NATHALIE OUELLETTE

Dr. Nathalie Ouellette is an astrophysicist who works at the Université de Montréal. Discussing with Dr. Ouellette about what space is, was the starting point of some of our reflections around emptiness. To think about outer space (the space beyond the atmosphere of the Earth), helped us to understand the meaning and importance of emptiness in the thought process through which we explain reality; in the words of Dr. Ouellette, emptiness “is not something that you define by what it is, it is something that you define by what it is not.” Everything that exists in the universe (stars, planets, galaxies, etc), is surrounded by emptiness; for the most part, outer space is empty, the density of matter in it is so low, that we consider it to be empty. When thinking about space on Earth, the definition changes; we live in a reality of three dimensions where, although anchored to the ground, we keep expanding the borders of our knowledge through creativity and science. Space on Earth is full with forests, rivers, animals, plants, cities, highways and people, among other things, and because of our relationship with it (space), we have developed cultural and national identities with very different ways to conceive reality. In contemporary times, colonialism has allowed us to claim ownership over land and bodies, a system that we intend to replicate beyond the borders of our atmosphere. Today, we encounter ourselves at a crossroads, where declaring outer space as public will define the way we evolve as a human project in the years to come.

http://www.exoplanetes.umontreal.ca/our-team/direction-and-administration/9288-2/?lang=en