“I had 6 wonderful years at Indiana University doing research as a graduate student, and I didn’t want to graduate.”
Executive Officer & CEO at AAVSO and Astronomer, Dr. Stella Kafka says.
By Maria Anna van Driel, www.nexttruth.com
Can’t you keep your eyes off those twinkling stars that shine so brightly in the night sky? Does your bedroom look like a direct copy of our cosmic freezer and, are you that glued to your telescope that they have to surgically remove you from it? If so, then the astronomy bug has bite you and directed you towards a scientific career in astronomy.
Astronomy in a nutshell
When you think of an astronomer, you might imagining someone who is gazing at the stars every night by using a telescope. Instead, an astronomer uses papers, pencils and computers to collect data about objects swirling in the universe. But some astronomers do use telescopes to explore the dark skies, they are called “observational” astronomers.
“I am what you call an observational astronomer or, a professional stargazer”, Dr. Kafka explains during her interview with The Next Truth. “I like to collect and analyze data and try to build a 4 dimensional picture of the universe while observing things that change with time.”
So, astronomy is the study of everything in the universe beyond Earth’s atmosphere. It is the scientific study of celestial objects such as stars, planets, comets, and galaxies, the interstellar medium, our Sun and solar system and phenomena that originate outside the Earth’s atmosphere such as the cosmic background radiation (CBR).
And, like both the CBR and the universe itself, astronomy has no borders. It is global and it seems to have this magnetic power of uniting us. A though but fun science which brings us under the same beautiful umbrella, while is trying to build a picture of the universe. Also, astronomy doesn’t care about gender, your background, social economic situations or even your location. What it cares about is having a respectful environment of exchanging ideas. A philosophy that touches most of the areas of Dr. Kafka’s personal goal.
“I would like to see more woman in astronomy but at the same time, more diverse voices within this field. Because this way we can learn better from each other in a respectable and non-hostile environment.”
Dr. Stella Kafka grew up in Athens, Greece where the sky is extremely light polluted so, the only celestial bodies she could see as a teenager, where the sun and the moon. Nevertheless, the vast universe kept drawing her attention and triggered her curiosity of finding out what more there is to discover.
In middle school she was a straight A student and found that physics explains how nature works. And so, attacked by the night sky, she became a physicist. But, as she explains in her interview, she was never really exposed to a dark sky while growing up in Athens. Luckily, as an undergraduate student, she gained the opportunity to work on different projects that opened the door for her to become an observational astronomer.
“I loved physics and I was very attracted to astronomy as a science. I was very curious of how you can explore the universe because, it is not that you can take a scope of stars and take a picture of it. So, I decided to do my undergraduate thesis in astronomy. And, I remember my undergraduate thesis adviser, Prof. Mary Kontizas, who is today a dear friend of mine, saying that Astronomy is very addictive. And so, my approach to astronomy comes from physics. I wanted to know how nature works.”
A brief history
Historically, astronomy has included disciplines as diverse as astrometry, celestial navigation, observational astronomy, the making of calendars, and even, at one time, astrology. But, did you know that, since the 20th century, the field of professional astronomy has split into observational and theoretical branches?
Observational astronomers, or ‘observers’, are specialized in taking data, observing electromagnetic radiation (light) at various different wavelength regimes, using all types of earth-based and space-based large telescopes. Theoretical astronomers, or ‘theorists’, attempt to explain observations using computer models that describe physical laws or, make predictions that can be tested observationally.
Early observers who where gazing at the night sky noticed patterns in the stars which we call constellations. Over time, people told stories about them, aka myths, and have given these constellations names like ‘Orion’ (the hunter). To the naked eye the stars, and star clusters, look like tiny dots but they are far from being tiny light specks. They are huge!
“Astronomy is a science which allows you to use your natural curiosity and imagination. This science requires a lot of innovation and thinking outside the box. All we have in our hands to work in this mulit-dimensional picture of the universe is ‘light’ aka, Photons. No matter how big your telescope is, a star will look like a dot.” Dr. Kafka explains.
There is more to light than our eyes can see
Light is a form of energy called ‘electromagnetic radiation’ (EMR). We see the objects in our surroundings because they reflect, or bounce, light into our eyes. But the spectrum of the EMR is more than the white light. It consist of different wavelengths corresponding to different colors. Think of the EMR as a piano keyboard. That teeny, tiny portion of it our eyes can detect, the visible light, is the equivalent of a single octave. To gather the data of the objects in space which are emitting, or reflecting, radiation, ultra violet (UV), infrared, microwaves and radio waves, astronomers are using special tools like microwave-, and gamma-ray telescopes.
“You have to be creative and smart, in how to analyze the light you see through a telescope and for the events that are a once-in-a-life-time sort of thing what we call ‘transient’. You have to be very careful with understanding your data and their caveats before you can say, I made a discovery.”
“Children are natural explorers”, Dr. Kafka proceeds. They naturally follow the scientific method of theorizing, experimenting, revising their theories and, experimenting again and come up with a conclusion. Being an explorer seems to be part of who we naturally are.”
So, do you like to build things? Make things work? Write computer programs? Solve equations? “Boldly go where no-one has gone before”? Well, there are astronomers who do all different things like these while asking the questions, ‘what are the building blocks?’, ‘what are the processes?’ and “what is our place in the universe?”
Where do you want to look next?
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To become more familiar with the work of Dr. Stella Kafka and the AAVSO, go to www.aavso.org Or simply listen to her podcast interview in where Dr. Stella Kafka explains you with passion and enthusiasm, what astronomy is and…where you can find super cool and fun information on many AAVSO programs for you to become a citizen astronomer.
