As a university focused on using research for the upliftment of its community, the University of the West Indies, (UWI) St Augustine, the premier tertiary institution in the region, producing world-class scholars, believes science should be accessible to the public.
We offer this media series, UWI Scientists Speak, where our scientists, three of whom were recently awarded the highest award of the nation—the Order of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, will present some of their work.
This week we hear from Shirin Haque, Professor of Astronomy and Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, on our “Place in the Universe.” She is the first woman to receive the CARICOM Science Award and the 2020 Laureate of the Anthony N Sabga Caribbean Award for Excellence in Science and Technology, co-founder of the Caribbean Astronomy for Inclusion, Director of the UWI-NRAO NINE Caribbean Hub for radio astronomy and the CEO/ founder of the Women in Science for Hope (WISH) Foundation. Prof Haque has produced several science documentaries, science magazines for adults and children and two television series.
Sit back and join me on the lesser-known path of how astronomy at the University of the West Indies (UWI) has engaged the world and uplifted our Trinbagonian society. How is that even possible, you ask?
How can one contribute to a field that begs big budgets, resources and large research groups—against one professional astronomer (the author) at UWI?
This is all thanks to the amazing binary black hole system, with data going back to the 1800s, known as OJ 287.
OJ 287, which provides a wonderful environment of intense conditions where Einstein’s theory of General Relativity can be tested.
A team of researchers in Finland led by Prof Mauri Valtonen had their eye on this beast and modelling its behaviour. In astronomy, as with many other scientific fields, models are never good enough on their own if they cannot be backed up with observation.
Finland is so northerly that, at times, OJ 287 would not be visible at their observatories.
The idyllic location of T&T near the equator, which gives us our tropical environments, was suddenly ideal for continuing observation on OJ 287, and thus, the SATU observatory was born.
With the support of volunteer students and helpers, we were able to monitor OJ 287 to help unlock the mysteries of this enigmatic object. Our geographical location turned out to be a boon for this project.
The passing decades show the rise and fall of areas with new cutting-edge fields emerging.
Towards the end of the 20th century, a huge breakthrough came in astronomy with the discovery of exoplanets around other stars. Other worlds were out there, apart from the planets in our solar system.
Is it any wonder that this gave an impetus to a fringe area in astronomy known as astrobiology or searching for other life in the universe?
Surely, that was now beyond the reach of T&T to contribute? Once again, our very natural resources came to the rescue!
Starry skies come to mind when you think of Astronomy—certainly not mud volcanoes, or the pitch lake.
Yet, our journey into astrobiology had us hiking to mud volcanoes and sampling at the pitch lake to try and understand how life could arise in the harsh and toxic conditions of these environments, acting as analogues to environments on planet Mars and Titan, Saturn’s largest moon.
The work with our international collaborators on these projects landed the seminal paper in the prestigious journal “Science”.
All major international news outlets covered this work and showed how life at the microbial level could be sustained in the microhabitat of water droplets.
Could this happen in other seemingly toxic environments in other parts of the universe, which T&T had shed light on?
It was, therefore, a wonderful thing when an American scientist contacted the author, in her capacity as an astrobiologist, to comment on other current related research in astrobiology.
It is certainly not enough to be in our ivory towers churning papers accessible only to experts. How could we engage our nation to be part of this noble enterprise called astronomy that kickstarted the Scientific Revolution?
As the National Outreach Coordinator for T&T in the International Astronomical Union, the author had the opportunity to lead T&T to name in perpetuity an exoworld (a star and its exoplanet).
On a clear night, with the aid of a telescope, a faint star in the constellation Leo can be seen in our skies.
Orbiting that star is an exoplanet. The name of the star is “Dingolay”, and the exoplanet is “Ramajay”, celebrating T&T’s culture and people. The winning names came from The UWI’s academic staff member, Dr Jo-Anne Ferreira.
But can astronomy improve the lives of people in our society, you ask? Caribbean Astronomy for Inclusion (CAI) was recently formed, and members are earnestly working on bringing astronomy to the visually impaired by turning light into sound and using sonification.
NIHERST is very excited about this project and has partnered with CAI. The author also received one of ten grants in the Americas from the Women and Girls in Astronomy Project, targeting girls in children’s homes across our country to build interest in Astronomy and, thus, STEM careers. We have recognised the value of the calming effect of watching stars for mental health and well-being, which we are promoting.
It has truly been a journey to the stars, but the greatest joy has been bringing astronomy to Earth for us in T&T!
