[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 0 - 10:17:53 ]
Today's QuestChat with Astronomer Sten Odenwald will begin in about 40 minutes! Be sure to read Sten's bio before coming to the chat-- http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/sso/team/odenwald.html

[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 1 - 10:29:34 ]
When Sten was a kid... "When I turned 10, my Papa showed me the stars one night. I can honestly say I had never paid them any attention at all until that night. Within a year I had my own telescope, was building a telescope, and had read every book in my school and public library on astronomy. I had a ravenous appetite for space and read science-fiction books by the score, over 100 novels during my peak year in 9th grade!"

[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 2 - 10:30:33 ]
Does the above paragraph from Sten's bio sound like any of you? Have your questions ready for Sten as he is excited about chatting with you today :-)

[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 3 - 10:55:53 ]
Something else from Sten's bio: " One look at the rings of Saturn, or at the boiling surface of the Sun, or at the core of a distant pinwheel galaxy, and it is obvious the universe was designed for artists, poets and dreamers. From the very first moment I looked through my Papa's binoculars, I understood that there was something very magical, spiritual and alien about space."

[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 5 - 11:01:22 ]
RE: [NaplesSDASchool-Mrs.Haddix/NaplesSDASchool] Mrs Haddix checking in for first time
Hello Mrs. Haddix! We're thrilled you could join us today! Sten is looking forwarding to answering your questions. The chat will begin momentarily...

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 7 - 11:05:23 ]
RE: [NaplesSDASchool-Mrs.Haddix/NaplesSDASchool] This is the first time I have ever used the internet in my classroom, but we are excited to have a chance to talk to a scientist. We are grades 1-4 and have been studying space the past few weeks.
That's wonderful! Ive been studying space for the last few weeks too!! ;>

[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 8 - 11:05:39 ]
RE: [NaplesSDASchool-Mrs.Haddix/NaplesSDASchool] This is the first time I have ever used the internet in my classroom, but we are excited to have a chance to talk to a scientist. We are grades 1-4 and have been studying space the past few weeks.
Congratulations on getting the Internet into your classroom! Astronomer Sten Odenwald is here and ready to take your questions. Have your kids start typing!

[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 12 - 11:08:24 ]
RE: [MrsMock/MontessoriSchoolofCorona-Mrs.Mock/MontessoriSchoolofCorona] Hello Sten and Sandy. Amber (5th grade) is helping the Kindergarten class today by entering their questions.
Welcome Mrs. Mock, Amber and Kindergarten :-) We're very glad to see you here today! Start sending in those questions Amber!

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 14 - 11:10:10 ]
RE: [NaplesSDASchool-Mrs.Haddix/NaplesSDASchool] Our first question is - Do Mercury and Venes have any moons? If not, why not?
Probably because they are so close to the sun that any moons would, eventually, be ripped away if they were too far from the planets .It could also be that when the solar system first formed, these young worlds couldnt attract much gas and other material that could form a disk out of which satellites could easily form

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 15 - 11:10:52 ]
RE: [StenOdenwald/Astronomer] Probably because they are so close to the sun that any moons would, eventually, be ripped away if they were too far from the planets .It could also be that when the solar system first formed, these young worlds couldnt attract much gas and other material that could form a disk out of which satellites could easily form
Oops...no, these planets do not have any moons or even captured asteroids orbiting them.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 18 - 11:12:42 ]
RE: [Chelsea-Mrs.Mock/MontessoriSchoolofCorona] Why does saturn has rings around it?
Lots of possible reasons. I think the best one is that although there is a lot of junk in the rings left over from when the planet formed, this material cannot collect into very large bodies because of Saturn's gravity, which constantly trys to tear things apart in that part of space.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 21 - 11:14:47 ]
RE: [Courtney-Mrs.Mock/MontessoriSchoolofCorona] why does Jupitar have a storm on it and it does not stop?
We don't really know. We think it is only aabout 300-400 years old, but why it formed in the first place probably has a lot to do with the kinds of weird wind patterns in the jovian atmosphere. Smaller storms come and go, and perhaps if one grows large enough it can survive longer.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 23 - 11:17:19 ]
RE: [NaplesSDASchool-Mrs.Haddix/NaplesSDASchool] What color are the stars and why?
The color of a star has a lot to do with how hot it is. if its is reddish, its as hot as the hotplate on your stove...for stars this is usually between 2000 and 4000 degrees. For yellow stars like our sun, the temperature is 5700 degrees, and for very hot 'blue' stars the temperatures are 20,000 degrees or higher.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 25 - 11:17:57 ]
RE: [Ashley-Mrs.Mock/MontessoriSchoolofCorona] Why does the moon get smaller and smaller?
Hmmm...I am not sure I understand the question, could you give me an example?

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 28 - 11:19:11 ]
RE: [Madelyn-Mrs.Mock/MontessoriSchoolofCorona] Why is Pluto very cold?
Mostly because it is 4 billion miles from the sun, and the heat from the sun just isnt strong enough to keep Pluto hotter than about 40 degrees above Absolute Zero on a summer day!

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 30 - 11:21:05 ]
RE: [Sina-Mrs.Mock/MontessoriSchoolofCorona] What is your favorite thing about being a astronomy?
It changes every day. I think mostly I like being able to stay up to date on what we are discovering every week about space. Its exciting to see, everyday, our understanding of the universe grow stronger and stronger. You also appreciate just how hard it is to make a major discovery!

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 31 - 11:22:29 ]
RE: [Adam-Mrs.Mock/MontessoriSchoolofCorona] Why is the sun so hot?
It is very hot, because deep inside, gravity crushes the gas in the sun and causes atoms to fuse together. This releases a LOT of energy that has to go somewhere...and the only place is bact to the surface where it can flow out into the even colder depths of space.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 33 - 11:23:47 ]
RE: [NaplesSDASchool-Mrs.Haddix/NaplesSDASchool] Why are there rocks out in space?
Because space isnt empty...there are huge gas clouds everywhere, and over time these clouds break down and collapse into denser things like stars. This is a very messy process and you end up making asteroids of all sizes...rocks.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 35 - 11:24:54 ]
RE: [Kara-Mrs.Mock/MontessoriSchoolofCorona] Why does the moon have holes in it?
Do you mean craters? the moon gets hit by rocks and asteroids, but without an atmosphere and running water to erode these impacts, the surface never erases the hits that it has taken.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 37 - 11:25:32 ]
RE: [Jimmy-Mrs.Mock/MontessoriSchoolofCorona] Who big is the strom on Jupitar?
Hmmm...you could fit three Earth's across it, and it is about 2-3 Earths deep!

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 38 - 11:26:05 ]
RE: [Dominique-Mrs.Mock/MontessoriSchoolofCorona] Who did the storm get on Jupitar?
Hmmm... I answered that a little while ago...

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 41 - 11:28:05 ]
RE: [NaplesSDASchool-Mrs.Haddix/NaplesSDASchool] Why is Venus so hot?
Its closer to the sun than the Earth, and its atmosphere is nearly pure carbon dioxide gas. This gas traps heat energy from the sun, and acts like a blanket over the planet. Solar energy goes in, but little goes back out to cool the planet, so the planet just gets hotter and hotter until eventually the process peaks out and thats what we have today. Venus is hotter than mercury, even though mercury is closest to the sun.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 43 - 11:29:48 ]
RE: [Garrett-Mrs.Mock/MontessoriSchoolofCorona] How did the astroids hit Saturn to make Uranus?
Uranus wasn't made that way. Like the other planets, it was formed as an independent world in the outer solar system. Planets do not have to 'divide' to create other planets. What happens is like the way you make a snowman. You start with a small snowball and keep rolling it. Planets start as large asteroids that keep gobbling up their neighbors.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 46 - 11:31:10 ]
RE: [Tatum-Mrs.Mock/MontessoriSchoolofCorona] Why is the sun a star?
Hmmm..it just is thats all. The stars we can study have many of the same properties that the sun does, so it is also a member of the 'star' family of things in the universe.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 47 - 11:32:05 ]
RE: [Kerissa-Mrs.Mock/MontessoriSchoolofCorona] How hot is the sun?
It actually depends on where you are. In its core it is about 15 million degrees hot. At its surface it is about 5700 degrees, and way out in its atmosphere..the corona...its about 2 million degrees hot.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 48 - 11:33:20 ]
RE: [Bradly-Mrs.Mock/MontessoriSchoolofCorona] Who big is Jupiter?
Well...you could fit about 11 times the diameter of the earth.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 50 - 11:34:16 ]
RE: [NaplesSDASchool-Mrs.Haddix/NaplesSDASchool] Why is there gas around the meteorites?
Hmmm...Im not sure what you mean. metroites are too small to have their own gas...do you mean why is there gas way out in space?

[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 52 - 11:35:47 ]
RE: [Amber-Mrs.Mock/MontessoriSchoolofCorona] Sorry about the miss-spelling. I have to tipe realy fast
Amber: Don't worry about a misspelling! You're doing an EXCELLENT job :-)

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 54 - 11:36:03 ]
RE: [NaplesSDASchool-Mrs.Haddix/NaplesSDASchool] Why is the sun cooler on its surface than in the corona?
Astronomers havent really understood how this happens until recently. It has to do with the magnetic field of the sun, which at the surface, traps a lot of evergy like colied springs. When this energy is released, it ends up heating the outer layers of the sun by just the right amount to make the corona about 1.5 million degrees hot, even though the surface is much cooler.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 56 - 11:37:21 ]
RE: [NaplesSDASchool-Mrs.Haddix/NaplesSDASchool] Why is there gas out in space?
Because some of it has been there since the universe was formed in the Big Bang, and other gas over time has been ejected by stars as they die or explode. Its a constant process of forming stars and stars losing gas eventually.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 59 - 11:38:57 ]
RE: [Aaron-Mrs.Mock/MontessoriSchoolofCorona] Did you want to be a astronout?. I do.
Actually...I never wanted to be an astronaut. I knew I wanted to be an astronomer and that was that. I could never see the point of all those astronauts going up into space and never doing any serious telescope observing. Things are different now...but now that I have a family, i dont want to take many risks!

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 61 - 11:39:41 ]
RE: [Krysten-Mrs.Mock/MontessoriSchoolofCorona] What does stars look like though a telescope?
You cant really see their surfaces because they are too far away. All you see in even the biggest telescopes is a dot of light.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 63 - 11:40:18 ]
RE: [Brenda-Mrs.Mock/MontessoriSchoolofCorona] Who does the shado muve on to the sun?
Oops...sorry I dont think I understand. Could you try again?

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 65 - 11:41:15 ]
RE: [NaplesSDASchool-Mrs.Haddix/NaplesSDASchool] How did planets come to be called "planets"?
In the western world, this name comes from the ancient Greeks 'planetos' means 'wanderers'. Other non-western languages have different names for them

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 66 - 11:42:34 ]
RE: [Paige-Mrs.Mock/MontessoriSchoolofCorona] What does the sun look like?
Through a powerful telescope the surface looks like a boiling pan of mush...but the 'mush' takes a day to 'turn over' and each of the boiling cells is nearly as big as the Earth!

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 69 - 11:43:42 ]
RE: [Brian-Mrs.Mock/MontessoriSchoolofCorona] What does the earth look like though a telescope?
We dont use telescopes to look at the earth..the earth is so big, a regular camera works just fine.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 71 - 11:45:15 ]
RE: [Daniel-Mrs.Mock/MontessoriSchoolofCorona] Why is there nine plants in space?
It seems pretty random. If there were 5 planets we would be asking about that too...or 14 planets...There doesnt seem to be a particular physical reason, but it would have to do with how soon the different planets started to form and where. This cant be predicted.

[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 73 - 11:46:12 ]
EVERYONE: Just to let you know, there are 15 minutes left in today's chat with Sten. At the end of the chat, please be sure to fill out a short survey to let us know what you think about today's chat. The survey can be found at: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/qchats/qchat-surveys

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 74 - 11:46:35 ]
RE: [Chelsey-Mrs.Mock/MontessoriSchoolofCorona] What are comets and stars?
Comets are giant icebergs in space...probably stuff left over from when the solar system was forming billions of years ago. Stars...well, stars are very much like the sun...hot balls of gas that produce their own light.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 76 - 11:47:55 ]
RE: [alex-Mrs.Mock/MontessoriSchoolofCorona] Why does the earth go around the sun?
Hmmm...mostly because it has too much energy to just fall into the sun from where it is.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 78 - 11:48:21 ]
RE: [Ryan-Mrs.Mock/MontessoriSchoolofCorona] How big is Jupiter?
Hi! I answered that question already. ;>

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 80 - 11:50:44 ]
RE: [Tharlre-Mrs.Mock/MontessoriSchoolofCorona] How big is the earth?
It would take you 90 days or so to drive around it once at 65 miles per hour.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 81 - 11:51:23 ]
RE: [Leesa-Mrs.Mock/MontessoriSchoolofCorona] Why are plants in the sky?
There arent any plants in the sky.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 83 - 11:52:31 ]
RE: [Leesa-Mrs.Mock/MontessoriSchoolofCorona] Why are plants in the sky?
Do you mean 'planets'? Hmm...that is a very hard question. If there were no planets, we wouldnt be here to ask the question, so there have to be planets.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 84 - 11:53:18 ]
RE: [Kelly-Mrs.Mock/MontessoriSchoolofCorona] How far is Pluto from the sun?
Oh...its about 4 billion miles away, or 40 times the distance between the sun and the earth. Our fastest spacecraft take 4-5 years to get there.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 87 - 11:55:10 ]
RE: [Amber/5-Mrs.Mock/MontessoriSchoolofCorona] Thank you for answering our questions.
Youre welcom!...oh by the way, it would actually only take about 16 days to drive around the earth at 65 miles per hour!

[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 88 - 11:55:52 ]
RE: [Amber/5-Mrs.Mock/MontessoriSchoolofCorona] Thank you for answering our questions.
Goodbye Amber, you did a terrific job typing in the Kindergarten classes questions :-) We look forward to chatting with you again!

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 89 - 11:55:54 ]
RE: [Mrs.Haddix/NaplesSDASchool] We have written about traveling in space and were wondering what would happen to a spaceship if it got a hole in it while it was in space?
You would have to work real fast to plug the hole or your atmosphere would leak away and you would be dead...

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 90 - 11:56:47 ]
OK everyone...any last questions? Its been great helping you today!!

[ Mrs.Haddix/NaplesSDASchool - 91 - 11:58:00 ]
Thank you very much for talking to us! We really appricated it! One last question, if we have time. Is there any life in space?

[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 92 - 11:58:09 ]
EVERYONE: If there are no further questions for Sten, we'd better let him get back to work!

[ MrsMock-Mrs.Mock/MontessoriSchoolofCorona - 93 - 11:58:34 ]
The Kindergarten class has returned to their classroom. This chat is being printed to be displayed in their classroom for Open House. Thank you! :-)

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 94 - 11:59:12 ]
RE: [Mrs.Haddix/NaplesSDASchool] Thank you very much for talking to us! We really appricated it! One last question, if we have time. Is there any life in space?
I think so...probably most of it is bacteria though.

[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 95 - 11:59:34 ]
One last note: Next Thursday is "Space Day" at NASA and we will be holding several chats that day. Sten will be one of the experts. Check out the schedule at-- http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/common/events. Register as soon as you can! We look forward to chatting with you again very soon :-)