Angie Waszewski for Mission: SPACE

Angie Waszewski loves space. As a kid, she would talk to nan Moon and Orion constellation and now has dreams astir visiting a power scope successful nan mediate of WA. 

“I’ve really liked abstraction since I was little,” Angie says. 

“I retrieve successful superior schoolhouse I had a small diary wherever I wrote down nan clip for sunrise, sunset, moonrise and moonset and Mars and Venus.

“I person nary thought really I figured retired that subject was information recording, but I knew that I wanted to support way of it and constitute it down.”

Casual stargazing arsenic a kid led Angie to study a PhD connected storms successful abstraction and what that mightiness mean for everyone connected Earth. 

STAR STUDENT

At school, Angie studied physics, chemistry, English and maths. 

“I ended up going down nan physics way because I thought that was nan only measurement to get into space,” Angie says. 

“My physics coach successful precocious schoolhouse was ace encouraging and ace passionate astir space. He built an observatory astatine my school. 

“The 1 point I wish I did much was machine science. That would person really been very useful for what I’m doing now.”

Caption: Angie and members of her schoolhouse Astronomy Club looking astatine a photograph of a postulation taken pinch their telescope.
Credit: Supplied Angie Waszewski

After precocious school, Angie studied an undergraduate grade astatine assemblage and past did an Honours year. Now, she’s moving connected a PhD astatine Curtin University, supported by nan Research Training Program, ICRAR and CSIRO Space and Astronomy. 

DARK AND STORMY

“My PhD is focused connected nan arena that’s called interplanetary scintillation aliases IPS,” Angie says. 

This is nan technological connection for galaxies that twinkle. 

“You tin study nan measurement that [galaxies] shine to way nan activity of star storms,” Angie explains. 

These storms aren’t for illustration those we acquisition connected Earth. Angie says they hap erstwhile “a full chunk of nan Sun’s ambiance gets blown into space”.

The arena of star storms has been studied since 1964, but Angie’s activity utilises WA’s Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) power telescope. 

“We tin spot a batch much galaxies pinch nan MWA [and] we tin spot these storms successful a batch much detail.”

Caption: Angie presenting astatine nan ICRAR Stargirls program, talking astir her profession pathway and PhD.
Credit: Supplied Angie Waszewski

Angie’s PhD is utilizing nan MWA to look astatine twinkling galaxies to amended understand star storms. But why is immoderate of this important?

“If [solar storms] float away, that’s fine,” Angie says. “When these storms deed Earth … it tin origin immoderate problems.”

These storms tin break and deorbit satellites. If storms are powerful enough, Angie says they tin commencement breaking done much layers of Earth’s atmosphere. 

“In really terrible cases, it tin origin problems to powerfulness grids.” 

“It’s important to cognize really these storms move and erstwhile they were to deed truthful we tin prepare.”

SPACE GIRLS

In summation to studying her PhD, Angie is simply a STEM Communicator astatine Curtin STEM Outreach. 

This involves moving workshops, organising student visits to field and promoting STEM engagement. 

“I emotion seeing nan infinitesimal erstwhile kids are inspired. Whether that beryllium astir their early … [or] erstwhile they’re doing a shop and they’re trying to do an activity they mightiness beryllium really struggling with, and past they person their ray bulb moment.” 

Caption: Angie astatine Astrofest pinch Curtin STEM Outreach.
Credit: Supplied Angie Waszewski

It’s not each abstraction investigation and outreach, though. Angie is passionate astir inspiring women successful STEM, peculiarly abstraction research. 

“There are much [women] than I expected location to be,” Angie says. “It’s decidedly not proportional … but it’s decidedly changing.”

She encourages everyone to get progressive successful space, whether it’s studying astrophysics aliases watching an absorbing Kurzgesagt video. 

TO THE FUTURE

Angie’s dreams astir moving successful abstraction person surely travel true, and there’s still truthful overmuch much to experience.

In nan meantime, she is sharing her passion pinch others, and really abstraction connects group pinch each different and to nan universe. 

“Knowing that thousands of years earlier maine and thousands of years up of maine group will beryllium staring astatine nan aforesaid sky, it’s very connecting, some to nan beingness and to different humans arsenic well.”

Angie is progressive successful nan Mission: SPACE programme delivered by Scitech and powered by nan Australian Space Agency. You tin registry for this nationwide virtual excursion here.