Astronaturology
Once my mother (Naira Chovelidze) showed the the stars in the sky and said that they are set alight so that each one can find their own. I took her words literally and went ahead mapping the sky to find my star…
Beginnings
When I was 10, I was particularly mesmerized by the beauty of legends from around the world considering the stars and their relationship to humans on Earth. However, there was no map that would both tell those stories, as well as depict locations of the important objects, such as nearby galaxies and star clusters. I then decided to make my own maps considering the stories of the Greek and Persian mythologies and 120 Messier objects of paramount importance for astronomers.
On the picture on the right is me and my mother (Naira Chovelidze) on our way to Byurakan Observatory in Armenia.
International Astronomy Olympiads
I learned astronomy in Astronomy and Aerotechnology Club (under supervision of Prof Grigoryan) in Quant School in Yerevan at 6-8th grades. Then, at 9th grade I went to my first International Astronomy Olympiad (in the team of Prof Gyulzadyan), before we even had Astronomy classes in school. I was the first girl to bring medals from Astronomy Olympiads from my country and in 2014, when we first participated in International Astronomy and Astrophysics Olympiad, I scored highest in my team. I participated in NIS IAO 2012 in Armenia (Gold medal), IAO 2012 in South Korea (Bronze medal), IAO in 2013 in Lithuania, IOAA 2013 in Greece (Honorable Mention).
Notably, I also got “The Best Picture” prize for my illustration to a problem in IAO at South Korea in 2012 (presided by Prof Gavrilov), pic on the right with me in a white dress.
Art in science
communication
While at internship at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, I worked as software engineer and researcher at Sellers Exoplanet Environment Collaboration (SEEC) under supervision of Dr. Airapetian, who was one of the students of Victor Ambardsumian, one of the founders of theoretical astrophysics, served a president to International Astronomical Union and International Council of Scientific Unions.
I took an unconventional decision to communicate my research through a more artistic and full depiction. For such, I used a compilation of NASA and Google Stock imagery and created an artistic depiction of different layers of atmosphere. Such poster was presented at NASA at the end of my internship.
