I really enjoyed visiting Fuertes Observatory and hearing the seminar about finding potential life on other planets. It was especially interesting to learn about the different methods utilised to investigate exoplanets that are Earth-like in temperature and atmosphere. Most likely, life on other planets would be microbial and not the intelligent beings science fiction movies typically depict. Endeavours to detect extraterrestrial life are dependent on our understanding of life on earth and likewise, finding extraterrestrial life will allow us to learn more about Earth’s past and future. It was really fascinating to learn about these things that are outside from my area of study. In fact, I am studying biomedical engineering so a lot of my focus is in the microscale level with cells and proteins. Scaling up to distances on the order of billions of years-lights and time lengths of billions of years gave me a new perspective of the universe.

The last time I was at the observatory, it was raining and I didn’t have the opportunity to look through the massive telescope. This time, although it was cloudy, the telescope was pointed at the moon available for us to look thorough. I was really impressed at the resolution and magnification – each crater of the moon was visible in great detail! I’m definitely looking forward to making another trip and spending more time at the observatory.