Kirsten Banks facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kirsten Banks
|
|
|---|---|
Banks at UNSW Sydney
|
|
| Born |
Kirsten Alexandra Banks
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
|
| Education | Davidson High School |
| Alma mater | University of New South Wales (BSc) |
| Awards | CSIRO Indigenous STEM Award (2018) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields |
|
| Institutions |
|
Kirsten Alexandra Banks is an Indigenous Australian astrophysicist and science communicator. She is a proud member of the Wiradjuri people. Kirsten is well-known for sharing her knowledge about both modern astronomy and Aboriginal astronomy. She studied Physics at the University of New South Wales and graduated in 2018. After her studies, she worked at the Sydney Observatory.
Contents
Kirsten's Journey into Science
Kirsten Banks grew up in Sydney's Northern Beaches. She is a Wiradjuri woman. From a young age, Kirsten was fascinated by the stars and planets. She also had an interest in meteorology, which is the study of weather.
Kirsten finished high school at Davidson High School in 2014. She then went on to study at the University of New South Wales (UNSW). In 2018, she earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Physics. Soon after, she started working as an Astronomy Guide at the Sydney Observatory.
Discovering Aboriginal Astronomy
While working at the Sydney Observatory, Kirsten learned about Kamilaroi and Boorong astronomy. This made her want to learn more about her own Indigenous Australian heritage. She discovered her ancestors were the Wiradjuri people.
Kirsten then began to research Indigenous astronomy in more detail. She learned about amazing things, like how the celestial emu constellation helps people know when emu eggs are ready to be collected. Learning about the Emu in the Sky constellation truly inspired her. It made her want to share Aboriginal astronomy with everyone.
Ancient Knowledge of the Planets
One day, while exploring bushland, Kirsten found some ancient rock carvings. She believes these carvings seemed to show seven planets and the moon all lined up. At the time these carvings were made, there was no light pollution. This means people could see six planets with their own eyes. These planets were Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus.
Kirsten realized that one planet was missing from the carving. Since Neptune cannot be seen without a telescope, she thought the eighth circle might represent Earth. This idea amazed her.
I was flabbergasted – this could be evidence of our people knowing that Earth is a planet along with the others in our night skies ... a millennia before the likes of Galileo, who discovered this a mere 400 years ago!
Kirsten's Honours project at UNSW focused on how galaxies change over time. She plans to continue her studies and earn a PhD.
In 2021, a special honor was given to Kirsten. One of the large tunneling machines used by Snowy Hydro was named after her. The other machine was named after Florence Violet McKenzie, an electrical engineer. A student from Brungle Public School, Kobe Burnes, nominated Kirsten for this honor.
Sharing Science with Everyone
Kirsten Banks is also a talented science communicator. This means she helps explain science to people in a way that is easy to understand. She is the astronomer in residence for weekend breakfast shows on 2SER and on Triple M's Night Shift.
On June 17, 2019, Kirsten was a guest on a "Science Special" episode of the ABC Australia TV show Q&A. She has also appeared on other shows like The Drum, where she talked about Indigenous history. In July 2019, she discussed astronomy and how planets move on ABC News.
Kirsten has shared how her Aboriginal identity has influenced her love for astronomy. She is also very passionate about encouraging more women and girls to get involved in science.
