[3] Dunsby has published extensively in the fields of cosmology and gravitation, including higher-order theories of gravity and f(R) gravity,[4] and was the founding Director of the South African National Astrophysics and Space Science Programme (NASSP).
[5] In 2006, Dunsby was awarded the silver medal by the Southern African Association for the Advancement of Science for his contributions to theoretical cosmology.
[8] Dunsby briefly received international attention following a 20 March 2018 report of a "very bright optical transient near the Trifid and Lagoon Nebulae" to the Astronomers Telegram, an internet service for quickly disseminating information about astronomical events.
[10] Dunsby later described the incident to Newsweek as "an honest mistake arising from simply not checking what else was in my camera frame, during an automated astrophotography session and of very little consequence in the scheme of things, but agreed it was rather funny.
The world needs to smile more, so that’s something good that has come out of this episode.”[11] The Astronomer's Telegram editors presented Dunsby with a tongue-in-cheek award as discoverer of Mars.