Kathmandu, Dec. 17 -- Planets, stars, galaxies, asteroids, black holes and cosmic background radiation are omnipresent in Manisha Dwa's everyday life. The astrophysicist and astronomy expert explains why her field of science has such a huge impact on life on earth, even though her objects of interest are light-years away: "X-rays, which are now used in medicine, were discovered in astronomy. The same goes for satellite transmission. Actually, any wave we know nowadays. Everything is related."

The 38-year-old is pursuing her PhD in high-energy astrophysics. She serves as a project coordinator for the Nepal Astronomical Society, is a co-founder of the National Astronomy Olympiad in Nepal, and is one of the tireless voices working to make a...