“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 exploring space and its unknowns. “It’s not really surprising that I naturally gravitated toward astronomy,” he said. “There are so many unanswered questions in astronomy, we actually have quite 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), run by Curtin University and the University of Western Australia. Founded in 2009, the research center undertakes astronomy, engineering and data-intensive science. Dr. Cook studies the structure of galaxies. (Provided by: Robin Cook) Dr Cook’s area of research at ICRAR is in the evolution of galaxies, more 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 mosh-pit-like elliptical galaxies, and galaxies have these different structures, these the different shapes,” he said. Dr. Cook’s research process involves asking questions. “How do you go from a universe that started 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 developing understanding of the evolution of galaxies is to measure them, a task he says can be challenging. “Counting 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 counting them and… comparing them to different aspects of the galaxy and trying to understand, ultimately, 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 got its first look at images from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the world’s largest and most powerful space telescope. Images from this ground-breaking technology are game-changers for astrophysicists like Dr Cook. “I plan to use this unprecedented imaging data to study never-before-seen galaxies in the distant universe by measuring their morphology and the characteristics of their stars,” he said. “In astronomy, looking further out into the universe also means looking further back in time, so JWST is critical to unlocking the mysteries of the early universe.”
Knocking down ideas
Measuring galaxies is not the only challenge in academia. For many students new to scientific fields, the scientific method is a very thorough process. “While we try to come up with accurate interpretations of the world around us, we also try to prove ourselves wrong,” Dr Cook said. “It’s a constant process of coming up with ideas and then taking them down. And that’s hard for students to get into for the first time.” Dr Cook presents 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 kept proving ourselves right, we’d never learn anything new or interesting,” he said. “We’re also discovering some really exciting things, so [astronomy is] a great area to be in.” Dr Cook, who is a young career researcher, said he still couldn’t believe the wonder of being an astrophysicist. “I push myself, that I can go to work every day and … look out into 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 very nice to do.” Dr. Cook explains the physics of radio astronomy to students at Stargirls STEM Camp. (Provided by: Robin Cook) In addition to researching never-before-seen objects in space, Dr. Cook also has a keen interest in the history of astronomy, particularly the ways in which indigenous cultures have used it for tens of thousands of years. “It’s so exciting 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 navigational, time-keeping, record-keeping tool.” “There’s a lot we can learn from people who have been doing this for, you know, 70,000 — 100,000 plus years.” And despite the vastness of the universe, which some may find daunting, Dr Cook said our place in the universe is “grounded”. “All the atoms in the universe were created inside stars, either through the fusion of atoms into heavier ones like iron and oxygen and all the fun stuff we have around us, but also through spectacular supernova explosions when stars die. ” he said. “To know that we come from the stars of the universe and that we are part of the universe itself is a humbling thought. “We are part of this universe. We are not alone in it.”
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title: “Perth Astrophysicist Boosted By James Webb Space Telescope As He Tries To Count Galaxies " ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-05” author: “Frederick Flores”
“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 exploring space and its unknowns. “It’s not really surprising that I naturally gravitated toward astronomy,” he said. “There are so many unanswered questions in astronomy, we actually have quite 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), run by Curtin University and the University of Western Australia. Founded in 2009, the research center undertakes astronomy, engineering and data-intensive science. Dr. Cook studies the structure of galaxies. (Provided by: Robin Cook) Dr Cook’s area of research at ICRAR is in the evolution of galaxies, more 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 mosh-pit-like elliptical galaxies, and galaxies have these different structures, these the different shapes,” he said. Dr. Cook’s research process involves asking questions. “How do you go from a universe that started 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 developing understanding of the evolution of galaxies is to measure them, a task he says can be challenging. “Counting 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 counting them and… comparing them to different aspects of the galaxy and trying to understand, ultimately, 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 got its first look at images from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the largest and most powerful space telescope. Images from this ground-breaking technology are game-changers for astrophysicists like Dr Cook. “I plan to use this unprecedented imaging data to study never-before-seen galaxies in the distant universe by measuring their morphology and the characteristics of their stars,” he said. “In astronomy, looking further out into the universe also means looking further back in time, so JWST is critical to unlocking the mysteries of the early universe.”
Knocking down ideas
Measuring galaxies is not the only challenge in academia. For many students new to scientific fields, the scientific method is a very thorough process. “While we try to come up with accurate interpretations of the world around us, we also try to prove ourselves wrong,” Dr Cook said. “It’s a constant process of coming up with ideas and then taking them down. And that’s hard for students to get into for the first time.” Dr Cook presents 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 kept proving ourselves right, we’d never learn anything new or interesting,” he said. “We’re also discovering some really exciting things, so [astronomy is] a great area to be in.” Dr Cook, who is a young career researcher, said he still couldn’t believe the wonder of being an astrophysicist. “I push myself, that I can go to work every day and … look out into 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 very nice to do.” Dr. Cook explains the physics of radio astronomy to students at Stargirls STEM Camp. (Provided by: Robin Cook) In addition to researching never-before-seen objects in space, Dr. Cook also has a keen interest in the history of astronomy, particularly the ways in which indigenous cultures have used it for tens of thousands of years. “It’s so exciting 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 navigational, time-keeping, record-keeping tool.” “There’s a lot we can learn from people who have been doing this for, you know, 70,000 — 100,000 plus years.” And despite the vastness of the universe, which some may find daunting, Dr Cook said our place in the universe is “grounded”. “All the atoms in the universe were created inside stars, either through the fusion of atoms into heavier ones like iron and oxygen and all the fun stuff we have around us, but also through spectacular supernova explosions when stars die. ” he said. “To know that we come from the stars of the universe and that we are part of the universe itself is a humbling thought. “We are part of this universe. We are not alone in it.”
