Doctoral student Amirali Momeni on the power of visual communication to inspire awe, connect science with the public, and promote engagement with the wonders of astronomy.
Comet Tsuchinshan–ATLAS made headlines in 2024. It was the brightest comet observed in the Northern Hemisphere since Comet Hale–Bopp in 1997. Naked-eye comets of this caliber are genuinely rare events, and I had a perfect opportunity to capture it in the relatively dark skies of our campus. It was also truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: A nonperiodic comet from the Oort cloud, it is not expected to return to the inner solar system.
Comets are among the most beautiful objects in the night sky. Humans have observed and recorded comets for millennia, and beyond their visual splendor, they hold deep scientific significance. Comets are considered among the possible deliverers of water and organic molecules to early Earth, potentially playing a role in setting the stage for life.
My love for astronomy goes back to my childhood, when, one summer evening, my family went on a picnic at a park outside my hometown in Iran. That night, the power went out across the area, and with the light pollution suddenly gone, I looked up and saw a faint, luminous band stretching from the southern horizon, overhead, and down to the north. It was awe-inspiring—the Milky Way, our own galaxy. That moment ignited a lifelong passion for astronomy and the wonders of the night sky.
My doctoral research focuses on science communication on social media platforms, where visual media is the dominant language. Images play a central role in how science is communicated to the public and how engagement with scientific topics is fostered. Astrophotography sits at this intersection: It translates the abstract wonders of the universe into something immediate, emotional, and shareable. I see it as an opportunity to use the aesthetic power of astronomy to raise scientific awareness, build public trust in science, and ultimately contribute to a more scientifically informed society.
—Amirali Momeni
This image was captured using a long-exposure technique, with the camera mounted on a fixed tripod and the shutter left open for several seconds. This allows the camera sensor to gather significantly more light than the human eye can perceive under normal viewing conditions, making it possible to record faint celestial objects and reveal details, like the comet’s tail, that might otherwise be difficult to see.