'Nathan is going to change the world': Teenage science writer strives to inspire positivity and curiosity
Nathan Hellner-Mestelman seems like an ordinary teenager walking down the hall of his high school, until he shares his extraordinary appreciation for static on the radio.
“That’s the radiation left over from the Big Bang,” the 17-year-old smiles at the hum emitting from the stereo. “The sweet universe music.”
It’s an enduring song, of sorts, composed almost 14 billion years ago.
If you ask Nathan about the beginning of his scientific journey, he’ll tell you about when he was 12, and took brief break from viewing a lunar eclipse to refuel.
“While I was grabbing a cookie an asteroid impacted the moon,” Nathan says. “And I didn’t see it obviously.”
While the impact appeared smaller than the smallest cookie crumb, Nathan learned it was actually big enough to have levelled a city block.
“And so I wondered how much is going on across the universe that we don’t think about because we're here on Earth eating cookies,” Nathan says.
Nathan’s curiosity led him to being accepted into the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada at 12, creating science fair projects too advanced for judges to comprehend by 15, and becoming one of the most amazing students Neal Johnson has taught in almost 30 years.
“He so reminds me of a young Carl Sagan,” Neal says.
Like the iconic astronomer earned global fame for capturing the imagination of regular people, Nathan has written articles for international science publications, and a book about our place in the universe called Cosmic Wonder, that’s proved so accessible it earned multiple of offers from book publishers.
“I think Nathan is going to change the world,” Neal says. “Because of his ability to tell stories that connect with people.”
Whether he’s volunteering to share his knowledge with visitors at astrophysical observatories, or writing to inspire a global audience, Nathan hopes that by encouraging us to look beyond the cookies in front of us, we can realize how connected we are to everything that surrounds us.
“If you stop seeing people for nationalities or cultures or religions,” Nathan says. “And you start seeing people for atoms, and we are just atoms, that really helps dissolve some of the social constructs we’ve developed that divide us.”
A unifying message — inspired by wonder and curiosity — occasionally accompanied by the soundtrack to the birth of the universe.
“It‘s my favourite album to listen to,” Nathan says, laughing at the static on the radio. “Big Bang!”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Trump's Madison Square Garden event features crude and racist insults
Donald Trump took the stage Sunday night at New York’s Madison Square Garden to deliver his campaign's closing argument with the election nine days away after several of his allies used crude and racist insults toward U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris and other critics of the former president.
B.C. election results: Mail-in ballots heavily favour NDP, only absentee ballots left to count
The majority of mail-in ballots tallied this weekend for the final count in B.C.’s nail-bitingly close 2024 provincial election went to the NDP, increasing the party’s chances of clinching a third term.
Here's when you need to change your clock back
Millions of Canadians will notice their clocks turn back by one hour on Nov. 3, marking the end of daylight saving time this year.
New polls show Sask. NDP leading over Sask. Party ahead of election day
A pair of new pre-election polls indicate that the Saskatchewan NDP has a slight lead ahead of election day.
17-year-old charged for driving 188 km/h on Hwy. 417 in Ottawa
A 17-year-old Ottawa driver was caught speeding nearly 90 km/h over the speed limit on Highway 417.
Hollywood star Victor Garber gets emotional after surprise meeting with his former teacher in London, Ont.
Victor Garber got teary-eyed when he walked into a brunch in his honour Sunday in London, Ont.
Another bumpy week ahead as Trudeau faces deadlines from Liberal MPs, Bloc
Another week, another raft of imminent challenges to Justin Trudeau's leadership of both the country and the Liberal Party.
He lost a finger and survived a kidnapping. Then, this climber took on a 9,000-foot 'death-trap'
With jaw-dropping big wall ascents and a life packed with adrenaline and adventure, climber Tommy Caldwell has had a career worthy of – and captured by – a feature film.
How to make sure your used clothes go to the right place – and not to organized crime
Giving away used clothes for a second life feels like an act of charity – and it often is. But it’s become more complicated. A W5 investigation has discovered allegations that organized crime players are muscling in on charities to access their donation bins.