From a young age, astrophysicist Robin Cook had a deep desire to understand the world around him.
“It was never good enough to take things at face value … I always wanted to understand the inner workings of things,” he said.
It was this natural curiosity that led him to pursue a career in space exploration and its unknowns.
“Not surprisingly, I naturally gravitated toward astronomy,” he said.
“There are so many unanswered questions in astronomy, we actually have a pretty limited knowledge of what’s actually out there.
“And for me, that’s really exciting.”
Looking at the “beautiful spirals” of galaxies
Dr Cook is a research fellow at the International Center for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR), led by Curtin University and the University of Western Australia.
Founded in 2009, the research center is engaged in astronomy, engineering and data-intensive science.
Dr. Cook studies the structure of galaxies. (Provided by: Robin Cook)
Dr. Cook’s area of research within ICRAR is on the evolution of galaxies, specifically the structure of these galaxies.
“My particular area of research is looking at … the shapes of galaxies, whether they’re these beautiful spirals, like our own Milky Way galaxy, or these massive mochi-like elliptical galaxies, and galaxies have these different structures, these different shapes,” he said. .
Dr. Cook’s research process consists of asking questions.
“How can you get a universe that started out as just clouds of hydrogen gas, the simplest element in the universe, and then allowed 10 billion years of evolution to have galaxies with enormous amounts of structure and complexity?” he asks.
“How do you go from something so simple to something so complex?”
His role in advancing understanding of galaxy evolution is in measuring them, a task he says can be challenging.
“Measuring the numbers and quantifying the shapes of galaxies is a really important thing and quite difficult to do, so we spend a lot of time measuring them and … comparing them to different aspects of the galaxy and trying to ultimately understand their evolution.” he said.
UWA astronomers are eagerly awaiting NASA’s unveiling of the first images from the James Webb Space Telescope. (Provided by: Robin Cook)
Dr. Cook’s research received a huge boost last week when the world first saw images from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the world’s largest and most powerful space telescope.
The images from this groundbreaking technology are game-changers for astrophysicists like Dr. Cook.
“I plan to use this unprecedented imaging data to explore previously unseen galaxies in the distant universe by measuring their morphologies and the characteristics of their stars,” he said.
“In astronomy, peering further into the universe also means looking further back in time, which is why JWST is critical to unraveling the mysteries of the early universe.”
Brainstorming
Measuring galaxies is not the only challenge in academia.
For many students who are new to scientific fields, the scientific method is a very thorough process.
“While we try to offer accurate interpretations of the world around us, we also try to prove ourselves wrong,” Dr Cook said.
“It’s a continuous process of coming up with ideas and then kind of breaking them down. And that’s hard for students coming into it for the first time.”
Dr. Cook demonstrates 3D printed models of Australia’s SKA Pathfinder telescope at Astrofest. (Provided by: Robin Cook)
Dr Cook said the scientific method was the key to unlocking new knowledge and he was intrigued by the discoveries that came from using it.
“If we keep proving ourselves right, we’re never really going to learn anything new or interesting,” he said.
“We’re also finding some really amazing things, so [astronomy is] excellent field to be in.”
Dr Cook, who is a young career researcher, said he still can’t believe what a miracle it is to be an astrophysicist.
“I kind of push myself that I can go to work every day and … look at the universe and see things that no one has ever seen in their life before,” he said.
“I’m the only one who sees these unique items, it’s a great thing to do.”
Dr. Cook explains the physics of radio astronomy to students at Stargirls STEM Camp. (Provided by: Robin Cook)
Beyond the study of never-before-seen objects in space, Dr. Cook also has a strong interest in the history of astronomy, particularly the ways in which indigenous cultures have used it over tens of thousands of years.
“It’s so fascinating to live here in Australia where we have the oldest continuous culture living here,” he said.
“Indigenous cultures used astronomy not only as a storytelling technique, but actually as a tool for navigation, for timekeeping, for record keeping.”
“There’s a lot we can learn from people who have been doing this for over 70,000 to 100,000 years.”
And despite the vastness of the universe, which some may find intimidating, Dr Cook said our place in the universe is “grounding”.
“All the atoms in the universe are created inside the stars or by the fusion of atoms into heavier ones, like iron and oxygen and all the fun stuff we have around us, but then also through spectacular supernova explosions when the stars disappear,” he said.
“Knowing that we come from the stars in the universe and are part of the universe itself is quite a humbling thought.
“We are part of this universe. We’re not just inside it.”
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