Art Hub Copenhagen
Victoria Antoci
DTU Space, Senior Researcher, DTU Technical University of Denmark
I have a PhD and a masters degree in the field of astronomy from the University of Vienna, where I focused on studying and understanding the physics, evolution and the internal structure of stars using asteroseismology. Stars, similar to musical instruments, vibrate at natural frequencies. Measuring the properties of these sounds, as manifested through changes in light from the star as it contracts and expands, allows one to determine the inner structure. This is known as asteroseismology and it is analogous to the field of seismology on Earth. The velocity fields produced during contraction and expansion can be measured thanks to the Doppler effect. With these observations, the interior sound speed can be determined, leading to the construction of a realistic stellar model.
As a postdoc and later assistant professor at the University of Aarhus I was continuing my studies of stars, and expanded my research interests to include exoplanets and stellar activity. In addition to my research I was the Project Scientist and Project Manager for Aarhus University’s first satellite ‘Delphini-1’, which was a proof of concept as well as a student project. The mission was a full success. Now, I am a Senior Researcher at DTU Space, where on the one hand I am continuing my work on stars and their exoplanets and on the other hand I am identifying the best instruments and possibilities to obtain chromatic measurements in space. Among others, I am leading a project that aims at designing a spectrograph to be mounted on a nanosatellite and observe pulsating stars harbouring hot Jupiters. For my research I have been analysing data from various space telescopes, like the NASA Kepler and TESS missions, but have also been using observations performed with telescopes on ground. Some of the ground-based data I have gathered myself, leading to about 75 of nights spent at various telescopes.
Throughout my carrier I have been supervising students at all levels and have been teaching courses on stellar astrophysics and on satellites and space exploration.
