Iconic Australian Telescope Has Been Named Murriyang, And The Meaning Is Beautiful

 Australia's iconic 64-meter (210 ft) Parkes astronomical telescope has been given a replacement traditional name to acknowledge the Wiradjuri, who owns the land on which the telescope sits.

The Wiradjuri are a number of Australia's First people that have occupied the continent and its adjacent islands for over 65,000 years.

The telescope received the name Murriyang, which represents the 'Skyworld' where a prominent creator spirit of the Wiradjuri Dreaming, Biyaami (Baiame), lives. the 2 smaller telescopes at CSIRO's Parkes Observatory also received Wiradjuri names.

"This recognizes Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples because the first people of Australia and respects their enduring connection to lands, skies, waters, plants, and animals," said Louisa Warren Executive Manager the Office of Indigenous Engagement for the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), the govt agency accountable for a research project.

Warren added that the new names acknowledges and pays reference to the astronomical knowledge of the indigenous peoples.

The telescope staff worked for 2 years together with Wiradjuri Elders and other indigenous groups on the telescope naming project.

Wiradjuri Elder Rhonda Towney conducted the naming ceremony, and Elder Dr Stan Grant revealed the telescope's Wiradjuri names.

"This could be a very proud day for the Wiradjuri people, Grant said. "The naming of the telescopes is one in all the largest things to happen to our people."

The UN estimates that 90 percent of all languages will disappear within 100 years. a good majority of those languages are spoken by indigenous peoples, and these unique languages are in peril of becoming extinct.

Indigenous languages are a necessary a part of a peoples' collective identity and is usually linked to the land or region traditionally occupied by indigenous peoples. When the language dies, that sense of connected community may also disappear.

Wiradjuri Elder and representative of the NSW Aboriginal Education Consultative Group David Towney said language is "everything about who and what we are. We teach language to know country, culture and sky stories. Connecting our language to the telescope is … the simplest way for people to return together and celebrate Wiradjuri culture."

"Science is that the hunt for truth, often we expect we are the primary to find it, but much of the knowledge we seek was discovered long before us," said CSIRO Chief Executive Larry Marshall.

"We're honored that the Wiradjuri Elders have given traditional names to our telescopes at Parkes, to attach them with the oldest scientific tradition within the world."

The naming ceremony was held in conjunction with a yearly celebration of indigenous peoples in Australia called NAIDOC, which originally stood for National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee.

The telescope facility is found on Wiradjuri country in central west New South Wales, approximately 380 kilometres (236 miles) west of Sydney.

The names for the smaller telescopes:

Giyalung Miil, for the 12-metre (39-foot) ASKAP testing antenna, means 'Smart Eye.

This telescope was commissioned in 2008 as a testbed for a special new style of receiver technology (a phased array feed, PAF) used on CSIRO's Australian Square Kilometer Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) antennas. The PAF is in a position see different parts of the sky simultaneously making it a 'smart eye'.

Giyalung Guluman, for the 18-metre (59-foot) decommissioned antenna, means 'Smart Dish.'

This antenna had the flexibility to maneuver along a railway track while observing, and when linked to the most 64-meter (210-foot) antenna became pivotal in early work that determined the scale and brightness of radio sources within the sky.

The antenna was originally assembled at the CSIRO Fleurs radio reflector site, Penrith NSW in 1960, was transported to Parkes in 1963 and have become operational in 1965.