Earlier this Term, the Year 11 Physics class had the privilege of a visit from Monash PhD student, and teacher of both Astrophysics and Astrobiology, Rowina Nathan.  

Accompanied by fellow space-enthusiast Jackie from OzGrav, both Rowina and Jackie painted a beautiful picture for our class of what space looks like close up, with the use of virtual reality (VR) headsets.  

In alignment with our current area of study, all students in our class were able to use these VR headsets to gain a close perspective of celestial bodies, such as black holes, planets within our solar system, and pulsars.  

Not only did this fun experience allow us to visually conceptualise theories learnt in class, but we were also provided with perspective on the academic life of a female PhD candidate working in STEM.  

Rowina taught us about her main area of research, rapidly rotating neutron stars which are called pulsars and we learnt how radio waves are emitted from their poles as they rotate. From our perspective, we see these emissions as bright flashes of radiation that look like pulses when detected, hence the name pulsars.  

Throughout the presentation, Rowina answered our complex questions about space and how to visualise it. She also inspired us by describing her pathway through university, educating us on the many Science degrees available and where they may lead us afterwards.  

Leaving this presentation, we felt motivated to continue pursuing STEM subjects, and intrigued by the immense magnitude of information that we still do not know about the universe.