The Cosmic Diary is not just about astronomy. It's more about what it is like to be an astronomer.
The Cosmic Diary aims to put a human face on astronomy: professional scientists will blog in text and images about their lives, families, friends, hobbies and interests, as well as their work, their latest research findings and the challenges that face them. The bloggers represent a vibrant cross-section of female and male working astronomers from around the world, coming from five different continents. Outside the observatories, labs and offices they are musicians, mothers, photographers, athletes, amateur astronomers. At work, they are managers, observers, graduate students, grant proposers, instrument builders and data analysts.
Throughout this project, all the bloggers will be asked to explain one particular aspect of their work to the public. In a true exercise of science communication, these scientists will use easy-to-understand language to translate the nuts and bolts of their scientific research into a popular science article. This will be their challenge.
Mariana Barrosa (Portugal, ESO ePOD)
Nuno Marques (Portugal, Web Developer)
Lee Pullen (UK, Freelance Science Communicator)
André Roquette (Portugal, ESO ePOD)
Jack Oughton (UK, Freelance Science Communicator)
Alice Enevoldsen (USA, Pacific Science Center)
Alberto Krone Martins (Brazil, Uni. S. Paulo / Uni. Bordeaux)
Kevin Govender (South Africa, S. A. A. O.)
Avivah Yamani (Indonesia, Rigel Kentaurus)
Henri Boffin (Belgium, ESO ePOD)
It is good to know that regional astronomical societies are flourishing in Spain, as they are in many other places in the world. I have just been to Málaga, the Andalusian town on the Mediterranean Costa del Sol and I gave a lecture there to la Sociedad Malagueña de Astronomía (SMA or Málaga Astronomical Society). My lecture was to mark the Society’s 34th anniversary since its foundation in 1975.
Recently I pondered the question of what were the main achievements in astronomy and astrophysics in the 20th century. In fact in 2007 I gave a seminar in our department on just this topic. My talk generated quite a bit of discussion, but that’s because it was deliberately controversial!
I have just returned from five days in Barcelona, Spain’s second largest city, a major port and centre of business and of culture. Like all the cities of Spain I have visited, each one has brought pleasant surprises. Barcelona is so different from the towns of Andalucía which I have come to know in recent months, but it has its own fascinating Catalan culture. It is also a remarkably cosmopolitan and elegant city, having a sophistication, smart elegance and a genuine sense of fun and style that immediately strikes the new visitor.
In August 2008 I travelled on the Silk Road to Samarkand, following in the footsteps of many a famous traveller who passed through that Central Asian thoroughfare. Alexander the Great came and plundered there in the fourth century BC, Genghis Khan came from the east in 1220, Marco Polo came en route to China a half century later and Tamerlane conquered the whole of Central Asia in the late 14th century, establishing a centre of learning in Samarkand. He is the Uzbek national hero. His grandson, the famous astronomer Ulugh Beg, produced the first star catalogue since Ptolemy in 1437. I owe my visit to Uzbekistan to Ulugh Beg, as I visited the Ulugh Beg Astronomical Institute in Tashkent with sponsorship from the International Astronomical Union.
John Hearnshaw
61 years old, born in Wellington, New Zealand
Biography:
John is a natural communicator. He has made a successful career out of both scientific research and education, working as an observatory director, lecturer and author. His passion for astronomy is undeniable, and his expertise are greatly valued by all who work with him. His hectic schedule means that he is often rushing around the world visiting other scientists and members of the public who are eager to learn more about science. John certainly has interesting stories to tell!
Place of work: University of Canterbury (Dept of Physics and Astronomy and Mt John Observatory)
The University of Canterbury has created a number of successful alumni
and staff. These include Karl Popper, the most influential scientific
philosopher of the 20th century, and Ernest Rutherford, who did his
bachelors and masters degrees at Canterbury in the 1890s, and stayed
for his early career in experimental physics. The department of
astronomy and physics is particularly advanced, with its own
observatory, radar stations, and laser research labs.
Location: Christchurch, New Zealand
It is said by Maori oral history that the area around Christchurch has been inhabited for a thousand years. In the middle of the 19th century, white settlers arrived and named the town after Christchurch in Oxford. It is still the gateway to the Antarctic, with many nations using the international airport there as the closest link to the research installations on Antarctica.