Watch

Wonder and Awe in the Study of Cosmology

Creator:
Published:
January 30, 2024
December 14, 2019
What does a cosmologist do? Watch this cosmologist explain her research and why she loves studying space.|What does a cosmologist do? Watch this cosmologist explain her research and why she loves studying space.

Mila Chadayammuri is a cosmologist — she studies the origin and evolution of the universe. She loves that her profession is "shamelessly" about curiosity.

"I think it's mind-blowing that we — pretty small creatures on a pretty average planet around a pretty average star in a pretty average galaxy out of hundreds of millions of galaxies in the visible universe — get to use our brains and computers and telescopes to study the deepest mysteries of the universe," she shares.

Video Transcript

Meet Mila: Cosmologist

Center for Astrophysics (Harvard and Smithsonian) in Cambridge, Massachusetts

Mila Chadayammuri: I think I like astronomy because it is so shamelessly about curiosity. You don't pretend that it's useful. You're just curious, and then you go see how you can answer those questions.

I think it's mind-blowing that we — pretty small creatures on a pretty average planet around a pretty average star in very average galaxy out of hundreds of millions of galaxies in the visible universe — get to use our brains and computers and telescopes to study the deepest mysteries of the universe.

Dark matter makes up about a fourth of the energy budget of the universe, and dark energy is about 70 percent. And all the normal matter, which is everything that you're familiar with, is just four percent of the universe.

The way that I test different models of dark matter and dark energy is by taking different ideas and then making movies of what those ideas mean for how the universe looks over time. And then I work with my collaborators who actually use telescopes to look at the universe at different points in its history and essentially compare what they see to the movies that I made.

You can know that dark matter is there by looking at how fast stars are moving around the center of a galaxy or how fast galaxies are moving around the center of a galaxy cluster.

People get caught up in all these bizarre notions that are totally constructed about what a meaningful life looks like. No, what matters is how I can see the world around me, and how I can connect to it, and how I can be amazed by it, and how I can pursue that amazement to its end with no ulterior motives, right?

When you tell people you're an astronomer, the first reaction is, “Wow, I loved space when I was a child.” Almost everybody says that. And you get to be the person who just never stopped.

Creators:
Grotto
Published:
January 30, 2024
December 14, 2019
On a related note...
"Learning to Live With Not Knowing ‘Why’"

"Learning to Live With Not Knowing ‘Why’"

Megan Toal

Finding Comfort in This Medieval Woman’s Words

Finding Comfort in This Medieval Woman’s Words

Mary Frances Myler

“The Lost Cardigan”

“The Lost Cardigan”

Judith Sornberger

What These 5 Films About Death Teach Us About Life

What These 5 Films About Death Teach Us About Life

Hunter Cates

Getting Fit? Work for More Than a Number on the Scale

Getting Fit? Work for More Than a Number on the Scale

Claire Krakowiak

Pier Giorgio Frassati Spotify Playlist | #GrottoMusic

Pier Giorgio Frassati Spotify Playlist | #GrottoMusic

Grotto

This Mother Chronicles Her Pandemic Pregnancy Experience

This Mother Chronicles Her Pandemic Pregnancy Experience

Grotto

Meditating on the Magic of Belonging

Meditating on the Magic of Belonging

Hanna Van Elk

To People Who Are Afraid Marriage Means Settling Down

To People Who Are Afraid Marriage Means Settling Down

Andrew Mentock

Taking Kids with Special Needs Fishing for a Day

Taking Kids with Special Needs Fishing for a Day

Grotto

3 Mary-Inspired Resolutions to Set (& Keep) This Year

3 Mary-Inspired Resolutions to Set (& Keep) This Year

Krista Steele

Blind Blogger Transforms Perceptions of Beauty

Blind Blogger Transforms Perceptions of Beauty

Grotto

How to Set Resolutions — Without Setting Off Your Anxiety

How to Set Resolutions — Without Setting Off Your Anxiety

Lauren Lawson

St. Elizabeth Spotify Playlist | #GrottoMusic

St. Elizabeth Spotify Playlist | #GrottoMusic

Grotto

How to Utilize Poetry as a Creative Expression

How to Utilize Poetry as a Creative Expression

John Tuttle

5 Inexpensive Ways to Bring Holiday Cheer to Your Home

5 Inexpensive Ways to Bring Holiday Cheer to Your Home

Kate Fowler

The El Paso Pilgrimage

The El Paso Pilgrimage

Grotto

6 Tips for Getting Your Passion Project Off the Ground

6 Tips for Getting Your Passion Project Off the Ground

Lillian Fallon

4 Mistakes We Make About Those with Down Syndrome

4 Mistakes We Make About Those with Down Syndrome

Kathryn O'Callaghan

Filmmaker with Cerebral Palsy Explores the World

Filmmaker with Cerebral Palsy Explores the World

Grotto

newsletter

We’d love to be pals.

Sign up for our newsletter, and we’ll meet you in your inbox each week.