Die Hard Astro: The Human Drive To Unravel The Universe...

Susan McKeon

General Astronomer and Journalist

Aspiring Astrophysicist

When five years old, Susan became fascinated with the fact that our Sun is actually a, 'star', and that all suns are in fact, 'stars', and all 'stars', are in point of fact, balls of burning nuclear energy.

It sparked a love of the cosmos that has stayed with her throughout life, fondly now known as "Nana Moon" by her grandchildren and a regular contributor and moderator of Astronomy Ireland's magazine and Social Media sites, astronomy has allowed Ssuan to pursue journalism as well as a passion for the night sky.

Today Susan is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and pursues her passion in astronomy both visually and online.

"It really blew my mind to think that there are other planets in our Solar System that have moons, and that there could be other planets and Solar Systems in our Galaxy, it was all just like, 'WOOOOOOW', you know!"

Susan McKeon

Susan Stewarding at a Star Party in Wicklow

Stewarding at a Star Party in Wicklow

Roundwood, County Wicklow 2024

For Susan, astronomy is as much about meeting other people sharing that same passion for the cosmos as it is practicing it. Each year she volunteers for a large star party in Roundwood, County Wicklow and asists with everything from setting up scopes to signposting people to the right expert at the event.

Over the decades since Susan first found out about Europa orbiting Jupiter with the potential for an ocean of microbial life under its icy surface, she has since become more and more interested in the discovery and study of exoplanets.