Overview
My name is Skylar Larsen (she/they), and as of Fall 2023, I am a first-year graduate student at Cornell’s Department of Astronomy! I received a Bachelor of Science degree in Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where I wrote my bachelor’s thesis on near-Earth asteroid spectroscopy. During my time at Cornell, I want to apply my spectroscopy research to work with exoplanet transit detection, habitability, and astrobiology.
I am also very interested in science education and outreach! I am an active ambassador for the American Association of Double Star Observers, a non-profit aimed at enabling anyone, anywhere to participate in astronomy research. Additionally, I am a digital artist with a passion for character design, and I draw comics aimed at all ages to make science more accessible to the public. When I’m not doing research, I’m drawing, transcribing video game soundtrack music to the violin/piano, or playing Dungeons & Dragons with old friends.