Kath's Journey | Going one step at a time: astronomy

Book Review: Project Hail Mary (Andy Weir)

July 28, 2026

Like with most people, I first encountered this title, this work of fiction, through the movie. The movie generated a lot of buzz and was very popular several months back, but for one reason or another, I wasn't able to catch it because I wasn't really into going to the cinema (which is slowly changing by the way 😀).

I first heard about this from a Toastmaster friend who suggested we watch the movie after one of our meetings. He was the same person who requested to watch the movie "Obsession." Unfortunately, our schedules did not align, and we weren't able to catch the movie screening at the cinema.

Fast forward to May, when I attended one of the Philippine Astronomical Society's Astro camp (which I haven't blogged about here 😅), I learned that one of the prizes they gave away in a past Astro camp was a copy of the book. This piqued my curiosity because that just shows this book is well-loved by those space enthusiasts. It was also timely because I was, at that time, slowly returning to my roots as a space nerd. I got a copy of the book and started reading that same month.

I just finished the book today. I spent two months reading it. 😅 It could have taken me longer if not for my drive to watch the movie version soon, because I learned that it is now available on Prime Video.

The premise of the story is interesting. However, even for someone who loves space, I got a bit overwhelmed with a lot of the technical explanations elaborated in the book regarding the physics and the chemistry involved in the plot. 😅 Still, things do get interesting when Dr. Grace, the protagonist, meets "Rocky", the alien, in his space journey. I enjoyed all their interaction in the book.

I've heard a lot of praises about the movie, that it was tear-jerking and had a plot twist at the end. I didn't want to get spoiled while still reading the book, that's why I was really looking forward to finishing reading the novel. However, when I did, the ending didn't move me, the way I expected it to.

Overall, I would give it a 4/5. It's not something that I would remember for long after reading it. Let's see how it pans out when I watch the movie, which I plan to do at the end of this week. 😁

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astronomy

Movie Review: Interstellar

July 27, 2026

Ever since April of this year , I have started to reconnect with my roots of loving astronomy. I have been revisiting this childhood passion of mine. I always loved looking up at the sky, and I am so glad to have found my way back to something that truly sparks my soul.

Recently, because of a guy (who I am currently dating), I have been able to immerse myself further into my interest in astronomy (which is something we have in common! ✨). I was able to be interested in watching one of the most iconic space travel movies, titled "Interstellar." This movie was released in theaters in 2014, so I am quite behind on this film. 😅Nonetheless, I had not had the chance to watch it before, and I have no memory of the plot. I didn't even know that Anne Hathaway was in this movie. I feel like I approached this film without any clue about the plot, which contributed to how fresh and innocent my experience was.

This guy actually lent me his Blu-ray copy of this movie. Apparently, this is one of his all-time favorite sci-fi movies. I thought we had a Blu-ray player at home, but my dad had already disposed of our players because they were not working anymore. Sadly, I wasn't able to use his copy of the movie. However, upon digging around my external hard drive, I learned that I actually have a copy. I think this was one of those movies that I copied from my friends, maybe way back in college or when I was working, during the time that kind of activity was very prevalent. 😆

When I finally had the time to sit down and watch this movie, I used my copy from the external hard drive. Unfortunately, while watching, I realized that this copy is just the first half of the movie. I believe that whoever produced this copy ripped it from a DVD, which is why it should have been two files, one from each of the discs of the DVD. I was very much caught up in what the next storyline would be like and what would happen. My movie-watching was interrupted, and I had to search online for which streaming platform the movie is available on. It was available on Netflix, but unfortunately, it's not available in my country, possibly due to copyright issues. Fortunately, through some googling, I discovered that it is available on Google TV. So even though it wasn't part of my plan, I rented the movie and was able to continue my movie-watching. 🎞️ Well, it proved to be a better experience for me because I was able to watch in higher definition video and the audio was clearer. It was a win-win for me, even though I had to pay. 😆

When I finished the movie, I had a lot of questions in my mind. I was messaging the guy about this, and I felt his enthusiasm when he was talking about the film. I had just watched the movie, but I felt like he recalls more of it because he was quoting lines and explaining some of the plots that I hadn't caught. I really think he knows this movie like the back of his hand, which is not surprising since he has watched it so many times that he has already lost count.

Not knowing where to start with my questions, I didn't want to barrage him with too many inquiries. Instead, I went to a community that I trust for things like this. I was pleasantly surprised to find a subreddit dedicated to the love for this film. I deep-dived into that community, read many forums and posts, and was so happy because I was able to understand most of the plot points that I had missed while watching.

Time traveling is one of my favorite elements when used in works of fiction. I realized that when combined with space travel, it truly blows my mind. This is especially true for the movie Interstellar, where the factors they presented in explaining time and space travel are very close to reality.

In science, we have studied the twin paradox. If there are twins and the first twin stays on Earth while the second twin travels into outer space at a speed faster than light, time for the second twin would pass slower than for the twin back on Earth. If the twin in space spends a lot of time traveling at this speed, when he returns to Earth, he would be younger than the twin who remained on Earth. The time that has passed between the twin on Earth and the twin who traveled in space is different.

This theory is already established in the field of science, yet it still boggles my mind. It fascinates me in a very interesting way. How can time be different between two people? This concept is scientifically proven, but it feels like magic. It seems to involve something powerful that is beyond human understanding and comprehension, which truly blows my mind.

In the movie, it was highlighted that love transcends time and space. It's a very powerful energy. 💖 There are many quotable quotes from the movie, and one that really struck me is the idea that what makes humans supreme over machines is their fear of death. You can program a machine, but it does not have survival instincts. This leads machines to self-destruction, whereas we humans fear death and possess survival instincts. We know when to approach risks and when to retreat to preserve our lives.

This factor truly differentiates us from machines, even though machines can be powerful, smart, fast, and efficient in their tasks. It struck me because it resonated with some of the struggles I face, especially in the field of software development and AI, and the fear that robots will eventually overrun or replace people in their jobs. This quotation made me reflect on my current career situation.

Since watching the movie, I was really blown away by the plot, the subplots, and the characters that we don't see as villains, but you would have the impression that they are doing something evil in the plot. However, when you look further into the layers of that character, you will recognize that they are just being human. They are feeling the human emotions of longing for a connection with other people.

That's what I really love about this film. The more you absorb the plot, the more you try to understand the movie, the more you discover about it, and it really enriches my experience of consuming that movie. I am thankful that I have these resources now to further enhance my understanding of the film.

I believe this would definitely demand a rewatch. Maybe I can watch it together with this guy when the time comes. 🌙✨

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Artemis II: Bringing Humans To the Moon and Back

April 12, 2026

The first 10 days of the month of April have been very surreal. I got to witness history in the making through Artemis II: NASA's mission to fly humans to the farthest point (doing a lunar flyby to the far side of the moon) and back to earth. The last time humans went to the moon was in 1972, and it's such a treat for the new generation of today to witness this huge milestone of space travel in their lifetime. For those 10 days, I have been watching updates of the mission everyday, and I felt like I was also in that spacecraft with the astronauts as they traveled to the moon and back to earth. 😁 It made me realize that my love for space is still within me, and it rekindled a passion that had been dormant inside for several years.

Let’s start with launch day. I actually watched the six-hour broadcast of the Artemis II launch day on YouTube. I think this was an effective way for me to get emotionally attached to this mission right from the start (LOL). I got to learn more about the life backgrounds of each of the four crew and I waited with the crowd as the anticipation of the take off slowly built up. I felt so emotional during the take-off that literal tears were flowing down my cheeks (😆). Yeah, I guess that was the tell-tale sign that okay, I'm going all-in for this mission.

It was during launch day that I met Rise, the cute plushie that would serve as the zero-gravity indicator during the Artemis II mission. It was designed by a third grader from California (how cool is that kid!) Instantly, I wanted one for myself. 😁

As the mission progressed, I got to learn about human space travel through the different content that I consumed online (the mission day highlights, press conferences, articles, and Instagram reels that appeared on my feed). I learned that there's a very diverse food menu in this mission. This was a surprise for me, because I had the idea that eating "space food" was not fun. Honestly, given that menu, it's not that bad at all.

They also had a lot of mission objectives! The crew wouldn't be bored at all in this mission. Every stage of the trip had a checklist of what to do and what to observe. I just can imagine the level of coordination that the Artemis II crew had to constantly do with Mission Control Center in Houston (MCC-H) in accomplishing these objectives, plus reporting any kind of problems that could arise inside the spacecraft.

The Artemis II crew followed a very organized schedule. Since they don't have a sense of day and night in the spacecraft, MCC-H served as their guide to their schedule. They play songs as wake-up calls for the crew (which they have selected themselves) to indicate the start of their day, and then they do a number of meetings with MCC-H reviewing the day's itinerary and coordinating live events with the media.

The space crew get reminded of their exercise schedules (amazing that they have exercise machines in the limited area of the spacecraft, but this is an important factor in space travel, else they will lose muscle mass), as well as eating and sleeping schedules. Since every item in that spacecraft was carefully curated and tracked, it's a normal protocol for the crew to ask help from MCC-H to locate items in the spacecraft. I particularly liked the one where Christina Hammock Koch was asking the MCC-H personnel to locate a lotion in the spacecraft.

As the mission progressed, everything seemed to go according to plan. So many things could have gone wrong, but they encountered only minor issues, and they were able to fix them in real time. As a software developer, I can imagine how difficult it would be to debug issues remotely. If it were a hardware issue requiring physical fixes, that would be even more challenging. I have immense respect for everyone involved in this mission. The level of coordination and orchestration of tasks between the teams from start to end of the mission is still something that my head cannot fathom. I want to learn more about this, especially now that I know that there are Artemis III & IV missions lined up in the future! Let's go and nerd out!🤓🚀

I really got amazed with the lot of complications involved in space travel (well, this time, it is rocket science, quite literally 🤣). One thing that was a highlight for me was the outbound trajectory correction burns (OTC) that they do during specific stages of the mission. I was really impressed when I learned that they had to cancel a scheduled OTC of the spacecraft for its travel to the moon because the actual trajectory was already accurate. The level of accuracy of this mission was so mind-blowing. 🤯

And we haven't even started with the images the crew has taken and sent back to earth. EVERYTHING WAS SO BEAUTIFUL!!! I could just imagine the feeling of each of the astronauts as they saw the whole of the earth from above, especially Jeremy Hansen. It was his first time in space, and what a way to spend his debut space experience: straight to the moon! 🌕✨

Watching the Artemis II crew as the days of the mission passed, I truly felt that they were the best possible representations of humanity. Whenever I saw footage of them in media interviews during the mission, as well as the mission highlights, I can't help but feel so in awe of them. Aside from the fact that they are so smart and skilled, their auras felt so pure. I really saw in their eyes that child-like twinkle of happiness. Each of them really fulfilled their childhood dreams through this mission.

Also, can I just say that the men of this mission were so emotionally intelligent? One of the most touching moments of the mission was when one of the new observed craters was named after Carroll, Reid Wiseman's late wife. In that clip of them inside the craft during the lunar flyby observation stage, I saw two men get emotional and I couldn't help but cry with them. I think I always teared up watching this clip on Instagram. 🥲 I truly believe that it's healthy for men to show their emotions and I'm so glad this moment was witnessed by a lot of people around the world.

As of this writing, I’m still catching up on the post-splashdown press conferences and footage of the crew after getting back on earth. I am well aware that I have formed a parasocial relationship with them (😅), so I would be following their activities as they move on from this mission. 😁

Splashdown day finally came. As a non-NASA person, I felt like the reentry of the crew to the earth is one of the most delicate parts of the mission (same level as the launch). For me, the most scary part was the part of the reentry wherein the Orion spacecraft will go through the earth's atmosphere, with the heat shield, protecting the space crew inside, from the formation of heating plasma due to the friction of the atmosphere. The sequence of the splashdown happened during Saturday morning, local time. I was actually multi-tasking watching the NASA live coverage and working on my slides for my "Toastmaster of the Day" stint later that afternoon. Since I was the TOD, I had the authority to set the theme of our meeting. Well, guess what the theme was -- "Journey to the Moon", heavily inspired by this very mission. 😁

Switching between watching the splashdown live coverage and working on my TOD slides

From the atmosphere reentry and ocean touchdown, the duration of all of these stages would only happen in minutes, so it was very critical to monitor that everything was in good shape. As an audience, it was an intense moment for me. 😅

During reentry to the atmosphere, as the hot plasma builds up on the heat shield of the Orion spacecraft, there was an expected 6 minutes of loss of signal (LOS), meaning no audio communication and data gathering could be done during that time. When it happened, it was the longest 6 minutes of my life. 😅It was a peak intense moment as MCC-H waited for the comms to be reestablished again. Imagine being one of the crews' family members during this moment. 🥲 It was with a great sigh of relief when the comms were reestablished again after that grueling 6 minutes and the crew reported that they were still alive and in good shape. 😅

Artemis II Orion spacecraft with three good-looking parachutes deployed. This was the peak count of the YouTube live feed: 3 MILLION people watching!

When the parachutes got deployed and the spacecraft slowed down, I felt so amazed. Again, huge props to the teams involved. And when the aircraft splashed into the ocean, I couldn't help but clap. Out of joy. Out of relief. As what the NASA people mentioned during the post-splash down press conference, it was a textbook kind of landing. Everything worked as planned. 👏

Once again, immense respect to NASA and everyone behind this mission. They are incredible. I can only imagine the level of planning and coordination involved: especially among the engineers. Calculating trajectories, managing spacecraft systems, designing suits: everything had to work together seamlessly. And somehow, they made it look effortless.

Special shoutout to the MCC-H personnel who brought an Artemis plushie and was wearing a Sailormoon lanyard. You are a hero. 🫡

As much as I have gained a lot of scientific knowledge, there were also nuggets of wisdom earned from following the Artemis II mission.

This mission reminded me to also overthink the positive. We often prepare for what can go wrong: but what about what can go right?
Just like Orion spacecraft, we sometimes drift off course. But that’s part of the process. What matters is correcting our trajectory: those small adjustments that bring us back to our path. Even the spacecraft uses short OTC burns to stay on course. In the same way, it’s important for me to pause and ask: am I still heading toward the life I want?
Our childhood dreams inspire us to achieve great things in life, through passion and grit.
Seeing earth from space reminded me how small we are: and yet how meaningful this life can be. It brings me back to that childlike wonder I’ve always had.

Thank you, Artemis II. The mission was such an inspirational adventure for a lot of people in the world. For sure it was, for me.

This is just the beginning of human space exploration, and I hope to live long enough to see humans reach Mars. 👩‍🚀🚀✨

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My Space Apps 2021 Hackathon Experience

November 06, 2021

My October started with bang, a virtual explosion that is. I took the courage to join a virtual hackathon called Space Apps Challenge, organized by NASA. Thanks to my friend Mai, because through her, this event came under my radar. Upon registering for the event, I found out that I actually signed up for last year's event, but I didn't push through. Well this time around, I'm more determined to participate.

To take the description of the event straight from the website:

The NASA International Space Apps Challenge (Space Apps) is an international hackathon for coders, scientists, designers, storytellers, makers, builders, technologists, and others in cities around the world, where teams engage the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA’s) free and open data to address real-world problems on Earth and in space.

For one weekend each October, participants from around the world come together over a 48-hour period to solve challenges submitted by NASA personnel. After the hackathon, project submissions are judged by space agency experts and winners are selected for one of 10 Global Awards.

Space Apps introduces problem-solvers worldwide to NASA’s free and open data. By using NASA data to solve each year’s challenges, Space Apps teams learn about NASA’s data, and share in the creation and application of the knowledge that results.

Space Apps also inspires collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking. Our mission is to leverage this interest to encourage the growth and diversity of the next generation of scientists, technologists, designers, storytellers, and engineers.

Source: About - Space Apps

Over the course of two days over the weekend, teams all over the world worked on coming up with a solution from the list of challenges presented by the Space Apps team. The best part of this was: anyone can join! And since it's all done virtually this year, it's even easier to participate.

My Team 🤼

I didn't have anyone in my circle of friends who I knew were interested to join, but I still went for it. I thought that this would be a great opportunity to meet new people who are interested in astronomy, too! 🔭 The Space Apps team in Manila held a Zoom meeting to gather participants and team them up with others who still needed additional members in their team (six is the maximum size of a team). Through the Zoom meeting and the chat website, I met my teammates.

For the first time (in a while), I became the leader of that team. My teammates were junior high students! It was all new to me because I don't interact with this age group that often. These kids were so exceptional. They are very tech savvy (we had Discord as our medium for our chat) and very well versed with our chosen challenge (more of that below). My role in the team was like a project manager. Thanks to my past experiences with hackathons, a full-working prototype is most of the time not possible in a two-day hackathon. It's more about conceptualizing, not actual coding. We worked more on the architecture of our solution and on gauging the feasibility of implementing our solution in the real world. As much as my teammates looked up to me for expertise since I already have years of experience in the IT industry, I also relied on them for the low-level technicalities of our solution.

Our Challenge 🚀

The challenge that we chose to solve was -- THE TRAIL TO MARS: CAN YOU KEEP YOUR CREW ALIVE. It was the easiest for me to grasp, honestly. As much as I was interested in Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence, I felt like I would be able to contribute most on this one, and it matched well with the qualifications of the team.

Our Solution 💡

I am proud with what we have come up with during the hackathon. I think we have explained well what we wanted to achieve through the game that we have come up with as a solution for the challenge.

My Takeaways 🥇

It's all about the journey, not the destination. Literally, this was the focus of our challenge: figuring out how humans will survive the space travel to Mars. But with the course of the hackathon, the same principle applied. I really enjoyed my interaction with these brilliant students, from our brainstorming sessions to the actual execution of each of our tasks. I appreciated the teamwork that we had even though we all interacted remotely. Up to the last hour of the hackathon, wherein we were cramming to complete the requirements to be submitted, I felt that oh-so-familiar adrenaline rush in chasing the goal at hand. Yes, it was a stressful period, but I would choose to experience it all over again because all the learnings gained are all worth it. It's a little bit sad on the part that I wasn't able to meet these students in real life, but I know for sure that this was also an exceptional experience for them.

my virtual souvenir from the event

My interest in astronomy was reignited because of this event. Now I'm consuming more NASA content than before. 🤓 You know what, I hope that I would still be alive when the human race finally sets foot on the red planet. I would then reminisce back to this time that we conceptualized a game to strategize their trip there. I cannot wait for that time to come.

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Constellations: January - March

April 13, 2017

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astronomy

Sky Watch: Crescent Moon and Constellations [☾ ~ #31]

June 15, 2014

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astronomy

Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey Media Launch @ Mind Museum [★]

April 06, 2014

Last March 7, NuffnangPH invited its bloggers to an exclusive media event for the launch of National Geographic and FOX International's Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey.

I love astronomy so it was an instant yes when I read about the invite. It's a plus also that I was familiar with the venue (The Mind Museum at Taguig) and that the launch will start on a very convenient time for me. Going there alone is one of my least worries, though I admit I was anxious because this was my first blogging event and I really don't know what to expect.

the media launch venue

This is why when I saw that the venue is a standing cocktail party, I was surprised.

Before the screening of the pilot episode of Cosmos, everyone was given a scrumptious dinner at the venue.

I helped myself on some cocktail and chocolates! (＃´ー´)旦

ONE WITH THE MEDIA -- my fellow attendees at the launch. It's legit! I'm one of them now! ヽ(*≧ω≦)ﾉ

I was so surprised to know that it was actually Chico Garcia who will be hosting the event! *starstruck moment*

Jude Turcuato of Fox International (left) and Maria Isabel Garcia, curator of the Mind Museum (right) talking about Cosmos

After the press talk, the audience was guided to an auditorium wherein the pilot episode of the Cosmos documentary would be shown.

the audience at the Cosmos pilot episode screening

It was an engaging show! I am specifically at awe on how they explained the events since the big bang event through a one-year calendar.

If we were to scale the history of the universe to a one-year calendar with the big bang explosion happening on January 1, 12:00AM, human race began to exist on December 31, 11:59:55PM. - from Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey

After the screening, there was a raffle and they gave away DVD players! I wasn't picked though. Haha!

Attendees had themselves loot bags from NatGeo (though I was not able to get one. It ran out fast!) and chocolates from Villa del Conte!

I am so happy I was able to attend this event. I know how awkward I could be towards meeting new people. It was a challenge for me, and I'm pleased to say that I have overcome my shyness and was able to meet two awesome people from the media!

Janine and Jen, both media writers that I have met in the launch

I also had a chance to have a photo with Chico!!

I had little sleep during that time so I was actually groggy already when I went to the launch. However, adrenaline kept me awake and the curiosity to the universe fueled my mind during that night.