Galactic Archaeology with unprecedented stellar spectroscopic surveys

Understanding the history of the Milky Way from its formation some 13 billion years ago to the present day is one of the main challenges in contemporary astronomy and cosmology. The Australian-led GALAH spectroscopic survey (https://galah-survey.org/) of up to a million stars in the Galaxy is designed with exactly this goal. This unprecedented survey will run at least until 2019 using >400 nights on the Anglo-Australian Telescope at Siding Spring Observatory. The crucial spectroscopic analysis and much of the Galactic archaeology science is performed in collaboration between ANU and the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA) in Germany.