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)
For those of you who don’t know about it, The Particle Zoo is just about the coolest thing since the discovery of the top quark. It’s a collection of handmade plushie toys in the shapes of all the subatomic particles, and even some famous physicists have one.
And now they’ve added a brand new plushie to their arsenal… you can now own your very own Cosmic Microwave Background!
Claire Alexandra Lee,
26 years old, born in Johannesburg,
South Africa
Biography:
Born and raised in South Africa, Claire has held a love for astronomy and physics since she was young. She is interested in particular in the relation between the two fields of particle physics and cosmology. She is currently working towards a PhD on the search for the Higgs boson with the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider.
Place of work: Physics Department, University of Johannesburg and CERN, Switzerland,
Switzerland, via Physics Department, University
of Johannesburg
Institution: University of Johannesburg
CERN is the world's largest particle physics experiment. Its business
is fundamental physics, finding out what the Universe is made of and
how it works. By studying what happens when particles collide,
physicists learn about the laws of Nature.
Location: Johannesburg, South Africa
CERN situated in the northwest suburbs of Geneva on the Franco-Swiss
border. This area of outstanding beauty is now also one of the most
important locations for science, thanks to the experiments being
conducted there.
Website:
My Photos
Facebook
Twitter
University of Johannesburg
My City:
Johannesburg, South Africa
The ATLAS Experiment
CERN
The SA-CERN Program
Brookhaven National Laboratory
Astronomical Society of South Africa - Johannesburg
Centre
July 15th, 2009 at 6:06 pm
Hi Claire,
I just read this post. Hahaha, that’s really cool. If I had kids, I would get them the whole universe…
Take care,
Michael
August 12th, 2009 at 10:44 am
I’m totally buying a box when I have kids of my own!