SkyMapper
SkyMapper will be among the first of a new breed of surveying telescopes which are able to scan the nighttime skies more quickly and deeper than ever before. The SkyMapper telescope will provide a deep digital map of the southern sky which will allow astronomers to study everything from nearby objects such as asteroids in our solar system to the most distant objects in the universe called quasars. The data taken by the SkyMapper telescope will be shared with astronomers around the world via the Virtual Observatory initiative, so that every possible use can be made of this resource.
As part of SkyMapper, there will be a supernova search. Unlike ESSENCE or SDSS-II, it will focus on all types of supernovae. This supernova survey will be to address the fundamental gaps in knowledge in supernova. We will survey over 1000 sq. degrees and search for nearby supernova, z < 0.1. We will be utilizing the new WiFeS spectrograph on the 2.3m for detailed measurements of the galaxy at various parts of it.
I will also be looking at pecuilar transients and trying to constrain theoretical predicions of the host galaxy environments.