Wurdi Youang and Aboriginal Astronomy, ABC's Science Show (5 February 2011)

Exploding star recorded in Aboriginal Dreamtime, Australian Geographic (11 November 2010)

Aboriginal astronomers recorded a "supernova-impostor" event, Macquarie Newsroom (9 November 2010)

Comets triggered Aboriginal tales of doom, ABC Science (18 October 2010)

More Australian Archaeoastronomy, CheapAstro.com Podcast (21 September 2010)

The Aboriginal Dreaming and the Science Curriculum, Let's Talk, 98.9 FM (15 March 2010)

The Dreamtime meteor crater, CheapAstro.com Podcast (29 January 2010)

Aboriginal folklore leads to meteorite crater, Cosmos Magazine (7 January 2010)

Cosmic find unearthed using Aboriginal Dreaming story, Macquarie Newsroom (21 December 2009)

Australia's First Astronomers (Big Aussie Starhunt), ABC Science (27 July 2009)