KEY POINTS:
My interest in observational astronomy stems from a passion to understand how the universe works. I've suffered from it most of my life and it shows no sign of abating. It is a huge thrill to discover new things about the cosmos and at least start to answer
questions that people have wondered about for centuries.
Astronomy certainly should teach you humility. It leaves you with a real sense of just how small our planet is and how fragile we are. And yet our species evolved and eventually developed the tools that allow us to now pose - and sometimes answer - some of the biggest questions. The coolest thing I've seen in astronomy are the craters on the moon through a telescope. I still get the same kick out of it today as the first time I saw them, even though I now seldom actually get to look through telescopes.
Late one night at the age of 16, I vividly remember seeing a UFO and being really excited. Then I saw another about 20 minutes later but after hearing the quacks, realised it was the V-shape of migrating ducks silhouetted against the night sky. I suspect my life would have taken a different path had I not heard those quacks - so I'm very glad I did. That experience taught me some important lessons at a young age.
I'd most like to discover a planet just like Earth that is capable of supporting life. I'm not alone - this the holy grail for astronomers who search for planets. A less stuffy answer would have to be a biosphere full of alien beings. Yeah, that would be tops.
I did 25 years in heart valve research, which taught me that I want to keep the valves I was born with as long as possible. Nature has produced an incredibly functional design that even with all our technology we are still a long way from matching. Some of my work was developing a mathematical computer model of the aortic valve that improved our understanding of how the valves worked.
When I was young, I wanted to be a farmer or a vet - until I was told this might mean having to kill animals. I guess astronomy is pretty safe in that respect.
Apart from people with more than 12 items in the express lane at the supermarket, the last thing that made me angry would have to be George W. Bush and the war in Iraq. Have you any idea how many Hubble Space Telescopes could have been built for what that war has cost? Answer: one a week.
I remember watching, when I was 3, my little brother being breastfed and wondering what the hell that was all about.
Having to euthanase a very sick hedgehog with a spade was the last time I did something outside my comfort zone. Another one was attending my first open heart operation. I'm definitely not squeamish but there was something surreal and deeply affecting about that experience. That's a real living person on that table - not a computer simulation.
I wish more people would turn their lights off. Light pollution is destroying our view of the cosmos. o
Dr Grant Christie is an astronomer at Stardome Observatory in Auckland. As part of his role with the observatory, he is involved in an international planet searching project, MicroFUN, run by Ohio State University department of astronomy.
