Kirsten Banks

Kirsten Alexandra Banks (born 22 May 1997) is an Australian astrophysicist and science communicator of Wiradjuri ancestry, known for her work in promoting mainstream and Aboriginal astronomy. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Physics from the University of New South Wales in 2018, and worked at the Sydney Observatory.

Kirsten Banks
Kirsten Banks UNSW Sydney
Born
Kirsten Alexandra Banks

(1997-05-22) 22 May 1997
Sydney, Australia
EducationDavidson High School (New South Wales)
Alma materUniversity of New South Wales (BSc)
AwardsCSIRO Indigenous STEM Award (2018)
Scientific career
Fields
Institutions

Career

Banks is a Wiradjuri woman who grew up on Ku-ring-gai country in Sydney's Northern Beaches and graduated from Davidson High School in 2014. During primary school, Banks was interested in meteorology but always had a fascination with the stars and planets.[1] She received a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics from University of New South Wales (UNSW) in 2018 and started working as an Astronomy Guide at the Sydney Observatory, where she teaches Aboriginal astronomy workshops.[2][3]

While training at Sydney Observatory, Banks started to hear about Kamilaroi and Boorong astronomy, prompting her to learn more about her Indigenous Australian heritage. Through this she discovered her ancestry, the Wiradjuri people.[4][5] Banks then began researching more about Indigenous astronomy, learning about celestial emus that indicate when eggs are available.[4][6] Learning about the Emu in the Sky constellation inspired Banks to share Aboriginal astronomy with others.[5] While exploring bushland, Banks came across rock carvings that she says "appeared to show seven planets, plus the moon, all in a line." Banks wrote that as there would have been no light pollution at the time of the carvings' creation, there would have been the ability to see six planets in the night sky with the naked eye – Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus. Banks wrote, "I kept looking and thinking, and I realised that there was one planet missing". As Neptune is not physically visible to the human eye, Banks realised that the eighth circle may be the Earth.[4]

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 Banks, 2018[4]

For Banks's Honours project at UNSW, she is studying the evolution of galaxies and plans to continue on to do a PhD.[1]

Science communication

Banks has worked as a science communicator and is also astronomer in residence on 2SER's weekend breakfast shows and Triple M's Night Shift.[2] On 17 June 2019, Banks appeared as a panellist on a "Science Special" of the ABC Australia television programme Q&A.[7]

Banks has promoted Astrophysics and indigenous science in the media. In 2019 she appeared on The Drum, in an episode which discussed Indigenous History.[8] She also discussed astronomy and the role of planetary movement on ABC News, in July 2019.[9] In Student Edge she described how her Aboriginal identity (as well as Leonardo DiCaprio) has influenced her passion for astronomy.[10] Banks is also passionate about increasing the representation and prominence of women and girls in science.[11]

References
  1. "Kirsten Banks, UNSW Astrophysicist & Science Communicator". Careers with STEM. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  2. "Kirsten Banks". Q&A. 10 June 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  3. "Kirsten Banks". Australian Indigenous Astronomy. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  4. Banks, Kirsten (21 March 2018). "I'm following the footsteps of my Aboriginal ancestors, the first astronomers | IndigenousX". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  5. Hamacher, Duane. "How a celestial emu inspired Kirsten Banks". Cosmos Magazine.
  6. Hamacher, Duane; Banks, Kirsten. "The Planets in Indigenous Australian Traditions" (PDF). Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Planetary Science. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
  7. "Q&A Science Special" ABC Australia. Broadcast 17 June 2019. Accessed 27 July 2019.
  8. The Drum Friday July 5, 8 July 2019, retrieved 1 August 2019
  9. Hartley, Anna (11 July 2019). "If your life is a mess can you blame it on Mercury retrograde?". ABC News. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  10. "Astronomer Kirsten Banks Explains How Her Aboriginal Identity (and Leo DiCaprio) Fueled Her Passion For the Stars". Student Edge. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  11. "more-u.s.-students-studying-stem-subjects-abroad", SAGE Business Researcher, SAGE Publishing, 2016, doi:10.1177/237455680212.n8
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