11 March 2020:
“Superman is not the only one that can see in X-rays. We can too, with a tool of course”, said Dr Adlyka Annuar, a senior lecturer from UKM and YSN member. Dr Adlyka is currently working in the Space Exploration Group, Department of Physics, UKM.
“When we look at the night sky using our eyes, we can see the spaces between astronomical objects in our universe, such as planets, stars, and galaxies, appear to be dark.”
“However, if we use an X-ray telescope to observe the sky, our universe can be seen to be glowing in X-rays. The origin of this X-ray emission, called the cosmic X-ray radiation, has been a great mystery to astronomers, even to this day. It is not until the past decade or so that we started to be able to understand it, thanks to the technological advancement in astronomy,” claimed the young scientist.
The science cafe was successfully held at the PAPER+TOAST, Bukit Bintang. The event had attracted more than 50 attendees, most of them are university students and working adults – with a fair share of kids attending this event.
The breakdown of the audience is such that 54% is of university students, 12% postgraduates/researchers, with 17% working adults outside Bukit Bintang (BB) area and only 5% from BB area. The majority of them were first-timer, but there were regular “science cafe” fans attending as well. Most of them are engaging, enthusiastic and very well aware of “black holes” and astronomic phenomenon.
More about our young scientist speaker
Adlyka Annuar is a Malaysian astrophysicist, currently working as a senior lecturer at the Department of Applied Physics, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Physics & Astrophysics from the University of Sheffield, the UK, and a doctorate degree in Astrophysics from Durham University, UK. She gained recognition in 2017 when the research that she led on the discovery of a hidden supermassive black hole in a nearby galaxy made the international news. She has received a number of prestigious awards and honors throughout her academic career, including from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), USA, for research that she was involved in as part of NASA’s NuSTAR telescope team, for exceptional achievement and contribution in the astrophysics field. When she’s not studying black holes and our universe, Adlyka engaged herself in public outreach activities organized by different individuals and organizations, including the government, to help increase the popularity/awareness of astronomy and science in Malaysia.
