Meet the astronomers. See where they work. Know what they know.

The Project:

The Cosmic Diary is not just about astronomy. It's more about what it is like to be an astronomer.

The Cosmic Dairy 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.

Task Group:

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)

Brother Guy Consolmagno

56 years old, born in Detroit, Michigan, USA
Place of work: Specola Vaticana, Castel Gandolfo, Vatican City State
Website: http://cosmicdiary.org/blogs/brother_guy_consolmagno/

Written from the control room of the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope in Arizona, this feature delves deep into meteorites, addressing their creation, composition, location and importance. Tricks of the trade are put on the table as methods of analysing these pieces of cosmic debris are addressed. This all comes together for the grand aim of understanding how the Solar System and the objects within it were formed, four and a half billion years ago.

Athena Coustenis

46 years old, born in Athens, Greece (French citizenship)
Place of work: Paris-Meudon Observatory, Meudon, France
Website: http://cosmicdiary.org/blogs/athena_coustenis/

In January 2005 the eyes of the world turned to Saturn's largest moon, Titan, as the Huygens probe successfully landed and sent back the first images of the previously shrouded surface. This article takes a look at Titan, beginning with its discovery in 1655. The startling similarities between this moon and the early Earth are highlighted, raising an interesting question: could there be life on this world? Finally, there's a look into the future, with possible missions to further explore Saturn's moons, perhaps even featuring a high-tech balloon!

Assaf Horesh

32 years old, born in Tel-Aviv, Israel
Place of work: Tel-Aviv University, Israel
Website: http://cosmicdiary.org/blogs/assaf_horesh/

Imagine if you could bend light to create a cosmic magnifying glass, letting you peer out into space to see some of the most distant objects known to man. That's exactly what astronomers do, using a technique first predicted by Albert Einstein: gravitational lensing.

Yavuz Eksi

36 years old born in Istanbul, Turkey
Place of work: Technical University of Istanbul, Turkey
Website: http://cosmicdiary.org/blogs/k_yavuz_eksi/

The galaxies, stars, planets and life on our world are stories within stories that are still unfolding. This article highlights the fact that our Universe is far from static, and is in fact changing all the time. Stars are formed and expire, galaxies merge and planets are transformed. Our world had a past before us and it is expected to have a future. Creation is an ongoing process where no phase of it is privileged to be the ultimate form.

Saskia Hekker

30 years old, born in Heeze, The Netherlands
Place of work: Royal Observatory of Belgium, Brussels, Belgium
Website: http://cosmicdiary.org/blogs/saskia_hekker/

Wouldn't it be fascinating to know what it's actually like inside a star? After reading this you'll have an idea about the life of a star and how it shines. Why stars appear different colours is addressed, along with measuring stars' vibrations and techniques to "look into" our Sun and other stars. Astronomers don't have all the answers though, and this feature finishes with some questions that hopefully one day we will be able to crack!