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Happy Halloween! In this special episode of The LIUniverse, Dr. Charles Liu and co-host Allen Liu welcome back archaeology expert Hannah Liu, MEd to bring a scientific eye to the holiday and some of its most familiar denizens: witches, werewolves, zombies, black cats and even the Great Galactic Ghoul!
As always, though, we start off with the day’s joyfully cool cosmic thing: Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS). You’ll learn all about this visitor from the Oort Cloud, including how we know where it came from. Hannah talks about how ancient people responded to the arrival of a comet, including how leaders have used them for their own political purposes, and Charles brings up the inclusion of Halley’s Comet on the Bayeux tapestry.
Then it’s time for Chuck to introduce our theme for this special episode: how the superstitions of the past interact with the mysteries of science.
You’ll hear from Hannah about the history of Halloween and its beginning as the Druidic celebration of Sawen (or Samhain) marking the end of the harvest season.
Jumping ahead in history, we look at the Salem Witch Trials of the 17th Century, and the “science” that was used to condemn innocent young women to death for behaviors the powers that be disapproved of.
You’ll also get serious answers to spooky questions like “Do full moons affect behavior?” (We’re talking the behavior of moths, sea turtles and humans, rather than werewolves, although we do actually get into the possible origins of the wolfman myth as embodied in the Greek myth of Zeus and Lycaon with a minor digression into D&D and legendary DJ Wolfman Jack.)
After witches and werewolves, what else could we talk about next than zombies? In this case, natural zombie spiders created by the sting of a parasitic Tarantula Hawk wasp, or zombie ants that have been infected by the fungus Ophiocordyceps unilateralis. And yes, somehow The Walking Dead and The Last of Us shamble into the discussion, although regarding the latter, Allen explains why cordyceps probably couldn’t survive in a human host.
Next up, we look at the connection between black cats and the holiday. Hannah brings up the traditions of cats as “Witch’s Familiars” and shapeshifters, and Chuck reminds us of the moment when we saw a cat transform into Professor McGonagall in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. You’ll hear about how STS-13, which was slated to be the thirteenth mission of the Space Shuttle, was renamed STS-41-C, in an attempt to avoid any superstition or reminder of the ill-fated Apollo 13. There was an alternate mission patch that featured an illustration of the shuttle landing under a giant black cat, referencing the mission's original designation, STS-13; and that the day the mission returned was April 13, 1984, which was a Friday the 13th.
Speaking of space, Hannah asks Chuck about the concept of “The Great Galactic Ghoul,” the fictitious space monster blamed for the failure of nearly every probe sent to Mars by the Soviet Union, Japan, and even NASA between 1988 and 1999. Out of 10 missions, only 2 US probes landed successfully on the Red Planet. Since then, while the Ghoul did claim a few more victims including two missions by the UK, it seems to have gone into hiding, since the US has had multiple successful missions, as has China with their Tianwen lander and Zhurong rover, India, Russia, the European Space Agency, and the UAE.
Finally, to end our special HaLIUween episode, Chuck brings up Albert Einstein’s term, “Spooky Action at a Distance,” which he coined derisively to describe the physics concept known as quantum entanglement that he dismissed but has since been proven to exist.
We hope you enjoyed this special episode of The LIUniverse, and, if you do, please support us on Patreon.
Credits for Images Used in this Episode:
Comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas – AlexL1024, Public DomainDiagram of the Oort Cloud – NASA, Public DomainHalley's Comet on the Bayeux tapestry – 11th century English embroiderers, Public DomainIrish hero Fionn fighting Aillen on Samhain – Beatrice Elvery, Public DomainLater depiction of the Salem Witch Trials – Joseph E, Public DomainPainting of the Aos Sí – John Duncan, Public DomainAnt infected with Ophiocordyceps unilateralis – Denis ZabinTarantula Hawk wasp – Davehood, Public DomainSTS-13 alternate mission patch – Bp1222Mars Climate Orbiter, unit error victim – NASA/JPL, Public DomainPurported face on Mars – Viking 1, NASA, Public DomainBetter image of the same feature – NASA / JPL / Malin Space Science Systems, Public DomainChina’s Tianwen lander and Zhurong rover – China News Service#TheLIUniverse #CharlesLiu #AllenLiu #HannahLiu #SciencePodcast #AstronomyPodcast #Halloween #Samhain #Sawen #witches #werewolves #zombies #blackcats #GreatGalacticGhoul #SalemWitchTrials #Ophiocordycepsunilateralis #zombieantfungus #TarantulaHawkwasp #STS13 #CometC2023A3 #CometTsuchinshanAtlas #HalleysComet #BayeuxTapestry
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Welcome to Season 4 of The LIUniverse and thank you for joining us on this journey.
We’re kicking off the new season with another Chuck GPT episode devoted to answering your questions, and to do that, we’ve brought back archaeology expert Hannah Liu, MEd. She’s not alone: joining Dr. Charles Liu and co-host Allen Liu is The LIUniverse’s Social Media Guru, Stacey Severn.
As always, we start off with the day’s joyfully cool cosmic thing, Earth’s temporary second moon 2024 PT5. Don’t get excited, though, because it’s only the size of a school bus and won’t be visible to the naked eye. But it gives Chuck the chance to ask Hannah about the impact of celestial visitors in the past, and she tells us the story of Caesar’s comet (C/-43 K1) which showed up for about a week in the summer of 44 BCE – not long after the assassination of Julius Caesar. Allen also brings up the Great comet of 1680 and how it affected the development of astronomy.
Our first question comes from NSimplexPachinko, who asks, “During condensation of matter to 300,000 years after the Big Bang, did spacetime cease to expand, or did it continue expanding at the same rate as the energy within it?”
Short answer: Yes. For the long answer, you’ll have to watch or listen to the show for Chuck’s description (honed for the Intro to Astronomy class he teaches) of decoupling, expansion, universal evolution and “BIG, BIG, INFLATION!”
Stacey reads the next question from a listener in Poland. Pshemo Ziembora wonders, “The volume/length of space should be different for every observer depending on how fast they’re travelling or how strong the gravity field is. In other words, the speed of light will always be constant for each observer, but it may have a different value than 300,000 km/second. Distances on cosmic scales may vary due to your speed. When you are traveling faster in space your distance should be shorter. What am I missing?”
Chuck explains that Pshemo isn’t missing anything and has got it exactly right, describing the insight we now call the “Lorentz Contraction” which Albert Einstein built into his Special Theory of Relativity. Allen explains the physics involved, with an example that includes muons and cosmic rays and how different mediums can impact the speed of light.
Speaking of Poland, Hannah shares a story about licking the wall of the Wieliczka salt mine, which she visited on a trip there. For those of you watching, you can see a photo of one of the caverns hollowed out by the miners, with statues and scenic reliefs carved from the salt. There are no photos of the reported salt tasting.
Our next question comes from one of Chuck’s Astronomy 100 students: “Is Earth Intelligent?”
Chuck describes the Gaia Hypothesis, before the group grapples with the question. Hannah looks at the skepticism around the validity of that very hypothesis, and then takes a typical LIUniverse deep dive into Percy Jackson, and Greek and Egyptian mythology. Allen assesses Earth’s intelligence through the lens of Artificial Intelligence. Stacey brings up the concept that climate change is the Earth taking revenge on humanity for our actions, which Hannah relates back to Greek mythology, natural disasters, and the role of Demeter in bringing about winter.
Finally, “@I have an unoriginal name” asks, “How does the cyclic model of the universe deal with information not being destroyed.” And Andy Love wonders “about the quantum gravity issue. My thought is that gravity is emergent, from loop or string vibrations, where the outward pulse of the loop or string creates the atoms (Higgs field) and the inward pulse is gravitational force meaning there is no need for a new quantum gravity theory, gravity is already quantum.”
Both of those questions spawned some interesting and far-ranging conversations amongst the group (Can you say slinky cosmology and quantum gravity?) that would be impossible to summarize for you here, so just please watch or listen to the episode now!
We hope you enjoy this episode of The LIUniverse, and, if you do, please support us on Patreon.
Credits for Images Used in this Episode:
– 2024 PT5’s orbit –NASA/JPL-Caltech – Public Domain
– Caesar’s comet coin –From ~18 CE in modern Spain, – Public Domain
– Comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS – AlexL1024, Public Domain
– Great comet of 1680 –Lieve Verschuier, Public Domain
– Diagram of the universe’s expansion –NASA/WMAP Science Team, Public Domain
– Refraction in a block of plastic –Ajizai, Public Domain
– A muon’s view of Earth –The LIUniverse, derived from “Blue Marble”
– Wieliczka salt mine –Rj1979, Public Domain
– Gaia depicted on pottery –About 410 BCE, Public Domain
– Statue of Demeter –Photo by Marie-Lan Nguyen, CC BY
– Lord Kelvin’s Analog tide computer –Photo by Daderot, Public Domain
– Svalbard Global Seed Vault –Frode Ramone, CC BY
– ~1800 year old clothes preserved by a bog – Bullenwächter, CC BY
– LIGO gravitational wave signals –Caltech/MIT/LIGO Lab, CC BY
#TheLIUniverse #CharlesLiu #AllenLiu #HannahLiu #StaceySevern #SciencePodcast #AstronomyPodcast #2024PT5 #CaesarsComet #SlinkyCosmology #QuantumGravity #comets #GreatCometof1680 #UniversalExpansion #muon #GaiaHypothesis #PercyJackson #GreekMythology #Egyptianmythology #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #cyclicmodeloftheuniverse #LorentzContraction #AlbertEinstein #SpecialTheoryofRelativity #archaeology
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How did the universe evolve, and more importantly, how might it end? To find out, Dr. Charles Liu and co-host Allen Liu welcome theoretical cosmologist and astrophysicist, Dr. Katie Mack, author of the recently published book, “The End of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking).” In Part 2, we look at dark matter, Gravitational Memory Effect, and more. (You can listen to Part 1 here.)
We dive right in with a question from David: “I was wondering if any physicists have looked into the idea that the “empty” space in an atom is actually “filled” with dark matter. What experiments could be done to prove or disprove this hypothesis?”
In order to answer David, first Katie explains the science supporting the idea that dark matter exists, including gravitational lensing and other evidence. The fact that there are indications of dark matter in areas where there is sparse regular matter suggests that dark matter is an entirely different kind of particle. Katie describes many of the ways that that dark matter is unrelated to the empty space in atoms, including the fact that dark matter has no real interaction with atoms at all.
Chuck asks whether the amount of dark matter still holds the key to how the universe evolves as he was taught or have new understandings made it entirely irrelevant? Katie explains that dark energy has replaced dark matter in importance, and that’s what’s making the universe expand faster. But we really don’t know what it is, or what it’s doing, or even if it will remain constant.
Our next question comes from Aileen Balderas: “I recently read about something called the Gravitational Memory Effect. This talks about how space remembers certain things. Gravitational wave signals have the power to make it so that the universe remembers what happens to it. How can scientists say that the universe is able to remember things?”
Katie unpacks this fascinating phenomenon which she only learned about five years ago. It turns out that, as Chuck puts it, “The universe has memory the way that memory foam has memory, not like the way elephants have memory.”
Chuck asks Katie about flying planes, which she learned to do in late 2020 during the pandemic, after her book came out. Talk about a lockdown hobby! Katie shares why she loves flying so much, and what she gets out of it. And while she doesn’t own her own plane, she has a share in a single engine airplane with 4 other people.
Chuck also asks the inevitable question: Star Trek or Star Wars? Katie’s answer: Star Trek!
We end the show with Katie describing what she’s doing at The Perimeter Institute, an independent research institute that’s dedicated to stretch the boundaries of our understanding of physics in areas like cosmology, particle physics, quantum information and various areas of theoretical physics. Katie’s been working with them to create some short videos. Check out Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics on YouTube to watch "Quantum Physics 101" and "Cosmology 101."
If you’d like to know more about Dr. Kathryn Mack and her work, check out her website, https://www.astrokatie.com/ where you can also sign up for her newsletter, “Watch this Spacetime.” You can also find her on Bluesky at astrokatie.com, Instagram and TikTok at @astrokatiemack, and Twitter (X), YouTube, and Facebook at @astrokatie.
You can also find Katie on John Green’s “Crash Course Pods: The Universe” on Complexly, YouTube, Spotify, Simplecast and more.
We hope you enjoy this episode of The LIUniverse, and, if you do, please support us on Patreon.
Credits for Images Used in this Episode:
Galaxy group "Stephan's Quintet" seen by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope – NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScINGC 4826, otherwise known as M64— a spiral galaxy. – NASA / Hubble Heritage TeamHubble image showing light distortions from the collective gravity of dark matter. – NASA, ESA, and J. Lotz and the HFF Team (STScI)The expansion of the universe over time. – NASAThe End of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking) – ScribnerDr. Katie Mack in the cockpit of her plane – Image via Katie Mack’s Instagram#TheLIUniverse #CharlesLiu #AllenLiu #SciencePodcast #AstronomyPodcast #DarkMatter #DarkEnergy #UniversalExpansion #BlackHoles #EarlyUniverse #Spacetime #Physics #Astrophysics #Cosmology #GravitationalMemoryEffect #GravitationalWaves
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How did the universe evolve, and more importantly, how might it end? To find out, Dr. Charles Liu and co-host Allen Liu welcome theoretical cosmologist and astrophysicist, Dr. Katie Mack, author of the recently published book, “The End of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking).” You’re going to need your thinking caps for this episode, because the trio get into some pretty intense and complex concepts in physics and astrophysics.
We start off this episode hearing why Katie, who grew up under the starless pink skies in LA, embarked on her journey to explore the very beginnings of existence itself. It turns out, it wasn’t the constellations or “pretty space pictures” that drew her to astrophysics, but the fact that all of the really cool, mindbending questions and extreme physics were related to stuff that happens in space like black holes and spacetime and “The Big Bang.”
For the day’s joyfully cool cosmic thing. Chuck, who studies Observational Galaxy Evolution, brings up a paper recently published in the Astrophysical Journal by Anna de Graaff et al, about the discovery, using the James Webb Space telescope, of a group of 13-billion-year-old dwarf galaxies with an unusually large amount of dark matter inside them compared to modern day galaxies. The researchers then used the Illustris cosmological simulation of galaxy formation to evolve those galaxies and found that they would end up with a percentage of dark matter that is consistent with dwarf galaxies today.
Katie talks about the value of simulations in the study of the galaxies and the early universe, especially as the simulations get better at exploring more physics, like Illustris does. The kinds of simulations she works with, though, are more simple models designed to capture the essential physics of galactic evolution.
She’s currently studying the possibility of dark matter annihilation in the early universe and what that would mean in terms of interacting with gas and energy as galaxies evolve. (At least, we think that’s what Katie’s talking about!)
Then it’s time for our first cosmological question for Katie. Ellis asks, “What’s your opinion on Block Universe theory?” Katie explains how the Block Universe theory attempts to model the past, present and future of spacetime, and how every point in space and time exists at the same time. (Again, we think that’s what she’s talking about!)
You’ll hear about physics equations that look the same forward and backward in time, the Second Law of Thermodynamics, relativity, causality, predetermination, the limits of observation, and the meaning of time itself.
Next, Chuck asks Katie about her book, “The End of Everything” and how she thinks the universe might end. The two discuss string theory, bouncing membranes, the ekpyrotic model of the universe, and other cyclical cosmological models. Katie shares how people often respond to her book from a theological perspective, including the idea of cyclical universes in religion.
Finally, this episode addresses the confluence of science, philosophy and faith, looking at life and death, religion and the divine, personal beliefs and the need many people have to find meaning in existence and possibly even objective truth.
Like we said, thinking caps! And that’s just Part 1. Join us in two weeks for the conclusion to our interview with Katie.
If you’d like to know more about Dr. Kathryn Mack and her work, check out her website, https://www.astrokatie.com/. You can also find her on Instagram and TikTok @astrokatiemack, and Twitter (X), YouTube, and Facebook @astrokatie.
We hope you enjoy this episode of The LIUniverse, and, if you do, please support us on Patreon.
Credits for Images Used in this Episode:
TNG simulation (lines and shade) versus observations (symbols) – de Graaff et al. 2024Observers moving through a block universe – Jonathan Schooler/UCSBModel of two branes in extradimensional space that give rise to a cyclic universe. – Princeton University"The End of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking)" – Scribner#TheLIUniverse #CharlesLiu #AllenLiu #SciencePodcast #AstronomyPodcast #ObservationalGalaxyEvolution #DwarfGalaxies #DarkMatter #Illustris #CosmologicalSimulation #GalaxyFormation #GalacticEvolution #Galaxies #BlackHoles #EarlyUniverse #DarkMatterAnnihilation #BlockUniverseTheory #Spacetime #SecondLawOfThermodynamics #Physics #Astrophysics #StringTheory #BouncingMembranes #EkpyroticModelOfTheUniverse #CyclicalModels #Cosmology #Theology #Philosophy
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How do you go from a small town in Colorado to being a scientist-astronaut candidate in Australia? And how can you make space accessible for disabled astronauts? To find out, Dr. Charles Liu and co-host Allen Liu welcome scientist-astronaut candidate Celene Shimmen.
As always, though, we start off with the day’s joyfully cool cosmic thing, the new study using the James Webb Space Telescope that disproves the detection of tryptophan, a complex amino acid, in the interstellar cloud IC 348. Or, as Chuck jokes, no sleepy turkeys in space.
Then we get to meet Celene Shimmen, who is a scientist-astronaut candidate in Australia. She’s a physical therapy student who is already putting her research to work in the space industry.
Celene describes how she recently designed and implemented the Lower Extremity Motor Coordination Test in Microgravity for AstroAccess, a project she works with dedicated to promoting disability inclusion in human space exploration by paving the way for disabled astronauts. (You may remember Cady Coleman talking about working with AstroAccess in our recent episode, Sharing Space with Astronaut Cady Coleman, Part 1.
You’ll hear about Celene’s acceptance into the scientist-astronaut training program for suborbital missions with the International Institute of Astronautical Sciences, beginning in 2023. She tells us about her upcoming parabolic flight where she’ll be the principal investigator testing balance differences after acute exposure to weightlessness. Chuck asks whether the “Vomit Comet” is aptly named – Celene explains that she’ll have to let us know, since her upcoming flight will have 16 periods of microgravity.
Our first question comes from Anne, who asks, “What are some psychological or physical traits that make for a good astronaut?” Celene highlights the importance of training for strength, endurance, balance, and cardiovascular fitness, especially for upcoming, long-term missions on the moon. It turns out that while the moon has lower gravity, the encumbrance of spacesuits requires greater strength and endurance. Allen explains that lesser gravity doesn’t mitigate some aspects of force and inertia that also require physical strength.
Celene describes the psychological aspects of being an astronaut, and the need for mental resilience to cope with isolation and stressful situations, as well as problem solving skills and the ability to work as part of a team.
You’ll also find out about Celene’s journey from growing up in a single-wide trailer in a town of 1000 residents in Colorado to studying hospitality in the Disney College Program in Florida, where she met her Australian husband. After watching “First Man”, the movie about Neil Armstrong, Celene decided she wanted to get into the space program. She applied to and was accepted by the Melbourne Space Program, working on a nano-satellite program. She also helped a humanoid robot take its first step, which inspired her to get involved with physiotherapy and the human body in space.
Our next question is from “anonymous”: What part of the human body is most vulnerable in space? Celene explains that extended exposure to microgravity leads to muscle atrophy and bone density loss, which is still a big issue even with ongoing exercise. Even just a 14-day stay in space leaves returning astronauts with muscle weakness.
Finally, we hear about Celene’s desire to be deployed to the moon, should the opportunity arise. Upcoming lunar missions to the moon will likely last about 30 days each, including 7 days of activity on the lunar surface.
If you’d like to reach out to Celene and chat, you can follow her on Instagram @spaceptcelene and on LinkedIn and Facebook as Celene Shimmen.
You can also find out more about AstroAccess here.
We hope you enjoy this episode of The LIUniverse, and, if you do, please support us on Patreon.
Credits for Images Used in this Episode:
– JWST image of IC 348, a star cluster wreathed in dusty gas. – NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Kevin Luhman (PSU), Catarina Alves de Oliveira (ESA)
– The different gravity phases during a parabolic flight. – ESA
– 2013 parabolic flight for astronaut trainees on a NASA C-9 aircraft – NASA
– Astronaut Jim Irwin at the Apollo 15 mission’s Hadley-Apennine lunar landing site. – NASA
– Humanoid Robot developed by students in the Melbourne Space Program – University of Melbourne, Australia
– Participants in NASA’s 30-day bed rest study must maintain a six-degree head-down tilt at all times. – NASA
– Concept animation of NASA Artemis astronauts exploring the lunar South Pole. – NASA
#TheLIUniverse #CharlesLiu #AllenLiu #SciencePodcast #AstronomyPodcast #CeleneShimmen #CeleneMerazBenavente #microgravity #weightlessness #AstroAccess #JamesWebbSpaceTelescope #tryptophan #IC348 #spaceexploration #VomitComet #gravity #astronaut #astronauttraining #MelbourneSpaceProgram #physiotherapy #physicaltherapy #muscleatrophy #bonedensityloss #lunarmission #InternationalInstituteofAstronauticalSciences
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We jump right back in where we left off in Part 1 of our interview with Dr. Cady Coleman, astronaut, chemist, engineer, flautist, and most recently, the author of “Sharing Space: An Astronaut's Guide to Mission, Wonder, and Making Change.” (If you missed it, listen to Part 1 here.)
Chuck asks Cady to tell us more about NASA’s decision to not include small and extra-large spacesuits to “save space.” She explains how, a few months later, they reinstated the extra-large suits, but not the small suits that affected about a third of the women, and the serious impact that decision had.
Chuck and Cady discuss the importance of diverse perspectives in the exploration of space. And then Cady offers her ideas about how to change the world for the better and the importance of doing what you can to help the people who come next. You’ll hear about astronaut Ron Garan and his nonprofit’s efforts to provide millions of filter straws to allow people in Africa to have access to safe, clean water. And you’ll hear about how you can purposefully shift your own perspectives.
For Part 2’s first question, Anne W. a student at “The School Without Walls” in Washington, D.C., asks, “What are some common reasons as to why people don’t become astronauts after starting training?” Cady explains why that rarely happens, mostly due the quality of the candidates who make it that far. But Cady then talks about why some people who should get selected to become astronauts don’t, and she shares some of her reasoning for the applicants she’s selected. The reason Cady stresses most is that if you don’t show them who you really are on the application, they cannot pick you. And she also explains the surprising reason why some astronauts who have flown already don’t get selected to go again.
The conversation circles back to diversity and bias in NASA. Allen shares the story of test pilot Ed Dwight, which he believes reflects some racial bias. Cady, who knew Ed, talks about some of the political factors in the choice, but also what an amazing artist he became. She reflects on the importance of Sally Ride in her life, and wonders what would have happened if the original Mercury 13 had been allowed to become astronauts back in the 60s.
Charles and Allen bring up Valentina Tereshkova, the cosmonaut who became the first woman in space in 1963, and how it took until 1983 for Sally Ride to take her famous flight as the first American woman. And yes, Cady does bring up “For All Mankind!” and “the role that art and storytelling can play to move the needle a little faster.”
For our final question, Allen shares a question from our podcast producer Leslie M., who asks, “Would materials behave differently in a different universe?” Cady, a chemical engineer who studied chemistry at M.I.T. and then got her Ph.D. degree in polymer science and engineering from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, says yes. And that kicks off a discussion of the impact of different physics on different materials. But Cady also talks about the importance of using the compelling nature of space to drive kids to want to become more educated and to improve life here on Earth.
In addition to Cady’s new book, Cady was recently in a documentary on PBS, Amazon Prime, and Apple TV, along with her family, NASA personnel and other astronauts. It’s called “Space: The Longest Goodbye” and it’s about how we are going to send people to Mars and put the human into human spaceflight.
You can find out more about her new book and everything else she’s up to on her website, https://www.cadycoleman.com/.
To find the kind of bookstore you love that carries “Sharing Space: An Astronaut's Guide to Mission, Wonder, and Making Change,” you can go to www.bookshop.org.
Follow Cady on Instagram, Twitter (X), and Threads: @astro_cady.
And please be sure to check out People Love Art, which shares 50% of their profits with their artists and donates 10% to causes of the artist’s choice: https://peopleloveart.com/.
You can also find out more about AstroAccess (mentioned in Part 1) here: https://astroaccess.org/.
(Please note that The LIUniverse receives no compensation for these links and mentions. We just like what they’re doing in the world!)
We hope you enjoy this episode of The LIUniverse, and, if you do, please support us on Patreon.
Credits for Images Used in this Episode:
3 crew members in a Soyuz space capsule – NASA/Bill Ingalls, Public DomainRon Garan on the space station – NASA, Public DomainEileen Collins in command of the Space Shuttle (STS-93) – NASA, Public DomainEd Dwight in the Air force – USAF, Public DomainBronze by Ed Dwight – Photo by Carol M. Highsmith (Public Domain), art by Ed DwightJerrie Cobb of the “Mercury 13” – NASA, Public Domain#TheLIUniverse #CharlesLiu #AllenLiu #SciencePodcast #AstronomyPodcast #CadyColeman #NASA #astronaut #SpaceShuttle #ISS #SharingSpace #spacewalk #PeopleLoveArt #RonGaran #EileenCollins #EdDwight #JerrieCobb #Mercury13 #SpaceTheLongestGoodbye #SallyRide #ForAllMankind
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What is the overview effect? Why is slow fast when you’re spacewalking? And what would happen to Chuck and Allen’s hair in space?
To get the answers to these and other questions, Dr. Charles Liu and co-host Allen Liu welcome back astronaut, chemist, engineer, flautist, and most recently, the author of “Sharing Space: An Astronaut's Guide to Mission, Wonder, and Making Change,” Dr. Cady Coleman.
As always, though, we start off with the day’s joyfully cool cosmic thing, a micrometeorite pit 2 microns across found on a tiny volcanic glass beat that was part of the lunar regolith collected by China’s Chang'e 5 Lunar Sample-Return Mission. On the surface of the pit is a trace of Di-Titanium Oxide (TiO2) in mineral form that can’t exist on Earth.
Cady, who is a material scientist, talks about how this new discovery may not be as “new” as it seems, because we have much better detection technology for detecting it in lunar samples than we had during the Apollo lunar missions. She also explains how creating materials in space, unfettered by gravity, can be very different than here on Earth. She recounts the liquid physics experiments they did on her first Space Shuttle mission and how they could lead to innovations in the development of space toilets, among other things. (To find out more about space toilets and how to pee and poop in space, check out Appendix 1 of Cady’s new book!)
Our first student question today comes from Violetta, a student at “The School Without Walls” in Washington, D.C., who asks, “What is your outlook on the overview effect? Cady defines the effect, and how it changes people who go into space and see the planet below them. For her, she explains, “I knew I was going to go to space, and I just thought I’d be going to a different place. Then, when I got up there, I looked back at Earth, I still felt at home. It’s just that the whole place felt like home, and home was closer than I thought.”
Allen follows up Violetta’s question for Cady with one from Anne W., a fellow student, who asks, “How is Space?” Cady’s answer: “Space is Awesome!” She explains that here on Earth, we grow up with limits on what we can do, how far we can run, or how fast. But, in space, we’re constantly discovering more things that you can do: ”I love the flying.”
You’ll hear Cady share what it was like in space during her two Space Shuttle missions and 6 months on the International Space Station as a member of Expedition 26/27. She talks about her work schedules and experimentation and the self-induced tendency to work too much, to more personal activities like looking out the window, social media posting, and even shopping – or ordering a pizza from Domino’s like Ron Garan did, hoping to earn a free pizza since there was no way they could deliver it in 30 minutes or less! What would she do differently if she went back? Sleep more and take better care of herself, which she reminds us in equally important to all of us here on Earth.
Next, Chuck turns to some of the big ideas in Cady’s book, starting with “Slow is fast.” While holding up the very first copy of the book Cady ever got, she talks about spacewalking and how haste can be problematic. She takes issue with the phrase, “There’s no I in TEAM” and how in real life, it’s actually about what each individual member brings to the team.
Part One of our interview with Cady ends with a discussion of the t-shirt she’s wearing from “People Love Art” who she met through her work with AstroAccess, a project dedicated to promoting disability inclusion in human space exploration by paving the way for disabled astronauts.
There’s plenty more of our interview with Cady, so please tune in in two weeks for Part 2. But, until then, you can find out more about her new book and everything else she’s up to on her website: https://www.cadycoleman.com/.
You can also find out more about AstroAccess here.
And please be sure to check out People Love Art, which shares 50% of their profits with their artists and donates 10% to causes of the artist’s choice.
(Please note that The LIUniverse receives no compensation for these links and mentions. We just like what they’re doing in the world!)
We hope you enjoy this episode of The LIUniverse, and, if you do, please support us on Patreon.
Credits for Images Used in this Episode:
– Micrometeorite pit on lunar sample – Xiaojia Zeng et. al., CC BY 4.0
– Cady working on liquid experiments on the Space Shuttle – NASA, Public Domain
– Tracy Caldwell Dyson viewing Earth from the ISS – NASA, Public Domain
– Cady at work on the Shuttle – NASA, Public Domain
#TheLIUniverse #CharlesLiu #AllenLiu #SciencePodcast #AstronomyPodcast #CadyColeman #NASA #astronaut #SpaceShuttle #ISS #SharingSpace #spacewalk #Change5 #LunarSampleReturnMission #DiTitaniumOxide #liquidphysics #Slowisfast #AstroAccess #PeopleLoveArt
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Does sound travel faster in space? Is the multiverse theory true? Can gravity escape a black hole? In our latest episode of our popular “Chuck GPT” series, Dr. Charles Liu and co-host Allen Liu welcome our Social Media/Patreon Community Director Stacey Severn to answer fan questions collected from Patreon patrons, students, Facebook and YouTube.
As always, though, we start off with the day’s joyfully cool cosmic thing: the recently released Euclid space telescope image of galactic cluster Abell 2390, which is about 2.7 billion light years away from Earth, in which more than 50,000 galaxies are visible. You’ll also hear about the Coma Cluster, the Virgo Cluster, the closest galactic cluster to us, and the planned Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope.
Our first fan question comes from Emil R. on Patreon: “I wonder what would happen, if you tied one end of a really, really long rope to the International Space Station and have the other end hang down all the way down in the Earth's atmosphere. Would the current speed of the ISS circling the globe counteract the fact that the rope is in the atmosphere and experiencing drag? Would people on airplanes be able to see a rope swing by? Would the end of the rope on the ISS be stretched out or loose, and would it drag the ISS down in its orbit?”
Allen, who loves this question, addresses orbital velocity, drag, momentum, conservation of energy, space tethers, sky hooks, space elevators, and the ISS. Chuck talks about having seen the Tethered Satellite System trailing behind the Space Shuttle through the telescope he was using for his doctoral dissertation in the 1990s!
Our first student question comes from Michael L.: “Is the multiverse theory true?” Chuck’s answer involves eternal inflation, bubble universes, quantum mechanics, many worlds, and, somehow, Schrödinger’s cat.
From Facebook, Steven B. asks: “We all know that warp drive is still science fiction. But what is developing with other kinds of propulsion? Have we reached the limit of chemical propellants? What is happening with ion drives and nuclear systems?” Allen reviews the state of the art, including Ad Astra’s VASIMIR engine, which we covered in our 2-part episode Star Trucking with Franklin Chang-Diaz and Miranda Chang.
Our next student question is from Roberto J.: “How was gravity created?” Chuck says that while we just don’t know for certain, gravity may have come into existence during the “Plank time” at the very start of our universe before cosmic inflation began.
YouTuber @UnexpectedBooks asks, “How can gravity be “transmitted” via gravitons? It seems that a black hole would have no mass, because gravitons, like everything else, couldn’t escape it.” Chuck explains that even though definitely black holes have mass, if gravitons exist, they must be able to leave the event horizon, and Allen points out that gravitational waves do just that.
Our last student question is from Omar: “Does sound travel faster in space?” Chuck describes how sound waves travel, and why there’s enough particulate matter in space to still allow it, possibly even faster than here on Earth.
We end on a Patreon question from Eric S.: “The Heisenberg uncertainty principle is a casualty of the particular mathematics we have used to explore the quantum world. If we were to adjust those mathematics to a less consistent but more complete axiomatic viewpoint, could it be possible to 'see deeper'?” Chuck and Allen’s answer involves high-order math, the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, string theory and quantum mechanics.
We hope you enjoy this episode of The LIUniverse, and, if you do, please support us on Patreon.
Credits for Images This Episode:
– Euclid telescope image of Abell 2390 – ESA/Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA, image processing by J.-C. Cuillandre (CEA Paris-Saclay), G. Anselmi, ESA license
– Virgo Cluster of Galaxies – Chris Mihos (Case Western Reserve University)/ESO, CC BY 4.0
– Coma Cluster of Galaxies – Nielander, Public Domain
– Hubble telescope image of Abell 2390 – NASA, ESA, & Johan Richard (Caltech, USA), Public Domain
– Roman Space Telescope under construction – NASA/Chris Gunn, Public Domain
– Space Elevator Artist’s concept – Andrei Sokolov
– The ISS in orbit – NASA, Public Domain
– The Tethered Satellite System – Space Shuttle – NASA, Public Domain (Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:STS-46_TSS-1_fully_extended.jpg)
– Many-worlds depiction of Schrödinger’s cat – Christian Schirm, Public Domain
– NEXIS Ion thruster – Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Public Domain
– Design of NASA & DARPA’s DRACO nuclear rocket – DARPA, Public Domain
– History of the universe diagram – NASA/WMAP Science Team, Public Domain
– Artist’s animation of gravitational waves – LIGO/T. Pyle, free to use
– Fourier transform of a signal – Wawo1102, Public Domain
– Waveform of same signal – Made with Desmos, Attribution
– Wavelet (Gabor) transform of same signal – Wawo1102, Public Domain
#TheLIUniverse #CharlesLiu #AllenLiu #SciencePodcast #AstronomyPodcast #Euclidspacetelescope #galacticcluster #Abell2390 #VirgoCluster #ComaCluster #darkmatter #darkenergy #orbitalvelocity #momentum #conservationofenergy #spacetethers #skyhooks #spaceelevators #ISS #InternationalSpaceStation #TetheredSatelliteSystem #SpaceShuttle #multiverse #theoryofthemultiverse #eternalinflation #bubbleuniverses #quantummechanics #manyworldstheory #schrodingerscat #soundwaves #blackhole #gravitons #gravity #Planktime #BigBang #Heisenberguncertaintyprinciple
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Is there really a music of the spheres? And why is space so inspirational for creativity? To ponder these cosmic questions, Dr. Charles Liu and co-host Allen Liu welcome noted composer and pianist Bruce Lazarus.
As always, though, we start off with the day’s joyfully cool cosmic thing, this time in honor of our guest: the fact that the movie “Oppenheimer” won the Academy Award for Best Original Score. Chuck mentions some other incredible musical scores, especially John William’s soundtrack to “Star Wars.” Bruce points out that Williams also did the theme song and soundtrack to the 1960s TV series, “Lost In Space.” And of course, his soundtracks for “Jurassic Park,” “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial,” and “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.”
Bruce has composed many musical pieces inspired by and about the cosmos, including
“Musical Explorations of Messier Star Clusters and Nebulae” and “Starry Messenger.”
He talks about how the early U.S. space program and the Mercury 7, and the U.S. World’s Fair in 1964 inspired him. And while he got away from space-themed music for a while after his time at Juilliard in the 1970s, Bruce estimates that about two thirds of his work over the last 20 years has been astronomy themed. He talks about being inspired by other musical works, from science fiction movie soundtracks like “Arrival” to a few classical pieces like “Colors of the Celestial City” and “Visions from Beyond” by Olivier Messiaen.
For our first student question, Ariella asks, “Is there really a music of the spheres?” To answer, Bruce quotes the 5th Century Roman philosopher Boethius, who wrote about how everything is vibrating, so everything has sound. We then listen to a portion of Bruce Lazarus’s piece, “Boethius Said.” Allen talks about how many aspects of our existence involve vibration and sound while Chuck brings up the Cosmic Microwave Background and Gravitational Wave Background.
Bruce talks about his cycle of 14 pieces for the solo piano inspired by the most commonly referenced Hubble images of the celestial objects found in the Messier Catalog (not to be confused with Messiaen), including Andromeda Galaxy (M31), Ring Nebula (M57), Eagle Nebula (M16), Sombrero Galaxy (M104), and the Pleiades (M45).
Our next student question comes from Gino, who asks, “Did you ever want to be a scientist before you became a composer?” Bruce explains that he’s always liked building things, so he began building music the way he’d built model airplanes, and at 14 years old decided he wanted to be a composer and also focused on the piano, for both composing and making money! The trio ends up discussing the original “Tron” – and believe it or not, it’s Bruce who brings it up, not our Geek-in-Chief Chuck!
Our last student question comes from Wally, who asks, “Why is space the most inspirational thing to you when writing music?” Bruce describes how space has been a large part of his life for as long as he can remember. He talks about the Veil Nebula, and why he didn’t include it in his Messier cycle. He also shares his experience watching the April 8, 2024 total solar eclipse, and how the reality of seeing it with his own eyes impacted him unexpectedly.
If you’d like to know more about Bruce, you can visit his website at www.brucelazaruscomposer.com.
We hope you enjoy this episode of The LIUniverse, and, if you do, please support us on Patreon.
Credits for Images Used in this Episode:
– NASA’s first astronauts, the “Mercury 7” – NASA, Public Domain
– Olivier Messiaen – Dutch National Archives, Public Domain
– Andromeda Galaxy (M31) – Kees Scherer, Public Domain
– Ring Nebula (M57) – NASA, ESA, and C. Robert O’Dell, Public Domain
– Eagle Nebula (M16) – NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA), Public Domain
– Sombrero Galaxy (M104) – NASA/ESA and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA), Public Domain
– Pleiades (M45) – NASA, ESA, AURA/Caltech, Palomar Observatory, Public Domain
– Crab Nebula (M1) – NASA, ESA, J. Hester and A. Loll, Public Domain
– Veil Nebula – Giuseppe Donatiello
– The April 8 2024 Total Solar Eclipse – NASA Headquarters / NASA/Keegan Barber
Credits for Music Used in this Episode:
– “Boethius Said”; Original Lyrics by Boethius, Music & Lyrics by Bruce Lazarus, performed by Cantabile Chamber Chorale, Directed by Rebecca Scott. Used with permission from Bruce Lazarus.
– “M1 Crab Nebula” from “Musical Explorations of the Messier Catalogue of Star Clusters and Nebulae.” Composed and performed by Bruce Lazarus. Used with permission from Bruce Lazarus.
#TheLIUniverse #CharlesLiu #AllenLiu #SciencePodcast #AstronomyPodcast #BruceLazarus #MusicoftheSpheres #CharlesMessier #MessierCatalog #Boethius #BoethiusSaid #MusicalExplorationsoftheMessierCatalogue #StarClusters #Nebulae #ColorsoftheCelestialCity #OlivierMessiaen #CelestialObjects #HubbleSpaceTelescope #SolarEclipse
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Do gravitons exist? What are blazars? How did our universe begin? To grapple with questions on a cosmological scale, Dr. Charles Liu and co-host Allen Liu welcome Dr. Ron Gamble, a theoretical astrophysicist at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.
As always, though, we start off with the day’s joyfully cool cosmic thing, the gravitational wave background. Luckily, we have the “cosmological - gravitational wave - black hole meister dude” Ron on board as our expert to unpack the concept. Ron’s explanation involves pulsars, pulsar timing arrays, and gravitational waves. You’ll hear about how ripples in spacetime can help us date the age. Ron compares the gravitational wave background to the cosmic microwave background, how both compare to sound waves, and how we decipher them.
We interrupt Ron’s flow for an audience question from Kelly for Dr. Gamble: Do gravitons exist? Ron explains why gravitons should exist for the force of gravity the same way that particles exist for each of the other fundamental forces. (And yes, bosons and fermions get discussed.)
Next, Chuck asks Ron about his journey to NASA, a path that began when he was 4 years old with a question and continued as a search for answers to this day. You’ll hear how he learned grad school level math 2 years before grad school so he’d be ready when he needed it to study non-linear gravitational wave theory. He explains why he had to relearn how to learn math and science, and how, after that, everything else was just like “building Legos.”
He's currently studying little understood objects called “black hole lasers” – relativistic black hole jets, or blazars. You’ll hear all about them, as well as learning about the work of Roger Penrose and Dr. Reva Kay Williams, the first black woman to get a PhD in theoretical astrophysics in the U.S. which lead to a Nobel Prize in Physics –unfortunately awarded only to Penrose, as Chuck and Ron discuss.
Our next cosmological question comes from Nicholas, who asks, “Is the big bang theory in trouble?” Not in trouble, Ron says, but incomplete. We have a pretty good idea of cosmology, but we’re still testing it, and we don’t know exactly what happened or what we might find.
Ron is also a wide-ranging artist, and he shows off some of his work on the walls of his office, from artistic depictions of equations to visions of urban decay. (Sorry, podcast listeners – but Chuck does his best to describe what they look like!) If you’re interested in his work, you can find it in his new online store at www.theartoftheory.com.
Finally, Chuck asks about what it’s like to be an artist and a NASA scientist. Ron talks about his role as the Director of the NASA Cosmic Pathfinders Program.
You can keep up with Ron on TikTok, Instagram and Twitter (X) at @dr_gamble21. Or you can visit his website at www.theoreticallydrgamble.com.
We hope you enjoy this episode of The LIUniverse, and, if you do, please support us on Patreon.
Credits for Images Used in this Episode:
– Animation of a Pulsar – NASA SVS, Public domain
– The planned Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) – NASA, Public Domain
– The four fundamental forces – NASA, Public Domain
– A 4x4 matrix representing a tensor – Public Domain text
– A Christoffel Symbol – Public Domain text
– Illustration of a black hole jet – NASA/JPL-Caltech, Public Domain
– Dr. Reva Kay Williams – (Fair Use)
– A cosmology timeline of the universe – NASA/WMAP Science Team, Public Domain
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Volcanoes in space...supervolcanoes here on Earth... and lava lakes everywhere! To get an expert opinion on eruptions, Dr. Charles Liu and co-host Allen Liu welcome Dr. Sam Tramontano, a Post-Doctoral researcher in geology and Earth sciences at The American Museum of Natural History.
As always, though, we start off with the day’s joyfully cool cosmic thing, the Juno spacecraft’s two recent close passes (under 1000 miles) of Jupiter’s moon Io and the amazing images of volcanic activity and Io’s lava lake “Loki Patera” with an island in its center!
Allen and Samantha dive into the fascinating and little-understood mechanics of lava lakes, which continue to remain liquid at their surface and persist for years at a time despite tidal fluctuations. You’ll hear about the Erta Ale lava lake in Ethiopia and the Kilauea lava lake in Hawaii.
For our first audience question, Ellis asks, “Are there volcanoes on Venus?” Sam explains how studying volcanism on Venus is a promising avenue but that we don’t yet have a clear answer to that question. She talks about how scientists are only now untangling the Magellan mission data that suggests geologic activity on Venus.
You’ll find out how Sam, a sax player who went to Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts (the school in Fame), ended up falling in love with geology and never looking back. And you’ll hear all about the interesting geology – including billion-year-old rocks and “mica book crystals” – that you can find in and around New York City.
Our next audience question is from Bianca, who asks, “How did global warming begin?” Samantha explains the difference between normal climate cycles and the climate crisis we’re in now as a result of human activity. We discuss the impact of volcanic super-eruptions on atmospheric CO2, including prehistoric eruptions like the three Yellowstone eruptions and the rifting of the Atlantic ocean and splitting of Pangaea. Dr. Tramontano, a self-described “Ash Lady” who is currently studying active volcanoes on Iceland’s Reykanes Peninsula, explains how we would have at least a year’s notice if something that large were to happen in the future. We end the episode with Sam describing what eruptions and cooling lava flows sound like.
If you’d like to know more about Sam, you can follow her on Instagram @samtramrox and X @samtramrox. And if you’re a young undergraduate in Earth Sciences, you should check out her YouTube channel @EarthOpticsVideos to see what rocks look like under the microscope.
We hope you enjoy this episode of The LIUniverse, and, if you do, please support us on Patreon.
Credits for Images Used in this Episode:
– Columnar basalts in the Palisades – Mark Wyman, CC BY 2.0
– The Staten Island Ferry – Estormiz, Public domain
– Jupiter and Io seen by the Juno spacecraft – Andrea Luck, CC BY 2.0
– Io’s lava lake “Loki Patera” and its island – Cropped from NASA/JPL/SwRI/MSSS/Simeon Schmauß, CC BY 3.0
– Erta Ale lava lake in Ethiopia – Alton Chang, CC BY 3.0
– Magellan Spacecraft leaving the Space Shuttle – NASA, Public Domain
– Rocks near Orchard Beach – Peter Romano, Public Domain
– Ash fall from the “Lava Creek” Yellowstone eruption – Metrodyne, Public Domain
– Volcanic calderas in Yellowstone – National Park Service, Public Domain
– January Eruption on Iceland’s Reykjanes Peninsula – Veðurstofa Íslands, Attribution
#TheLIUniverse #CharlesLiu #AllenLiu #SciencePodcast #AstronomyPodcast #Palisades #SuperVolcano #SpaceVolcano #EarthScience #Geology #Venus #Io #ErtaAle #Kilauea #LavaLake #LokiPatera #Iceland #ReykanesPeninsula #VolcanicEruption #YellowstoneEruption #Volcanism
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How does the brain actually work? And is there anything we can do when it doesn’t? To find out, Dr. Charles Liu and co-host Allen Liu welcome Dr. Nicki Driscoll, CTO and Co-Founder of NeuroBionics.
As always, though, we start off with the day’s joyfully cool cosmic thing, the recently announced discovery of Super-Earth TOI-715 b that is within its star’s habitable zone. It’s roughly 1.5x the diameter of Earth and orbits an M-4 Red Dwarf star in a zone where liquid water could exist and be stable on the surface of the planet. And where there’s liquid water, there is the possibility for life.
Charles and Nicki quickly move from the search for intelligent to the actual activities inside the brain itself that give rise to consciousness. As Nicki points out, as incredible as it is that our brains can ponder what’s out there, it’s equally incredible how little we know about what’s inside them... especially when things go wrong in the brain.
Dr. Driscoll explains stochastic processes and brain complexity, with over a billion neurons, each behaving like its own little computer with thousands of connections with other neurons called synapses.
You’ll hear about white matter and gray matter, and what they have in common with the interstate highway system. Nicki points out how humans frequently create systems that mirror efficient systems found in nature. Chuck points out that when we map the large scale structure of the universe, including the cosmic background radiation and dark matter, it looks like a brain!
Then it’s time for a question for Nicki from the audience. Madison H. asks, “What is the most interesting thing about the brain that impacts the way humans think?” Nicki settles on the fact that the brain uses multiple mechanisms for signaling, from electrical signals in the neurons to chemical signaling via neurotransmitters and chemicals in the brain, and how they can vary due to minute differences.
Nicki explains the field of neurotechnology, where her company NeuroBionics creates devices that allow us to interact with the brain, recording and even stimulating activity in the brain. She describes the two different areas of neurotechnology.
The first, the domain of Elon Musk’s company Neuralink, is recording neural activity with brain computer interfaces that use electrodes to record brain activity and then try to decode that activity to try to help people with paralysis or who are unable to communicate.
The second area, which involves stimulating the brain, is called neuromodulation and is very useful for therapy for people with epilepsy and Parkinson’s disease. NeuroBionics has developed a technique for neuromodulation that doesn’t require invasive surgery by feeding very thin fiber devices into the brain through catheters in blood vessels using the same process that neurosurgeons already use in treating strokes.
Our next question comes from Elene, who asks Nicki, “Since you have your PhD, do you think it was worth it or gratifying going through that many years of schooling?” Nicki answers with a resounding yes, for herself, but explains that it depends on your career goals.
Elene also asks, “Do you think AI will ever reach a point where it will start dangerously affecting our day to day life such as job opportunities?” Charles and Nicki agree that AI is a useful tool, especially for scientists, but that the ability to generate misinformation and deep fakes is already troubling and that, like nuclear power, we should be able to maximize the positive use while minimizing the worst excesses.
The subject turns to AI and brain science in games and science fiction, and Nicki describes the first book in a series she’s reading, called “Children of Time.” In it, a character uploads their consciousness into a computer, and act which is still most decidedly in the realm of fiction. You’ll hear about the still incomplete efforts to map the 212 neurons in the brains of C. Elegans, a simple primitive worm with a simple brain structure that scientists use to study the activity of individual neurons and small quantities of synapses.
Before we run out of time, Chuck asks Nicki whether he should freeze his brain when he dies and whether supercomputers could be used to recreate who he is – but to find out the surprising answer to that question (or perhaps not so surprising after all), you’ll need to watch or listen to the episode.
If you’d like to know more about Dr. Driscoll, follow NeuroBionics on LinkedIn or visit neurobionics.io.
We hope you enjoy this episode of The LIUniverse, and, if you do, please support us on Patreon.
Credits for Images Used in this Episode:
– Illustration of Super-Earth TOI-715 b – NASA/JPL-Caltech, Public Domain
– Map of “white matter” in the brain – Xavier Gigandet et. al. CC BY 2.5
– A growing slime mold – Christian Grenier, Public Domain
– A large-scale simulation of the universe – Andrew Pontzen and Fabio Governato, CC BY 2.0
– C. Elegans worms – ZEISS Microscopy, CC BY 2.0t
#TheLIUniverse #CharlesLiu #AllenLiu #SciencePodcast #AstronomyPodcast #neurobionics #NickiDriscoll #Stochasticprocesses #neurons #synapses #whitematter #graymatter #neuralactivity #Neuralink #braincomputerinterfaces #neuromodulation #epilepsy #Parkinsonsdisease #AI #brainscience #ChildrenofTime #CElegans #supercomputers
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The total solar eclipse is almost here! In this special episode of The LIUniverse, Dr. Charles Liu and co-host Allen Liu bring you both the basics and some more in-depth investigations of how eclipses work, how to see them, and what makes them so unique. This episode includes clips from Chuck’s recent public talk at the College of Staten Island to a packed house. So, if you hear some background chatter, it’s the audience getting as excited about the eclipse as we are.
Today’s joyfully cool cosmic thing is, of course, the eclipse itself! Dr. Liu discusses why total solar eclipses are so rare at any given spot on the planet, and how illustrations of eclipses can miss the mark. While a total eclipse will happen somewhere on Earth every year or two, each is only visible in a narrow band, so to see one you need to get lucky – or travel.
With a path over land stretching from Mazatlán, Mexico (where Dr. Liu saw a previous eclipse in 1991) through Newfoundland, Canada, there are already tens of millions of people in place to see this astronomical wonder this time around. Millions more will travel to join them. Since the Moon’s shadow races across the landscape at about 1,000 miles per hour, Chuck likens the visual effect to something out of Lord of the Rings.
Speaking of rings, the “diamond ring effect” and the “Baily’s beads” will become visible right before totality as the sun peeks through the Moon’s valleys. Chuck and Allen talk about how to protect your eyes so to enjoy these last rays of sun safely.
Dr. Liu shares how best to get yourself into the ~100 mile wide path of totality. One piece of advice: Don’t try to battle the traffic driving up on the morning of the 8th!
What if you can’t reach totality? Charles explains that 99% of the best parts of an eclipse happen in that last 1% of the eclipse where the Sun becomes completely covered. Don’t worry if you can’t make it to the path of totality – Charles and Allen share cool stuff you can watch for including a method for calculating the true size of the Moon (link below).
Dr. Liu also explains his idea about how to have the most fun with the eclipse, and why his favorite 2017 eclipse photo isn’t a masterpiece.
If you’re a fan of the LIUniverse, you know we love questions. At Dr. Liu’s recent public talk at the College of Staten Island, he fielded live questions from the audience which we’ve included here. The first is about a comet called 12P Pons-Brooks that you can spot in the direction of the sun during the eclipse, perhaps just on the edge of visibility with your unaided eye.
The next question is about how we are able to predict eclipses so far in advance. Allen explains how the Babylonians used Lunar eclipses (or “Blood Moons”) as the key to predict Solar eclipses. Allen also adds his own calculations about where else in the solar system you can see a total eclipse – it’s often said that the Earth is the only planet where total eclipses happen, but that might only be partially correct. Also, find out where you’d need to park a spaceship to create your own eclipse whenever you want!
Our last question ponders why the Sun throws out such large and bright flares and coronal streamers which become visible as fiery red and ghostly white spikes coming from the Sun during an eclipse. The answer explains how the Sun is like a pot of boiling water, with some fun science terms thrown in for flavor! Can you say “magnetohydrodynamics” three times fast? We conclude the discussion with a little more Solar physics: how we’ve recently sent a space probe into those very same coronal streamers, and how the Sun is nearing the peak of its 11 year cycle, offering some bonus chances to test out your eclipse glasses.
The LIUniverse wants to help you have the best, safest, and most informed experience for the celestial display of the decade. We hope you enjoy this episode. Please support us on Patreon.
How to measure the Moon’s size.
Smarter Every Day’s ISS video.
Credits for Images Used in Episode
– Baily’s beads, 2017 total solar eclipse – NASA/Aubrey Gemignani, Public Domain
– Diamond ring, 2017 total solar eclipse – NASA/Aubrey Gemignani, Public Domain
– The ISS in front of 2017 eclipse – NASA/Bill Ingalls, CC BY 2.0
– Comet 12P Pons-Brooks – Nielander, Public Domain
– A Total Lunar Eclipse in January 2019 – Giuseppe Donatiello, Public domain
– Phobos in front of the Sun (from Perseverance rover) – NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS/SSI, Public Domain
– Jupiter and Galilean Moons (photos combined) – NASA/JPL/DLR, Public Domain
– The bubbling surface of the Sun – NSO/NSF/AURA, CC BY 4.0
– Solar Flare seen from Skylab in 1973 – NASA, Skylab 4 crew, Public Domain
– Coronal streamers seen by Parker Solar Probe – NASA, Public Domain
– The giant sunspot in Feb. 2024 – NASA SOHO space probe, Public Domain
#TheLIUniverse #CharlesLiu #AllenLiu #SciencePodcast #AstronomyPodcast #TotalSolarEclipse #GreatAmericanEclipse #eclipse #sunspot #coronalstreamer #solarflare #Sun #Comet12PPonsBrooks #Baily’sbeads #Diamondring #magnetohydrodynamics #Jupiter #GalileanMoons #Moon
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What is the science behind the science fiction in Three Body Problem? In our second episode of “ChuckGPT” Dr. Charles Liu and co-host Allen Liu welcome two members of our production team: Jon Barnes, our Editor, and Stacey Severn, our Social Media/Patreon Community Director, to delve into the questions and answers posed by the award-winning novel and new series on Netflix.
As always, though, we start off with the day’s joyfully cool cosmic thing: the recent discovery of an exoplanet by high school students in Mountain View, California in collaboration with the SETI Institute.
The search for extraterrestrial intelligence and exoplanets that could bear life brings us to the topic of our second episode of ChuckGPT: Three Body Problem. Dr. Liu will be answering questions about the Hugo award-winning Chinese novel by Liu Cixin and new television series on Netflix.
Jon, it turns out, is a big fan of Three Body Problem and he has a bunch of questions about the scientific reality of the science fiction in the story, which Chuck and Allen are happy to answer. (NOTE: We tried to avoid any spoilers for anyone who hasn’t read the book or seen the first three episodes of the series yet, except for the last question, which comes with a mild SPOILER ALERT.)
Jon’s first question deals with the giant antenna on Radar Peak in the story. In the series, the antenna is turned on and a flock of birds flying by drop dead as they pass.
Chuck dives into the physics of both microwave radiation and radio waves, and why even our most powerful transmitters don’t emit enough energy to have that kind of impact. Allen describes the difference between ionizing radiation and non-ionizing radiation, further pushing the answer into the realm of science fiction, not science. Stacey asks about the relationship between magnetic fields and bird migration – Chuck explains that it is possible that magnetic transmissions could disorient the birds, but not kill them.
The next question is about whether suns can come in different colors like in the “Three Body” VR game in the story. The answer, according to Dr. Liu, is, yes – but primarily only because of their surface temperature, not their chemical makeup. Allen brings up the impact of the viewer’s atmosphere on their color perception of the star’s light.
Jon’s next questions is about lifeforms that can dehydrate themselves to survive unstable, life-threatening weather cycles and atmospheric conditions. Allen brings up the fact that tardigrades can do exactly that, allowing them even to survive in the vacuum of space. He also discusses some of the chaotic orbits we know about that could result in stable and unstable orbital periods.
Next up, Stacey asks one of Jon’s questions about whether snowflakes could be made of nitrogen and oxygen if the atmosphere is cold enough. The answer takes us from the nitrogen glaciers on Pluto to the methane rivers on Saturn’s moon Titan. And yes, depending on atmospheric pressure and temperature, there is a specific range where you could end up with nitrogen and oxygen snow.
For his last question (SPOILER ALERT), Jon asks about whether an advanced civilization could send out a message at the speed of light, and if so, could they use their sun as an amplifier to increase the strength of the signal. Allen and Chuck discuss how you might be able to use the sun for gravitational lensing, but that it would be more likely to drown out the signal than amplify it.
We hope you enjoy this episode of The LIUniverse, and, if you do, please support us on Patreon.
Credits for Images Used in this Episode:
– The Electromagnetic spectrum. Higher energy is to the right. – Edited from NASA, Public Domain
– Janus and Epimetheus viewed by the Cassini probe – NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute, Public Domain
– Orbit of 469219 Kamoʻoalewa, an Earth quasi-satellite – NASA/JPL-Caltech, Public Domain
– A tardigrade – Peter von Bagh, Public Domain
– Pluto with its heart shaped Tombaugh Regio – NASA/JHU APL/Southwest Research Institute/Alex Parker, Public Domain
– The surface of Titan from the Huygens lander – ESA/NASA/JPL/University of Arizona; processed by Andrey Pivovarov, Public Domain
– A galaxy acting as a gravitational lens – ESA/Hubble & NASA, Public Domain
#TheLIUniverse #CharlesLiu #AllenLiu #SciencePodcast #AstronomyPodcast #ThreeBodyProblem #microwaveradiation #radiowaves #transmitter #electromagneticspectrum #ionizingradiation #nonionizingradiation #magneticfields #birds #aliens #SETI #searchforextraterrestrialintelligence #tardigrade #nitrogensnow #Pluto #Titan #Saturn #gravitationallens
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What does the study of archeology, the study of the human past, offer to the astronomers of today? To find out, Dr. Charles Liu and co-host Allen Liu welcome archaeology expert Hannah Liu, MEd, to connect the past, the present, and the future of astronomy in an episode Allen has described as, “A Fistful of Lius.”
As always, though, we start off with the day’s joyfully cool cosmic thing, a recent scientific paper just published by archaeologist Federico Bernardini and astronomer Paolo Molaro which suggests that a 3,000-year-old stone tablet discovered near Trieste, Italy may be the oldest European star chart yet discovered.
Hannah, who is an expert in archaeology, takes us back to the hilltop area where the tablet was found, which had been occupied since the Iron Age, and was more than likely a farming area. She explains how early civilizations used the stars to keep track of planting and threshing seasons, which could support the theory that the tablet has an astronomical purpose.
Then, it’s time for our first question. Hannah teaches History at the Pingree School in South Hamilton, Massachusetts, which is where we got the questions we answer on today’s episode. Maeve asks, “Are we the only living things on earth who have a sense of how small we are in the universe?”
The Lius answer includes ancient Greeks, sea turtles who use stars for directions and moths that fly towards light thinking it’s the moon, and the beginnings of astronomy and astrology! Hannah explains how constellations and asterisms are cross-cultural, even though they have different names. In particular, The Pleiades is an example of star cluster relevant to cultures around the world.
Coming back to that 3000-year-old star chart, Hannah breaks down the 29 markings on the tablet, and how 28 of them are connectable to constellations that we know like Scorpius, Cassiopeia The Pleiades, and Orion. However, the 29th marking, near Orion’s Belt, still remains a mystery, and until we can pin it down, we can’t definitively claim it’s really a star chart.
Our next question comes from Abby, who asks, “Where do you think human involvement in space exploration is going?” Allen runs down the planned manned missions beyond low Earth orbit, where we haven’t gone since our last trip to the moon in 1972, along with the reasons we haven’t. We also hear how the stars were very important to ancient explorers like the Greeks and the Phoenicians, as well as the ancient Polynesian Wayfinders, who used the stars as their guides in their ongoing excursions around the world.
After brief sojourns into Star Trek and The Odyssey, we dive into ancient alien visitors, gods, and supernatural forces. Hannah points out the inherent Western biases in theories that “ancient aliens” were responsible for building the Pyramids and other impressive accomplishments that just happened to have been created in non-Western cultures of the past.
Charles explains that in the past, some people who used science and astronomy, like midwives and scientists, were accused of witchcraft and other equally disparaging and unfounded claims. This could create a divide between science and religion, but luckily, not an unbridgeable one – you’ll hear about Gerbert of Aurillac, a scientist who became Pope Sylvester II and brought the Abacus back to Europe, and how the Catholic Church itself established the Vatican Observatory which has made numerous discoveries over the years.
Finally, we get into the history and anthropology of museums, a subject about which Hannah will be teaching a course in the upcoming semester. What is the role of a museum? Is it science, education, or something else? Is it a place where we hold our treasures, or, increasingly, one where we recognize we hold other people’s treasures, some of which were once plundered and taken from those people against their desires? And yes, we do bring up situations like the Elgin Marbles and the British Museum’s refusal to return those artifacts to Greece... especially in light of the new U.S. law regarding repatriation of artifacts.
We hope you enjoy this episode of The LIUniverse, and, if you do, please support us on Patreon.
Credits for Images Used in this Episode:
– 3,000-year-old stone tablet from Italy – Bernardini et al., CC BY-SA 4.0
– Trieste in Italy – F l a n k e r, Yiyi, and Allen Liu, Public Domain
– Sirius (bottom) in the night sky – Akira Fujii, Public Domain
– A thresher (Thanks Jon.) – SteveStrummer, Public Domain
– NASA’s SLS Rocket – NASA/Joel Kowsky, Public Domain
– SpaceX’s Starship rocket under construction – NASA, Public Domain
– Austronesian societies range – Obsidian Soul, CC BY 4.0
– Gerbert of Aurillac, Pope Sylvester II – Meister der Reichenauer Schule, Public Domain
– Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope in Arizona – Andromeda321, Public Domain
– Parthenon Marbles at the British Museum – Ejectgoose, Public Domain
– Map of Latin-descended languages in Europe – Servitje, Public Domain
#TheLIUniverse #CharlesLiu #AllenLiu #SciencePodcast #AstronomyPodcast #starchart #astrology #astronomy #TheOdyssey #Scorpius #Cassiopeia #ThePleiades #Orion #OrionsBelt #GerbertofAurillac #PopeSylvesterII #CatholicChurch #VaticanObservatory #NASA #SLS #SpaceX #Starship #ElginMarbles #BritishMuseum #PolynesianWayfinders #Greeks #Phoenicians
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How can college students who would like to work in the space industry and at NASA get their foot in the door? And what is the purpose of the Lucy mission to the Trojan Asteroids? To get the answers to both of these questions, Dr. Charles Liu and co-host Allen Liu welcome Freya Holloway, a NASA L’SPACE Lab Tech at ASU.
As always, though, we start off with the day’s joyfully cool cosmic thing: the latest, most accurate coloration of Neptune. It turns out, the rich, deep blue Neptune we’ve come to know and love was placed by scientists to increase contrast which are no longer necessary. And Neptune is now a much lighter tone of blue, more in line with the current, turquoise coloration of Uranus.
And with that, we turn to the Lucy mission to investigate the “Trojan Asteroids” which share Jupiter’s orbit around our sun. Lucy recently did a flyby of the asteroid Dinkinesh and its moon Selam, discovering that it actually not one asteroid but three distinct bodies. Freya Holloway is an ambassador for Lucy, and she explains the purpose of the flyby and brings us up to speed on where the mission is at. In December this year, Lucy will be making her second Earth gravity assist flyby to build up momentum to slingshot her towards Jupiter. And in April 2025, Lucy will encounter her second main belt asteroid, Donald Johanson. That asteroid is named for the paleontologist involved in the discovery of the Lucy fossil (the mission’s namesake) in Ethiopia in the 1970s, and who has actually been involved in the current Lucy mission.
Freya explains why the mission is aptly named. Trojan asteroids are fossils, astronomically speaking, and they may be able to teach us something about the birth and evolution of our solar system the same way that Lucy has taught us about early hominids and our own evolution.
You’ll learn all about this unique population of asteroids, which are far less familiar to most people than either the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter or the Kuiper Belt beyond Neptune. One group precedes Jupiter in its orbit around the sun and the other orbits behind, and both groups are relatively pristine and date back to the origins of our solar system.
In this episode, we have a special set of questions for Freya that all come from students who attend Notre Dame Academy on Staten Island. First up, Isabella wants to know who Freya’s favorite scientist is, and also, does she have a favorite song to listen to while studying. Freya tells us about Dr. Eugene Parker, the heliophysicist who predicted the existence of the solar wind and after whom the Parker Solar Probe and the “The Parker Instability” is named. For the second part, Freya listens to David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance” as a pick me up for long study sessions.
For the first time in the history of The LIUniverse, Charles then brings up a second joyfully cool cosmic thing: the recent meteor (a bolide) that broke up over Germany whose pieces have been collected, many by students! It turns out that Freya collects meteorites, although none which she found on her own. Her favorite is the lunar meteorite she keeps on display at home.
The next question from Notre Dame Academy comes from Caitlin Sweeney, who asks Freya, “What’s the coolest thing about labs in college?” Freya describes how, compared to high school, labs in college are her favorite part of college and are much more interactive.
Another Notre Dame Academy students asks, “What was the biggest challenge you overcame and how did you learn from it?” For Freya, that was finding her place in the academic and professional world. She tells the story of how in 2015, she was a single mom with two young children, one of whom was 8 and just diagnosed with leukemia who lost her job she loved in finance at the Columbus Ohio Zoo. She made the decision to show her children that no matter what life throws at us, we can still be who we want to be, and she enrolled in college and embarked on an entirely new direction.
As a student, Freya applied for and went through the NASA L’SPACE Program (Lucy Student Pipeline Accelerator and Competency Enabler), a workforce development program that consists of two academies. In one, the Mission Concept Academy, students work as a team to complete a mission task. In the other academy, students will work as a team to introduce new technology ideas to NASA. NASA chooses a winner each semester and gives them a $10,000 seed fund to develop the idea. After completing the Academies, Freya became an intern on the Lucy mission. She began as a Lucy ambassador, and then came back to serve as an outreach mentor and a student success advisor.
If you’re a student of at least 18 years of age and enrolled in a US college or university and you’d like to learn more about NASA’s L’SPACE Program, visit their website at lspace.asu.edu. You can follow them on Instagram @l_spaceprogram, where Freya helps manage the account, or at NASA L’SPACE Program on LinkedIn and Facebook.
We hope you enjoy this episode of The LIUniverse, and, if you do, please support us on Patreon.
Credits for Images Used in this Episode:
– Neptune calibrated in true color – NASA w/ color by Ardenau4, Public domain
– Neptune in exaggerated color – NASA, Public Domain
– Uranus in true color – NASA w/ color by Ardenau4, Public domain
– The Lucy spacecraft – NASA, public domain
– Dinkinesh and its moon Selam – NASA/Goddard/SwRI/Johns Hopkins APL, public domain
– The Lucy fossil – 120 on Wikimedia commons, CC BY 2.5
– Diagram of the main belt and Trojan asteroids – Mdf at English Wikipedia, Public Domain
– Dr. Eugene Parker in 2018 – NASA, public domain
– Model of the Parker Solar Probe – NASA, public domain
– A bolide in the sky – Thomas Grau, Public Domain
#TheLIUniverse #CharlesLiu #AllenLiu #SciencePodcast #AstronomyPodcast #FreyaHolloway #Lucy #Neptune #Uranus #Dinkinesh #Selam #TrojanAsteroids #Jupiter #EugeneParker #ParkerSolarProbe #ParkertInstability #asteroid #bolide #meteorite #L'SPACE #NASA #NotreDameAcademy #MissionConceptAcademy
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Welcome to the Season 3 premiere of The LIUniverse, your happy half-hour dose of cosmic conversation and geeky banter with host Dr. Charles Liu! In this episode, Chuck and co-host Allen Liu welcome back Dr. Jimmy Negus, who was our guest on our very first episode, to talk about Solar Flares, “Deep Space Nine,” and more.
As some of you may remember, Jimmy was only a PhD candidate back then, with his research focused on active galactic nuclei, including black holes, quasars and more. Now that he’s got his doctorate, Jimmy has pivoted to studying solar physics, which is the perfect lead in to discuss the upcoming Great American Eclipse, the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024 that has them – and the rest of America – buzzing with excitement.
As always, though, we start off with the day’s “Joyfully Cool Cosmic Thing” – the discovery of a pulsar in a binary system with an unknown and mysterious object that seems to be somewhere between the mass of a neutron star and a black hole by astronomers using the radio telescopes in the MeerKAT array in the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO). Jimmy explains that the leading theory may be that it is a smaller mass black hole than we’ve yet observed that was created by the collision of two neutron stars. Special thanks to our friends at the All Things Unexplained podcast (@allthingsunexplained) for bringing today’s JCCT to our attention!
Our first question of the day – and the season! – comes from audience member Makalya, who asks, “What are the chances of having black holes consume each other, becoming giant black holes, and slowly start growing from there?”
Pretty high, it turns out. Dr. Negus explains how we use gravitational waves to deduce the frequency of black hole mergers in the universe. If we look across the entire observable universe, there are between 200,000-400,000 mergers EVERY YEAR! Of course, that includes all types of black holes. If we’re only looking Jimmy estimates only about 10% of that number are collisions of supermassive black holes. And we’ve got a little while before that happens to our supermassive black hole, which will someday collide with Andromeda’s – something on the order of 4 billion years or so.
Moving on, Jimmy tells us about his new gig at The University of Colorado, Boulder, where he stayed on as a research faculty member after getting his PhD. He’s now analyzing, calibrating and validating data from NOAA’s GOES-18 satellite (GOES is a suite of Geostationary, Environmental Operational Satellites, the longest running continuous stream of satellites, first launched in 1974.) In addition to its weather-sensing technology that points down at the Earth, the satellite carries X-ray and UV sensors that point towards the sun to track space weather.
Next up, we turn to the impending Solar Max period of our solar cycle, where the magnetic field of the sun completely flips every 11 years. Jimmy discusses the 2025 peak of the solar cycle, how solar emissions like X-Class Solar Flares can impact us. Charles points out that previous solar maxes have even taken down satellites, and Jimmy describes various ways we work to mitigate the damage from the next flare.
Speaking of which, for our next question Shana asks whether a solar flare can set her phone on fire. Jimmy explains why we’re not in danger here on Earth, thanks to technological advancements, but that a satellite disruption could disrupt service temporarily. He describes the Carrington Event of September 1859 during solar cycle 10, which was the most intense geomagnetic storm ever recorded, and actually caused some telegraph wires to burst into flame.
Finally, Chuck turns our focus to our obsession with science fiction. We revisit “The Expanse,” which Jimmy just finished watching, and while good, “certainly wasn’t a perfect show. It wasn’t “Deep Space Nine,” my favorite.” Chuck posits that Voyager was better, but the two wisely reserve judgment on the new Star Trek shows and sticking with the classics.
If you’d like to keep up with Dr. Jimmy Negus, you can visit his website at www.jimmynegus.com and @spacebound_negus on Instagram.
We hope you enjoy this episode of The LIUniverse, and, if you do, please support us on Patreon.
Credits for Images Used in this Episode:
– Path of the April 8 2024 eclipse through the USA – NASA SVS/ Michala Garrison, Public domain
– Radio telescopes in the MeerKAT array – Square Kilometre Array Organisation (SKAO) / South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO) CC BY 3.0
– Animation of a Pulsar – NASA SVS, Public domain
– GOES-18 before launch – NOAA Satellites, Public domain
– An X-class flare in 2012 – NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Public domain
– The Solar Dynamics Observatory before launch – NASA/Jim Grossmann
#theliuniverse #charlesliu #allenliu #sciencepodcast #astronomypodcast #jamesnegus #jimmynegus #universityofcolorado #astronomy #astrophysics #totalsolareclipse #greatamericaneclipse #quasar #blackhole #activegalacticnucleus #agn #theexpanse #deepspacenine #supermassiveblackholes #solarmax #xclasssolarflares #solarcycle #neutronstar #carringtonevent #NOAA #GOES18 #satellite #MeerKAT #southafricanradioastronomyobservatory #SARAO
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What happens to one sun of a binary pair if the other goes supernova? Can we mitigate the greenhouse effect? How big should a telescope be? For our Season 2 finale, we’re answering fan questions from YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook. To bring those questions to life, Dr. Charles Liu and co-host Allen Liu welcome two members of the LIUniverse social media team, “Vinyl Benjy” Schoenfeld, our TikTok manager, and Stacey Severn, our Social Media Director.
As always, though, we start off with the season’s final joyfully cool cosmic thing, the most recent image of Uranus by the James Webb Space Telescope. Taken using the JWST’s infrared imaging capabilities, rather than visible light, this incredibly beautiful photo of Uranus clearly shows its 7 spectacular rings and 14 moons.
Now, on to your questions! First, Stacey reads a question from YouTube fan Darker Void Scientist, who asks, “Wouldn’t some violently spinning galaxies produce strong magnetic fields that act as a barrier to some spectrum of traveling waves?”
To answer, Charles gets to discuss the Zeeman Effect and the Parker Instability. He explains that entire galaxies can’t spin fast enough, but that violent spinning does occur and produce magnetic fields closer to the supermassive black holes in the center of those galaxies.
Benjy reads our next question, from YouTube fan Mark Caesar 4443: “When stars go very near black holes and get sling-shotted around them, what would we see of them in terms of time dilation? Surely we would see them slow down as they approach the black hole, of course, that is assuming we can actually observe them.”
Chuck dives into what we would be able to perceive at all, from our perspective, and why we would see color shifts but not necessarily the impact of time dilation that the star itself would experience.
Allen tackles the next question, from Randy Starnes on Facebook, who wants to know whether we could take a rechargeable battery and use it to power a plasma rocket. Our co-host explains that while rechargeable batteries wouldn’t generate enough energy for a plasma engine, lithium-ion rechargeable batteries are used by Rocket Lab for the electric pumps on their reusable Electron rockets.
Stacey next asks another question from YouTube, from @sbkarajan: “How do NASA or anyone measure distance from the planet to the Sun? I heard for Earth they measure the distance to Mars or Venus transit using Keppler’s Third Law. Is it the only way?”
Chuck explains that when humanity was still stuck on Earth, that was the only way. But since we have more tactics at our disposal, from satellites to radar signals, to do far more accurate measurements, even at vast distances.
Next up, @frankwestphal8532 from YouTube: “What would happen to the other star in a supermassive star binary system if one of the stars ‘supernova-ed’ before the other?” It turns out that happens all of the time... and none of the outcomes tend to be good for the other star. But Frank’s not done, and his follow up question about the early universe, binary-system supernovae, and the creation of supermassive black holes is a bit of a chin-scratcher for Chuck!
Stacey’s next question comes via Instagram from our friends CJ Dearinger and Dr. Mounce on the “All Things – Unexplained” podcast: “When will astrophysics encounter/present undeniable proof of a new life form?” Predictions, obstacles, and discussion of alien cryptids ensue.
In another Instagram question, Ben Jordans asks, “How do you perceive the current efforts to mitigate the greenhouse effect? Are you of the opinion that we will succeed in mastering this problem, and if so, how?”
Chuck explains the greenhouse effect, on Earth as well as on Venus and Mars, and the difference between the effect itself and human involvement in it. He and Allen disagree as to how long it might take to redress the problem, while Stacey and Benjy jump in with their more pessimistic concerns about climate change, extreme weather, and the future.
Benjy gets the last question, from @emiliotorres2718 on YouTube: “How do we go about deciding how big we want a telescope to be? Is it simply the bigger the telescope we make, the farther we’ll be able to see into the universe?”
Chuck says the simple answer is yes, but the actual answer is more complicated. To hear it, you’ll have to watch or listen in to the final episode of Season 2 of The LIUniverse!
We hope you enjoy The LIUniverse, and, if so, please support us on Patreon. We’ll return for Season 3 in 2024.
Image Credits:
–Uranus and moons by JWST – NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Public Domain
–Time-lapse of stars near Milky Way’s central black hole – ESO/MPE, CC BY 4.0
–Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket – NASA Kennedy Space Center / Rocket Lab, Public Domain
–The Hobby–Eberly Telescope – Zereshk, CC BY 3.0
–3D model of Parker Solar Probe – NASA, Public Domain
–Chandra X-ray Observatory on the Space Shuttle – NASA, Public Domain
–Hubble photo of Saturn in UV light – NASA, Public Domain
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Welcome to Part 2 of our interview with father and daughter team Franklin Chang-Diaz, NASA astronaut and founder of the Ad Astra Rocket Company™, and Miranda Chang, Ad Astra’s Global Communications Director.
We pick up where we left off, with a focus on fathers working with their children! Host Charles Liu shares how much he loves doing The LIUniverse with his co-host and son Allen, while Franklin talks about how important Miranda is to the running of Ad Astra.
Then it’s on to our next question, from Ebony, who asks, “Do you believe that traveling to space can find ways to fix the problem with climate change?” Franklin begins by reminding us that we would not be aware of climate change if we were not exploring space. And then he describes how the life support system on spaceship Earth is in need of a great deal of maintenance and repair, how at some point there will be more humans than can survive on it, and how he worries that we will damage our environment to the point that our civilization won’t be healthy enough to explore space and then we will be doomed.
In Costa Rica, Ad Astra is working to transition the country to a green, hydrogen economy. Using solar and wind energy, they generate hydrogen from water, to power their fleet of hydrogen-powered vehicles and fuel cell electric buses. Miranda points out that Costa Rica’s electric grid is already nearly 100% renewable, making it a perfect based for doing test projects like these with the goal of reducing carbon.
Miranda discusses ways to make the economy of space more sustainable, too, and describes the fuel efficiency of the VX-200 VASIMIR engine (Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket), their new high-power, electric in-space propulsion system that will have a thirteen-year lifespan.
Chuck asks Franklin how me made the transition from astronaut to environmentalist. Franklin explains how the Overview Effect impacted him, and how he came back from space with a tremendous awareness of our environmental problem. Charles brings up the differences between the Gaia Hypothesis and the Medea Hypothesis, which says the Earth may be out to get us and will be fine without us.
Somehow, the conversation leads to “The Inner Light” – one of the most beloved episodes of Star Trek The Next Generation, which had tremendous but differing impacts on Franklin and Charles. In the episode, a civilization ignores climate change to the point where it is too late for them to do anything except memorialize their lives and their fate. Miranda talks about the unifying impact of space exploration, and the necessary realization we must reach if we are to survive that we are one species all in this together.
Finally, we turn to VASIMIR. Chuck wants to know how it will change our lives, and Franklin likens it to the trucking business that sprung up after WWII because of the availability of diesel engines. As of right now, he explains that we don’t have an equivalent for space: “We still fly to space in cannonballs.” What we want, he says, is powered flight over longer periods of time, which VASIMIR makes possible, changing the entire economics of space and enabling humans and the private sector to engage in sustained activity in space.
Franklin explains how VASIMIR may someday reduce the time from the Moon to Mars from 8 months to 2 months or less and catalyze the next period of humanity’s expansion into our solar system. In fact, it turns out that the engine Andy Weir used in his book The Martian was based on VASIMIR!
To find out more about Ad Astra, visit their website, www.adastrarocket.com, or follow them on social media at @adastrarocket on YouTube, Instagram and Twitter, and @asastrarocketcompany on Facebook and LinkedIn.
We hope you enjoy this episode of The LIUniverse, and, if you do, please support us on Patreon.
Credits for Images Used in this Episode:
– Apollo 17’s Blue Marble photo of the Earth – NASA, Public Domain
– Crew of STS-60, first launch with US and Russian spacefarers – NASA, Public Domain
– Aurora from the ISS – NASA, Public Domain
#TheLIUniverse #CharlesLiu #AllenLiu #SciencePodcast #AstronomyPodcast #FranklinChangDiaz #MirandaChang #NASA #VASOMIR #AdAstra #ionpropulsion #rockets #SpaceShuttle #HydrogenPoweredVehicles #FuelCell #ElectricBuses #OverviewEffect #StarTrekTheNextGeneration #TheInnerLight #STS60 #Cosmonauts #Astronauts #climatechange
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When humanity heads out for the stars, what will be powering our spacecraft? To find out, Dr. Charles Liu and co-host Allen Liu welcome father and daughter team Franklin Chang-Diaz, NASA astronaut and founder of the Ad Astra Rocket Company™, and Miranda Chang, Ad Astra’s Global Communications Director for Part 1 of this two-part episode. (We’ll be posting Part 2 next Saturday!)
As always, though, we start off with the day’s joyfully cool cosmic thing. Lucy, the robotic NASA mission to the asteroid belt, just passed by its first asteroid Dinkinesh (which has been given the Ethiopian (Amharic) name for the human-ancestor fossil known as Lucy and means “You are marvelous”!). As it did so, it discovered Dinkinesh is actually a double asteroid, in that it has its own orbiting moon, Selam, but that’s not all: Selam is a contact binary, meaning it’s actually two distinct bodies touching each other but not connected.
Next, we turn from discovering asteroids to visiting them, and that’s where Franklin and Miranda come in. Franklin spent 25 years at NASA. He was one of the ninth group of astronauts, the class of 1980, and flew 7 missions in space, the most spaceflights anyone has taken to date. An astronautic jack-of-all-trades engineer, physicist and more who describes himself as a “glorified plumber/electrician”), Franklin flew on each of the Space Shuttles except the Challenger, visited the Soviet space station Mir, took 3 spacewalks and even helped build the International Space Station.
Miranda tells us about Ad Astra’s flagship program, the VX-200 VASIMIR engine (Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket), a new type of high-power, electric in-space propulsion. They’re vastly more powerful (compare a hair dryer to a diesel engine) and more efficient than existing ion propulsion systems.
We jump right into audience questions with one from Mohammed, who asks, “Engineering is problem solving. What happens when you can’t solve the problem?” According to Franklin, “In space, you work the problem until you find a solution and you never stop...eventually, you have to find something.” Miranda adds, “The whole idea of engineers is that there is never “no solution”...The are always working to find a solution...every time I think we’re don, there is no solution for that, they have like three...” Franklin also takes on the NASA mantra, “Failure is not an option.” In his experiences, “Failure is how you learn.... giving up is not an option.”
You’ll also hear about Miranda’s role and how creative storytelling is a critical aspect of helping people understand the complex technical realities of space exploration and the advanced propulsion systems and orbital mechanics Ad Astra deals with.
Miranda explains how Franklin got into the science of propulsion, and how he had started working on the VASOMIR engine even before he joined NASA. He was an engineer who spent a lot of time in the physics laboratory, and he came from Costa Rica specifically to become an astronaut during the burgeoning interest in space exploration during the period of the Apollo program.
That’s it for Part 1. Please tune in next Saturday for the conclusion.
We hope you enjoy this episode of The LIUniverse, and, if you do, please support us on Patreon.
Credits for Images and sounds Used in this Episode:
– NASA’s 1980 astronaut group, including Franklin – NASA, public domain
– Lucy spacecraft – NASA, public domain
– Lucy/Dink’inesh fossil – 120 on Wikimedia commons, CC BY 2.5
– Dinkinesh and its moon Selam – NASA/Goddard/SwRI/Johns Hopkins APL/NOAO, public domain
– Dinkinesh and Selam from the side – NASA/Goddard/SwRI/Johns Hopkins APL, public domain
– Franklin on a spacewalk (EVA) – NASA, public domain
– Canadarm 2 on the ISS – NASA, public domain
– Ad Astra’s VX-200 VASIMR test engine – Ad Astra Rocket Company™, from online media gallery
– NEXT, a typical electric ion engine – NASA, public domain
– STS-111, Franklin’s last shuttle launch – NASA, public domain
– Swoosh.wav – Berglindsi on Freesound, CC BY 3.0
#TheLIUniverse #CharlesLiu #AllenLiu #SciencePodcast #AstronomyPodcast #FranklinChangDiaz #MirandaChang #asteroid #Lucy #Dinkinesh #NASA #VASOMIR #AdAstra #ionpropulsion #rockets #ISS #InternationalSpaceStation #SpaceShuttle #Challenger
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