<div style="text-align: left">Attended Patrons of the Art: Originals for the first time and met one of my fave Filipino artists, @haranikala !!</div>



<div style="text-align: left">Celebrated Earth Hour 2024 together with astro and space people (Manila Street Astronomers, SEDSPH, The Mind Museum) at De Jesus Oval Park, BGC. Sold some of my space stickers and met cool peopleeee :))</div>



Art Fairs & Exhibits

Clutched the Manila International Book Fair this year!! Added some classics to my library. I haven't completely read Charlie Mackesy's "The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse" (photo) but it's already one of my favorite books hehe.


Mini book haul for my first MIBF experience :))


Book Fairs

Yeast in space?? 😲🧪

Imagine sending a yeast— that thing in trees and bread— into outer space! Pretty wild 😳

But it’s not really as crazy as it sounds. As it turns out, these microorganisms hold the key to understanding the effects of space radiation on our bodies. Now that we are planning to send humans back to the moon, it is important to realize the effects of long-term space travel on our astronaut friends.

> Why yeast?

With similar genes to ours, yeasts are an ideal organism for testing radiation effects on biological systems. Plus, they are quite simple to culture and they reproduce quickly. Imagine sending a cow in a rocket ship though 🤔

Now, one of the most significant threats in outer space is ionizing radiation. Space radiation can come from various sources including cosmic rays, solar particle events, and even from the albedo radiation that is produced by the interaction of space radiation and the lunar surface. Space radiation is bad for our bodies because it increases the risk of cancer, brain damage, and DNA mutations-- basically all the things that can accelerate your journey towards afterlife. Hence, NASA is conducting yeast space experiments to study in detail the biological responses to reduced gravity and space radiation on the moon.

> This research could inform future space missions involving humans, helping us understand and protect against the hidden risks of cosmic radiation.

Last July-August, I worked on a similar research problem with the Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA), under the guidance of Sir James Guaña from PhilSA's Interdisciplinary Space Missions Development Division (ISMDD). We wanted to know the effects of space radiation on these yeasts. However, instead of shooting the yeasts to the moon, we grow them in our computers. We simulated population dynamics of yeast in space using Agent-Based Modeling and Genetic Algorithm, and found that yes, yeasts aren't that fond of space radiation. We adjusted radiation-related parameters of our simple model and found some interesting results.

On October 2, 2024, I presented the results of my research project at the PhilSA headquarters. My presentation was entitled "Modeling Yeast Population Dynamics in Space Environments using Agent-Based Modeling and Genetic Algorithm". A major personal takeaway from this short project is on the computational methods I learned in order to operationalize the model. While the results were quite intuitive, it was the computational depth and maturity I gained that really made a difference. It was fun :>>

Additionally, it was my third time visiting the Philippine Space Agency. Sir James toured me around the place and I got to see some of the agency's ongoing projects. I also got to meet the amazing members of PhilSA's ISMDD!

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Present during my presentation are PhilSA Deputy Director General Dr. Gay Jane Perez, project adviser James Guaña, Sir Wynn Improso, OIC Chief of ISMDD, and my ever supportive research adviser at the National Institute of Physics, Dr. Reina Reyes.

Excited to work on the next steps of this project :>>

Read more on the yeast space mission: <https://science.nasa.gov/science-research/science-enabling-technology/growing-yeast-on-the-moon-to-study-radiation-risks-to-human-explorers/>


Space Yeast with PhilSA

Lecturer: Dr Dimitris Stamatellos (University of Central Lancashire, UK)

Programming Exercises:

*   Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion: Solar System & Exoplanets

*   Habitable Zones around a Star

*   Exoplanet Transit Modeling

*   Finding planets in transit data from the Kepler mission



Lecturer: Dr. Krittapas Chonchaiworawit (National Astronomy Research Institute of Thailand)

Programming Exercise:

*   AGN Spectral Analysis



Thai National Observatory

We had the chance to visit the National Thai Observatory on this rainy day and it was so amazing :)) Afterwards, we put on our raincoats and walked under the rain to reach Thailand’s highest point. We also made a stop at a waterfall in Doi Inthanon National Park—my first time seeing one!


Lecturer: Dr. Claire Cashmore (University of Hull, UK)

Programming Exercises:

*   Supernova Remnants

*   Rotation Curves

*   Ram Pressure Stripping



Lecturer: Dr. Teeraparb Chantavat (University of Naresuan, Thailand)

Programming Exercises:

*   Constraining the Hubble Parameters using MCMC

*   Cosmic Linear Anisotropy Solving System (CLASS) demonstration



Got sick after our rainy excursion but still enjoyed the rest of the program. Bonus, I was awarded as one of the most outstanding participants and received a NARIT merch :>>

Link to ThaiPASS'24 Page: <https://indico.narit.or.th/event/206/>


Last September 9-13, I participated in the Thailand-UK Python Astronomy Summer School 2024 (ThaiPASS'24) in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The program covered various programming techniques relevant to different topics in astronomy.



Programming and Astronomy

During my first year at the University of the Philippines Diliman, I took a Filipino 40 class that focused on Wika, Kultura, at Lipunan (Language, Culture, and Society). For my final project, I created an interactive kid's magazine that explored the significance of using the Filipino language in the sciences, particularly in astronomy, a field with a rich history in the Philippines. The magazine is called "Sansinukob" (Filipino translation of the word universe) and has now become one of my favorite projects.


Wika at Astronomiya

The UP Astronomical Society (UP AstroSoc) frequently organizes public astronomy activities to share the wonders of the universe with everyone. A member-favorite is "Lakbay", where the organization gets invited by schools (usually high schools) to share our knowledge of astronomy with their students. All the exhaustion of planning activity stations and lecture topics vanishes once we get to interact with the students and fill the night with cosmic conversations.

I remember my first Lakbay at the Manila Waldorf School. The lecture session had been finished for a while when a student came up to me and asked about white holes—a concept I could only vaguely explain from a book I had read a long time ago. The students there were some of the most curious and most friendly ones I have interacted with. That Lakbay ran late into the night. We started to doze off and ended up having the most random chikas under the stars. That night, along with many others spent with the organization, are the nights I’ll fondly remember from my college days.

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Lakbay with UP AstroSoc

Inspired by the wild horseradish in Stardew Valley.


*   UP Astronomical Society

*   UPLB Astronomical Society

*   RTU Astronomical Society

*   UST Applied Physics Society

*   ADMU League of Physicists

*   Mapua Physics Socitey



Telescope Viewing 🔭, Asterism Making ✡️, Meteorite Viewing ☄️, Rocket Launching 🚀... These were some of the engaging activities that the UP National Institute for Science and Mathematics Education Development (UP NISMED) prepared on the night of November 15 for the "Buwan at Bituin," a public astronomy event that UP NISMED organizes every decade.

The event was marked by hundreds of people coming in to view the planets through the telescopes—including UP NISMED's 16-inch reflecting telescope!—and the variety of fun stations set up on UP NISMED's rooftop. My personal favorite was the asterism-making station, where you can design your own asterism using a bunch of push pins and yarn strings. I've been wanting to try this activity for sooo long but I quickly realized that I haven't really thought about what I'm going to create. I ended up making something reminiscent of a wild horseradish from my current game obsession, Stardew Valley.

It was really funnn!! A ticket and an event map were issued to us upon entering the venue and on the back of the ticket, there were empty spaces for each of the 8 stations available. To claim a reward, at least 6 of them must be stamped by the station masters. Since my attendance was one of impulse, I decided to enjoy the night and ignore the reward. But my competitive spirit was instantly awakened when I saw what the reward was: a postcard of Van Gogh's "The Starry Night" 🌌 I loveee "The Starry Night" so I bid the moon's spirit and raced to complete 6 stations. Unfortunately, the postcards had already ran out by the time I finished and I got stickers instead. The event ended around midnight with a show of water rocket launching 🚀

Lastly, we got to meet the fellow members of the Philippine Union of Student Organizations for Astronomy (aka PUSO for Astro). Fun, fun astro night 🤩

Ad astra, always 💖


Buwan at Bituin

Sugar, space, and everything nice ✨

Wrote and illustrated my first children's picture book about astronomy. All my favorites in one place! The Giant Galaxy Ghost is a story about the (mysterious) identity of dark matter and its role in our universe.

Check out the preview below. TGGG is currently looking for reviewers, editors, and readers ^\_\_^ 


The Giant Galaxy Ghost

When I first read Carl Sagan's "Cosmos," I was struck by how similar our journeys into astronomy were: the tiny bright dots in the sky fascinated me and I first learned about astronomy from a library book. Reading Sagan's book inspired me to create a comic based on "Backbone of Night" (Chapter 7), combining his storytelling with my own childhood enchantments.


Cosmic Comics

Plenary Talks

Catching up with other astro orgs for PUSO for Astro

Subplenary Sessions

Divider

Me presenting our research on dwarf galaxies!

D&C Research Group at SPVM!

Pretty clouds at UST ☁️

Conference Photo

UST Campus and Museum Tour

Best Oral Presenter Award

On October 17–19, I attended the Samahang Pisika ng Visayas at Mindanao (SPVM) National Physics Conference, held at the University of Santo Tomas’ Buenaventura Garcia Paredes, O.P. Building (BGPOP). I presented our ongoing research on dwarf galaxies and had the opportunity to connect with fellow students from universities across the country. This was my first national physics conference, and it was truly a memorable and inspiring experience on my journey through astrophysics. Ad astra! ✨ 💫


SPVM National Physics Conference 2024

This three-day event is a testament to the growing field of astrophysics in the Philippines and to the wonderful individuals that are shaping its future. What a beautiful way to start the year! 😊✨

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1st Jagna Space Encounters

Every Monday, D\&C members and friends meet together to share about a journal paper in the field of astronomy and astrophysics. This gathering was born out of pure passion towards data & astro, reminding me that astro has a place for those who dream to know it.

✨ Topics covered so far:

*   Failure is Sometimes an Option: Supernovae and Star formation in Globular Clusters

*   Formation of Giant Planet Satellites

*   Fueling or Starving? The Role of Gas Flows in Early Galaxy Evolution

*   Hunting Gravitational Wave Black Holes Using Microlensing

*   Collective, glitch-like vortex motion in a neutron star with
    an annular pinning barrier

*   A Rapidly Expanding Bose-Einstein Condensate: An Expanding Universe in the Lab

*   Spotting the Black Sheep of Black Holes

*   What can Olympus Mons tell us about the Martian lithosphere?

*   Physics Nobel Prize 2020

*   AstroMLab 3: Achieving GPT-4o Level Performance in Astronomy with a Specialized 8B-Parameter Large Language Model

*   New Constraints on DMS and DMDS in the Atmosphere of K2-18 b from JWST MIRI

I'm very happy to be part of this group 🥹🫶. Bonus, we get free snacks too! ✨

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Astro-Journal Club

Register now to the first-ever **Philippine Space Science and Astronomy Research Conference & Ideathon**! PSSARC is finally happening this  August. See you there! 💫🚀

![](/images/Main%20Poster.jpg)

Register here ⬇

*   Conference: [https://eventsize.com/event/PSSARC-Conference ](https://eventsize.com/event/PSSARC-Conference)

*   Ideathon: [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeAIFW4BHWrSNPrQCCNXnRT-6DG1PIy98GxGDXCAsIRBw7qCA/viewform ](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeAIFW4BHWrSNPrQCCNXnRT-6DG1PIy98GxGDXCAsIRBw7qCA/viewform)



PSSARC 2025

<div style="text-align: center">♡ click the cards to read more ♡</div>



Activities