Alan Vaughan (1946 -2026)

Alan Vaughan passed away peacefully on the morning of Tuesday 5 May 2026.

Alan completed his honours degree at University of Sydney in 1968 then continued to a PhD searching for pulsars with the Molonglo radio telescope under the supervision of Michael Large. The early discoveries were reported in several papers in Nature during 1968 (e.g. https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1968Natur.220..753L).

Alan graduated in 1975 and joined Macquarie University. He continued research on radio properties of active stars and then planetary nebulae, but most of Alan's energies were focused on establishing and strengthening the astronomy teaching and outreach programs.

This included undergraduate astronomy subjects (now a major of the BSc), the Macquarie Astronomical Observatory, the Foundation for Astronomy, an annual School of Astronomy for amateur astronomers, and the Astronomy Open Nights, (which are the largest annual outreach events on the University calendar after Open Day).

Alan retired in 2007 but maintained contact with the outreach activities. The success of Alan’s many endeavours laid the foundation for the growth of astronomical activity at Macquarie University to its current strength today.