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)
Remains of 16 pieces of the recent meteorite 2008TC that fell in North Sudan October, 7, 2009 are found by a team from university of Khartoum with collaboration of NASA Ames Center headed by Peter. These pieces are under investigations that will reveal more data about our solar system.
Last week a new compain was launched to explore new areas where the debris of the meteroite might have fallen.
Arbab Ibrahim Arbab,
44 years old, born in Omdurman, Sudan
Biography:
Sudanese Arbab has pioneered work into the Earth-Moon system. He applies quantum mechanics to cosmic systems, often with surprising results! He is co-founder of the African Physical Review and works with ten international journals.
Place of work: University of Khartoum
Located on the west bank of the Blue Nile, Sudan’s University of Khartoum was founded by the British over a century go as a primary school. Many things have changed since then, and since Sudan’s independence in the 1950s the university now has over 16 000 students and it houses the national library of the country.
Location: Khartoum, Sudan
Located at a bend in the Nile, Khartoum’s Egyptian past has never really gone away. Today a bustling metropolis, over the last decade the population has exploded by over 1.5 million people. Despite some recent struggles, the city offers botanical gardens and ample shopping opportunities to inhabitants, with the recent opening of the Afra Mall, nearby to the traditional bazaars.