We live in a fascinating era in terms of astronomical knowledge. We now know with certainty that many other stars besides our own Sun have…
View More Why do you study exoplanets?Category: Cosmos
Why did you decide to become a cosmologist?
Cosmologists study a truly mind-bending topic: the nature of our universe. It’s a field of study that dwarfs the scopes of many other sciences. Cosmologists,…
View More Why did you decide to become a cosmologist?How does machine learning help us understand galaxies?
The scale of the universe is difficult to fathom. Our world is inside a star system, which is in turn inside a galaxy, which is…
View More How does machine learning help us understand galaxies?What’s it like running an Airbnb on a dark sky reserve?
Sometimes people just want to get away from the city. New Zealand enjoys a low population density and plenty of off-the-beaten-track stays in nature. On…
View More What’s it like running an Airbnb on a dark sky reserve?What is it like working in astrotourism?
Many people feel passionate about maintaining access to dark nighttime skies. Being able to see the stars reminds humanity of its place in the universe…
View More What is it like working in astrotourism?Why do you like to gaze at the stars?
For the vast majority of humans, celestial objects besides Earth can only be seen, not touched. On the one hand, this can be off-putting –…
View More Why do you like to gaze at the stars?What’s it like studying fast radio bursts hundreds of lightyears away?
Fast radio bursts are astronomical phenomena not yet well-understood. They are transient pulses, emanating from unidentified high-energy astrophysical processes. To learn more about FRBs, we…
View More What’s it like studying fast radio bursts hundreds of lightyears away?How are cubesats advancing astrophysics?
Cubesats are becoming more common. In low Earth orbit, they are becoming so prevalent that concerns are arising about space debris and interference with Earth-based…
View More How are cubesats advancing astrophysics?Is our universe part of a larger multiverse?
Does the word “universe” best describe everything that exists – all of time, energy, and matter – or is it more appropriate to speak of…
View More Is our universe part of a larger multiverse?White dwarfs’ exoplanets – what do we know about them?
A booming area of space science is the study of “exoplanets”, the term for planets outside our Solar System. Telescopes like the Transiting Exoplanet Survey…
View More White dwarfs’ exoplanets – what do we know about them?