Why Astrophysics?

Emily Zhang
medium: documentary video
This video began as a love letter to astrophysics, something I wanted to make as a sort of goodbye as I graduate and head out to the media world, away from my astrophysics degree. However, it soon turned into a more personal film - after all, I'm stuck in an apartment in New Haven, far from all my astro friends and the department at Columbia, during COVID. I could barely film anything but myself and random astronomy objects in the house! Thankfully, those turned out to be a lot, and I started thinking about why I have always surrounded myself with the aesthetic of space. I interviewed other astronomers (familiar faces to many of you) and did some self-reflection, ending up with a part-investigation, part-autobiography video on why people study astrophysics. 

Note this is a work in progress and there is much footage that has yet to be added! In fact, I'd love to hear your anonymous feedback on the video via Google Form here. I'm hoping to publish my final version of this documentary video at the end of the school year, around mid-April. Stay tuned for that premiere! In the meantime, I hope this draft video still gives you a sense of the question at hand and you can come away from it asking yourself why you love astrophysics (enough to study it, if you're an astrophysics student) - and if you're not-so-into astrophysics, I hope this gives you some insight into why those nerds in the astronomy department like me chose this niche, tough, beautiful field.
​Emily Zhang is a senior in Columbia College majoring in astrophysics. She is interested in media and is hoping to bring the wondrous, artistic, and human side of science to the public through science shows and videos. This semester, she has been working on various video projects, applying to dozens of jobs, and mentally preparing to graduate. She previously served as the president / senior advisor of BlueShift - her favorite club in the world. Naturally, Arts & Astro is one of her favorite events of the year and she is so excited it's continuing despite COVID-19 by going online for the second time!
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Twitter: @emilylinzhang