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Wanda Diaz-Merced

Wanda can hear sounds across galaxies, and is also able to control solar winds.

Get to know

As a young girl, Wanda was prone to adventuring near Messier 31. One day, while out exploring a neighbouring galaxy her ship was damaged by solar winds. Wanda was seriously injured in the ensuing crash and lost her sight. When she awoke she found she could hear sounds from remote galaxies and control the very winds that caused her ship to crash. Wanda embarked on a mission to bring to justice those who had harmed the innocent. Wanda is unafraid of the consequences and will always fight for what she believes is right.

On Wanda's superhero outfit is the drawing of sound waves, and her belt features some of our planets.

THE DRAWING'S HIDDEN TREASURE

SCIENCE SUPERHERO IDENTITY

In this fact-file find out why we turned Wanda into a Superhero

The Andromeda Galaxy is nearest major galaxy to the Milky Way (our galaxy). The Andromeda Galaxy is very bright making it visible from Earth on moonless nights.

Sounds of Science was a 2011 paper written by Wanda.

Wanda doesn't need a sidekick she is that awesome.

TOP QUARKZ CARD EXPLAINED

Black Holes are the most dangerous threat a superhero could face. A black hole is a region of spacetime where gravity is so strong that nothing - absolutely nothing - can escape from it.

Born: unknown
Occupation: Astrophysicist & Computer Scientist

Wanda Díaz-Merced

TRUE IDENTITY

When she won the school science fair she realised that pursuing a career in science was something she wanted to do. Wanda went on to study physics at the University of Puerto Rico and had an internship at NASA. Wanda lost her sight in her early 20s and found new ways to study stellar radiation without relying on her vision. She uses her ears to detect patterns in the radio data and has created sonification (a technique for turning data into sounds) software.

Wanda was born in a small remote town in Puerto Rico. As a child, she and her sister would pretend to explore space.

Wanda Diaz-Merced

Everything in the universe has its own voice

Hear more about how Wanda found a way to continue her work as an astrophysicist by converting scientific data into sound.

Video Credit: National Geographic

WHAT'S AN ASTROPHYSICIST ?

Astrophysicists try to understand the universe and its contents, including stars, planets and galaxies.

Video credit: CrashCourse

An astrophysicist trys to understand how the things in space work. Things like the Moon, and the planets, and the stars, and galaxies like the Milky Way (that's our galaxy). If you want to learn more about how to become an Astrophysicist check out the video below!

Video credit: PBS Space Time

Sound moves faster through water than air.

Sound waves in are collected by the outer ear and then travel to the eardrum and make it vibrate.

Sound waves can't travel through space but the universe does make noise! In this video find out how scientists have learned that there's still plenty to hear in space.

Is there sound in space?

DID YOU KNOW ?

Researchers converted the recording of plasma waves into audio files that we can hear.

What does Saturn sound like?

Video credit: TheCuriousEngineer

Video credit NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Alex Young explains how sound connects us with the Sun and all other stars. This video features low frequency sounds of the Sun.

What does the sun sound like?

Video credit: NASA

The speed of sound is around 1,230 kilometres (767 miles) per hour.

Sound comes from vibrations. These vibrations create sound waves which move through air, water, and solid material before reaching our ears.