[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 1 - 10:28:11 ]
Today's chat with Astronomer Sten Odenwald will begin in approximately 35 minutes. Look forward to chatting with you then!

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 3 - 11:03:09 ]
RE: [Joel-StudentJoelPflug/CrossLutheranSchools] I'm doing a report for my school, and I would appreciate it if you could answer the following questions.
Ill try to answer a few of them as time permits

[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 5 - 11:03:53 ]
Welcome Joel: Send your questions...

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 8 - 11:05:05 ]
RE: [Joel-StudentJoelPflug/CrossLutheranSchools] How long have you studided astronomy?
Since I was 10 years old...but professionally, since I was 28 with a PhD

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 10 - 11:06:06 ]
RE: [Sandy/NASAChatHost] Dave 6th Grade - Why do you have such an interest in Space?
I dont really know..theres just something about it that weirds me out...its so big, empty and full of mysterious and exciting things to study and understand.

[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 11 - 11:06:31 ]
RE: [kiesha-warrior] hello anybody here
Hi Kiesha, we're all here! Do you have a question for Sten?

[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 15 - 11:07:58 ]
RE: [Stephanie/Edmonton] Hi Sandy! Just stopping by...
Hey Stephanie: Send in a question or two as long as you're here :-)

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 16 - 11:08:18 ]
RE: [Joel-StudentJoelPflug/CrossLutheranSchools] Were you inspired by the universe as a child?
Yes I was. My papa first showed me the stars in Orion when I was about 10 years old, and so far as I recall, that was the first time in my life I even Knew that stars existed...I studied rocks and dinosaurs, which is kind of like looking at the ground in the daytime!

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 19 - 11:09:32 ]
RE: [Sandy/NASAChatHost] Alexis M. 4th Grade - How long do you have to stay in college to become a scientist? Do you have an assistant? Were you ever on TV? Do you like Star Wars?
Alexis...You have to go through 10 years of college and graduate school to become a pro astronomer...but its mostly worth it for the neat stuff you get to study all the time.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 22 - 11:10:38 ]
RE: [kiesha-warrior] how hot is it on mars and can anybody live there
Hmmm..it gets down to about -50 F to perhaps +60F and you can live there but not unprotected. You need a space suit because the atmosphere is so thin.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 24 - 11:11:47 ]
RE: [Joel-StudentJoelPflug/CrossLutheranSchools] Is astronomy in your lineage?
Joel...well, no. I come from a family where people are mostly musicians, ballet dancers or choreographers and into theater. My Niece is 'Demeter' in the Broadway 'Cats' production.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 26 - 11:13:51 ]
RE: [Stephanie/Edmonton] If black holes compress all matter into a singularity, in the process, would new forms of elements (matter) be formed? How do black holes "suck" up light, unless light is a form of matter? Since black holes form from giant dying star, could the universe disappear when all matter of the universe is compressed into 1 singularity?
Stephanie, We dont know what Singularities really do...and theorists have good reasons to believe that they never occur in real, physical black holes. The Singularity gets washed out in some type of quantum indeterminacy...you will need to study quantum physics to really understand what that is all about!

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 28 - 11:14:38 ]
RE: [Joel-StudentJoelPflug/CrossLutheranSchools] Who was your greatest inspiration in your choice of becoming an astronomer?
Joel, I had no inspiration. It wasnt people that drove me, it was the curiosity alone. I just wanted to KNOW stuff.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 30 - 11:15:43 ]
RE: [kiesha-warrior] what is your favorit constalition and why
Kiesha....I think Orion is pretty cool, but Sagittarius is close behind...lots of lovely things to look at through a small telescope in the warm summer evenings.

[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 31 - 11:15:57 ]
RE: [Raquel/SP/Brazil] Hello. I know a little about "gravitational lenses". So, what would happen if, for example during a solar eclipse, the "image" of a star were at the same place of a real object like another celestial body ? What would I see ?
Welcome back Raquel!

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 33 - 11:17:12 ]
RE: [Joel-StudentJoelPflug/CrossLutheranSchools] Who do you believe was the greatest astronomer of all time? Why?
Joel...actually, I dont really know. the problem is that nearly all of the 'greatest scientists' of all time are alive today! Its hadr to judge really well.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 34 - 11:18:18 ]
RE: [kiesha-warrior] when you were younger,did you ever think you would be an astronomer ?
Kiesha, no...I was completely clueless. I had NO idea there was such a career until I was in 9th grade, and it wasnt until late in college that I had a rough idea of what astronomers actually DID!

[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 37 - 11:20:08 ]
RE: [kiesha-warrior] I AM REALL INTRESTED IN YOUR JOB,DID YOU GO TO ANY SPECIAL COLLAGE OR SCHOOL
Kiesha: Please turn off the ALL CAPS on your computer. It's hard to read and it's called "shouting"! Thanks :-)

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 39 - 11:20:46 ]
RE: [Raquel/SP/Brazil] Hello. I know a little about "gravitational lenses". So, what would happen if, for example during a solar eclipse, the "image" of a star were at the same place of a real object like another celestial body ? What would I see ?
Raqul...actually, the geometry matters a lot and I dont know from your description how the things are lining up.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 40 - 11:22:29 ]
RE: [Sandy/NASAChatHost] Alexis R. 3rd Grade - I am only in 3rd grade but what do I need to study to get a job like yours?
Alexis, you need to study your math real well, and you need to nurture your curiosity about the natural world around you. Ask a lot of questions, and try to find answers. You can start in your backyard with a 'leaf collection' or spend some nights with a pair of binoculars looking at the stars...it will all get you to the same place eventually.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 41 - 11:23:08 ]
RE: [Joel-StudentJoelPflug/CrossLutheranSchools] Have you made any astronomical discoveriesor contributed anything to the field of astronomy?
Joel...yep! But I cant really list all of them here. Sorry to be so vague!

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 42 - 11:24:09 ]
RE: [kiesha-warrior] I AM REALL INTRESTED IN YOUR JOB,DID YOU GO TO ANY SPECIAL COLLAGE OR SCHOOL
Kiesha, I grew up in Oakland california, then went to college at UC Berkeley...lived at home and commuted. Then I went to harvard for grad school for 6 years.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 45 - 11:25:25 ]
RE: [Joel-StudentJoelPflug/CrossLutheranSchools] What advise would you give to a potential astronomer as far as schooling and where and how to get started?
Joel...it really depends on a lot of things like how old you are, how well you are doiing in math/science, and some vague general personality traits. Could you tell me more?

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 47 - 11:26:34 ]
RE: [Sandy/NASAChatHost] Danny 4th Grade - Did you ever want to be an astronaut? Do you want to find life in Space?
Danny...no I never wanted to be an astronaut..but I have always ben an avid scifi fan. Mainly, I am very scared about leaving Earth for any reason...its not a walk in the park!

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 50 - 11:27:49 ]
RE: [kiesha-warrior] how many years were you in school to become what you are
Kiesha...4 years in college studying advanced math, calculus, tensors and topilogy, and doing the standard 'physics' program, then 6 years in grad school to find and complete an original research project.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 54 - 11:29:56 ]
RE: [StenOdenwald/Astronomer] Danny...no I never wanted to be an astronaut..but I have always ben an avid scifi fan. Mainly, I am very scared about leaving Earth for any reason...its not a walk in the park!
Danny, yes I would like to open the research journals one day and find an article about the discovery of life elsewhere...we have already discovered 17 planets outside our solar system so I think its just a matter of time, perhaps not in my lifetime but certainly in yours...if you eat the right food and exercise!

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 56 - 11:31:43 ]
RE: [Joel-StudentJoelPflug/CrossLutheranSchools] I get A's in Math and Science, I am a leader, I enjoy agressive sports, such as Skateboarding
Joel...a good start. Most astronomers i know are pretty darn agressive about 'stuff'. But, you must start thinking about science as more than a classroom activity. You will be competing with people your age who LIVE science, memorize endless trivia about physics and science...trade 'science baseball cards'...you know.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 58 - 11:33:06 ]
RE: [kiesha-warrior] do you think that we will be living on another planet in the future
Kiesha, I think we will have outposts on the moon and mars by the end of the next century ( 2099AD) but going farther...theres not much point. It is increasingly hostile and expensive to go past the asteroid belt...no big outposts either...perhaps only a few dozen people at one time.

[ George.Patis/Hellenic.College.Thessaloniki - 60 - 11:33:46 ]
Hello to everybody

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 62 - 11:34:21 ]
RE: [Raquel/SP/Brazil] What is your oppinion about our universe expansion ? Do you think there is enough matter ( including dark matter ! ) to reverse the expansion ?
Raquel...well there doesn't sem to be enough that has been observed even indirectly. We SEEM to be in one of those' critical' universes right on the edge of what is needed, but not having more than needed to cause eventual collapse.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 63 - 11:34:47 ]
RE: [kiesha-warrior] whats the best thing about being an astronomer
Kiesha...answering questions from people like you ;>

[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 64 - 11:35:00 ]
RE: [George.Patis/Hellenic.College.Thessaloniki] Hello to everybody
Hello George! So glad you could join us again :-)

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 65 - 11:35:22 ]
RE: [Joel-StudentJoelPflug/CrossLutheranSchools] Why did you choose astronomy over any other field?
Joel...it was easier to build a small telescope than a small nuclear reactor or cyclotron!

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 66 - 11:36:12 ]
RE: [kiesha-warrior] what is your favorite past time
Kiesha...reading science fiction books I guess, but mainly being a Papa.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 68 - 11:38:08 ]
RE: [Sandy/NASAChatHost] Amber L. 5th Grade - Why did you go into the Space business? What is your favorite planet? Mine is Venus. What do stars look like? What does Space look like?
Amber...they kind of look like the sun, but some are much bigger, and some are different colors, and some have way-bigger storms and sunspots...and some are lethal to life, and others are only a few million years old, while others have been around for at least 15 billion years.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 72 - 11:38:42 ]
RE: [George.Patis/Hellenic.College.Thessaloniki] Mr. Sten I have some question about the "10th planet"
George...shoot!

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 76 - 11:40:53 ]
RE: [George.Patis/Hellenic.College.Thessaloniki] Firstly I want to ask if it's really a planet and if it doesn't what kind of meteor is it?
George...Pluto has been considered by many astronomers as simply the largest member of a distant population of bodies in the so-called Kuiper Belt. We know of about 70 of these large bodies 20 - 300 miles in diameter, and some have orbits that look Pluto-like. The International Astronomical Union is going to rule on Plutos status very soon.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 77 - 11:42:30 ]
RE: [Joel-StudentJoelPflug/CrossLutheranSchools] What do you believe is the origin of the universe?
Joel...well, our best idea is that it was some type of quantum fluctuation in some primordial...something...that underwent a catastrophic inflation process about 10^-35 seconds later...its our best idea right now and it sounds good to me...since we lack any data to support the details!

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 78 - 11:43:06 ]
RE: [kiesha-warrior] how many kids do you have and do you want them to be an astronomer
Kiesha,,I have two girls 4 and 7 years old, and I do not want them to be astronomers.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 82 - 11:44:21 ]
RE: [Sandy/NASAChatHost] Amber H. 6th Grade - Does you job confuse you with all the changes going on about the Universe? What do you mostly look for?
Amber...no it doesnt confuse me, because many of the 'changes' we see fit patterns that we already know about or have speculated about theoretically. There is great comfort in knowing that the universe isnt completely random.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 83 - 11:45:02 ]
RE: [Joel-StudentJoelPflug/CrossLutheranSchools] Does your job as an astronomer sacrifice family time?
Joel...no, I do not permit my 'day job' to interfere with my family time.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 86 - 11:46:42 ]
RE: [kiesha-warrior] how many galaxies do you think there are
Kiesha...lots! But first you have to define how large a group of stars you want to call a galaxy. 1 million? 100 million? We think there are about 100 billion inside our visible universe..stretching back 15 billion years, but TODAY, there are probably a lot fewer because of galaxy canibalism and merger.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 87 - 11:47:06 ]
RE: [George.Patis/Hellenic.College.Thessaloniki] do you believe that the ancient Greek astronomers had discovered the X-planet?
George...Nope!

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 88 - 11:47:50 ]
RE: [kiesha-warrior] if people do end up living on other planets how will they survive
Kiesha...by living inside pressurized domes, or underground, and by raising everything they need 'in-house'.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 89 - 11:48:45 ]
RE: [Sandy/NASAChatHost] Jason 5th Grade - How big is the telescope you use? If you saw a UFO, what would you do?
The Very Large Array radio telescope is 27 kilometers acros...as far as UFOs are concerned, they are 'unidentified' and therefore I wouldnt assume they are hostile or lethal.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 91 - 11:49:21 ]
RE: [Joel-StudentJoelPflug/CrossLutheranSchools] Does working for NASA give you any "special" rights or priveleges?
Joel...none that I know of! Seriously!!

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 93 - 11:50:07 ]
RE: [Sandy/NASAChatHost] Jeffrey 5th Grade - When a shooting star falls, does it hit the Earth?
Jefrey, well it certainly hits the Earths atmosphere, but unless it is the size of a baseball or so, it will burn up before hitting the ground.

[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 95 - 11:51:12 ]
EVERYONE: There are 10 minutes left in today's chat with Sten. Please be sure tolet the Quest Project know how we are doing with our chats and fill out the short survey at: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/qchats/qchat-surveys Thanks :-)

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 96 - 11:51:13 ]
RE: [George.Patis/Hellenic.College.Thessaloniki] According to "Kepler's Laws", can we say that the X-planet is doing an excess or an parable orbit?
George...we cant say anything about it because there is no data at all to suggest a VERY LARGE object exists beyond the orbit of Pluto.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 98 - 11:52:18 ]
RE: [Sandy/NASAChatHost] Danielle 6th Grade - How do you take pictures through a telescope and create it into a picture that you could see? Is it boring to sit behind a telescope 8 hours per day?
Danielle...I dont sit behind a telescope at all. I use computers which translate satellite data into pictures that I can manipulate to extract the information I need.

[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 102 - 11:53:36 ]
RE: [jesse-warrior] hello
Hi Jesse! There are only about 8 minutes left in the chat with STen. Do you have a question for him?

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 103 - 11:54:30 ]
RE: [Joel-StudentJoelPflug/CrossLutheranSchools] How did you come about working for NASA?
Joel...well, I was a post-doc at the Naval Research Lab for 10 years, then lost that job, and transfered to a series of private companies to work with NASA satellite data. many astronomers...even old ones like me...still do not have a steady job they can rely on for more than 2-5 years at a time. NASA was a job I kind of fell into...I didnt plan it that way.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 105 - 11:55:54 ]
RE: [Joel-StudentJoelPflug/CrossLutheranSchools] What is your yearly income? Is this typical for an astronomer?
Joel...I make$75,000 a year. I started out at $25,000 in 1982...but by then my non-astronomer friends already were making $40,000 so I lost out on salary growth. But I love the work!!!

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 106 - 11:56:53 ]
RE: [Joel-StudentJoelPflug/CrossLutheranSchools] Have you ever regretted your decision of becoming an astronomer?
Joel...sometimes...but it is just too exciting to put away and do something else...I am rather trapped by my interests like a moth and a flame.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 108 - 11:58:14 ]
RE: [jesse-warrior] Is there any way for someone to live on jupiter
Jesse...no way!!! You would be fried, compressed, ionized...and the radiation would make you literally glow in the dark...have a nice day...and that is before you even entered the atmosphere!!!!

[ Joel-StudentJoelPflug/CrossLutheranSchools - 109 - 11:58:42 ]
Thank you, for your time!

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 110 - 11:59:04 ]
RE: [George.Patis/Hellenic.College.Thessaloniki] Why you don't believe that ancient Greek astronomers didn't discover the X-planet?
George...They couldnt possible have sen a planet beyond the orbit of Saturn with their naked eyes!!!!

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 111 - 11:59:29 ]
RE: [Joel-StudentJoelPflug/CrossLutheranSchools] Thank you, for your time!
Joel...Time? What's time!

[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 113 - 11:59:53 ]
EVERYONE: It's time for Sten to get back to his computer, so goodbye for now! Please join us again next Thursday, same time, for another chat with Sten. Registration for next week's chat will open up tomorrow. Please fillout the survey form mentioned earlier. Thank you :-)

[ Raquel/SP/Brazil - 115 - 12:00:19 ]
Thanks Dr.Odenwald :)

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 117 - 12:01:23 ]
RE: [jesse-warrior] also have we really found more planits
Jessee..yes, the count now stands at 17 planets outside the solar system orbiting about 12 different stars...each is a bit bigger than Jupiter.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 119 - 12:01:57 ]
RE: [Raquel/SP/Brazil] Thanks Dr.Odenwald :)
Raquel..de nada!

[ George.Patis/Hellenic.College.Thessaloniki - 120 - 12:02:07 ]
Thanks Dr.Sten...!!! See you next week...!!!

[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 122 - 12:02:22 ]
GOODBYE EVERYONE: Chat with you again next week!

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 124 - 12:03:13 ]
OK everyone...its time for me to earn my salary! See you next time!!! ;>