In the Spotlight: Astha

We sat down with Astha, a postgraduate research student at the University of Surrey whose work focuses on the low surface brightness frontier, to find out what fuels her passion for learning about the Universe.

What motivates/inspires you to do the work you do? 

Being able to use my consciousness to understand the universe is very important to me as a life value. It brings me joy to be able to play my part in understanding the world around me.

How did you end up doing what you do now? 

I have always resonated with the idea of optimistic nihilism [finding liberation in the realisation that life is meaningless] in my life. This – along with looking up in the night sky, going to planetariums with my father and mother – has helped increase my curiosity about space. 

What do you enjoy doing when you’re not working on LSST:UK? 

I do some astronomy-based blogging on my site Yugen Theory. I also enjoy hiking and sipping coffee in a cafe with my friends.  

Tell us something your colleagues don't know about you.  

I want to go to space!  

 Surprise us with an astronomical fact. 

Ultra-faint dwarf galaxies contain a lot of dark matter. Some of them might contain 100 times more dark matter than the normal baryonic matter. 

If you weren't working in this field what would your dream job be? 

Very close to what I have been doing, I would be communicating science professionally if not doing research right now.  

What's your advice for anyone aspiring to do the type of research you do? 

Be curious, be brave. Be kind and thankful for your consciousness!