The visual code of the stars

Galaxies, supernovas and black holes: many people are fascinated by computer-generated images and videos that showcase discoveries in astronomy. Some of these images come courtesy of computer scientist Javier Enciso. “Even as a teenager I would program landscapes on the PC,” explains the Colombian, who studied Computational Science and Engin­eering at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) on a DAAD scholarship after graduating with a bach­elor’s degree in Bogotá. A student job in web development at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) set the course for his future career: ­after completing his master’s in 2010 and returning home to Villavicencio, Enciso continued to provide mission-critical software infrastructure to ESO – and soon after to other leading international research institutions, too. In 2020 he founded the company Enciso Systems, which now­adays works for some of the foremost space research institutions, such as the European Space Agency (ESA), the Harvard & Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile. “Thanks to my degree in Germany, I was able to realise my dreams,” says Javier Enciso. He is currently writing his doctoral thesis on modelling of the wea­ther in space between the Earth and the moon: “A subject of crucial importance for the safety of future moon missions.” —