SA Extra: Women Rock Physics

During her OPT paid for trip to Anchorage, Alaska, Pamela had a rare chance to shoot the breeze with other women in science and talk about just how common it is to get mistaken for a (secretary/student/someone’s wife) instead of being recognized for the science chicks we are.

The image used in above and below comes froma PowerPoint presentation given by Jill Marshall and depicts women trying to make it through the academic pipeline and periodically deciding to fight their way free.

The low numbers of women in science is something that is getting studied by several people, and the links below will take you to studies based statistics and interviews instead (as seems to be preferred by at least one former Harvard president) guesswork and conjecture.

Light Brite (show #48)

The National Center for Atmospheric Research & the UCAR Office of Programs is encouraging everyone to go out and look at Orion and then go to http://www.globe.gov/GaN/” to report what they see. Please join in on the game!

Castdate: 060328
Title: Lite Brite
Disembodied Voices: Everyone
Written By: Pamela w/Something Else segment by Aaron
Produced: Travis
Rating: [FF] Family Friendly

Show Notes:

• Transcript
• NCAR Press Release
• Maybe Water Didn’t Make Gullies on Mars

WMAP’s Anisotrophy Trophy (Show #47)

Title: WMAP’s Anisotropy Trophy
Written By: Aaron
Disembodied Voices: Pamela & Travis
Engineered: Travis

• Transcript
• WMAP press release and background info
• 
  WMAP results — cosmology makes sense! via Cosmic Variance Blog
• The 2003 press release
• About WMAP Space.com
• WMAP APOD
• The Twinkies Project - get to the source!

WMAP’s version of the content of the Universe. Looks like the dark side is winning.

Twinkie the kid says, I’m the source for cosmic inflation (of the wasteline)

Pop and Glow (Show #46)

Title: Pop and Glow
Written by: Pamela
Disembodied Voices: Travis and Pamela
Engineered: Travis
Rating: [JF]: Just for Fun

• Transcripts
• Info on the Gamma-ray Burst Sky Map
• AAVSO GRB Notice
• Science News story
• Penn State Press Release
• NASA Press Release
• Supernova - Gamma-Ray Burst Connection and SN 1998 BW

GRB060218 is located at: 03:21:39.71, +16:52:02.01 (2000)

Google Mars Launches

• Background science info about the site is here

Just Blame the Termites And Be Done With It (Show #45)

Title: Just Blame the Termites And Be Done With It
Written by: Aaron
Disembodied Voices: Travis, Pamela and a special guest appearance by Flora
Engineered: Travis
Rating: [JF]: Just for Fun

• Transcript
• press release via Cassini-Huygens
• Methane via Wikipedia
• Titan with a nice shot of its atmosphere
• Lakes Found on Titan - THIS IS NOT TRUE and is dated 2003 - but it makes for interesting reading and is an illustration of the scientific process in action. Scientists make bold statements and get into the journal Science, yet are later proven incorrect. The surface of Titan is dry as a bone.

True color photograph of Titan’s upper atmosphere.

SA Extra: Stuck in the Arizona Desert

Matt and I were visiting the US Naval Observatory Flagstaff Station and the Lowell Observatory for business on February 23-26, 2006. On our way home, via Pheonix, we were stuck in a 30+ mile traffic jam. At one point our rented van didn’t move once within about an hour. So I turned on the iRiver (don’t leave home without it!) and asked Matt some questions about his job, our visit to the USNO NOFS and the Lowell Observatory. Remember this was unplanned and unscripted, but it sure did help us pass the time!

When we were done, I got out to take some pictures. Other people did the same and soon we had about 10-15 strangers outside in a group taking pictures and goofing off. It was actually pretty cool…

• US Naval Observatory Flagstaff Station
• Lowell Observatory
• About the discovery of Pluto at Lowell Observatory
• Flagstaff, Arizona
• Meteor Crater

Some pics…

The USNO 1.6m

The USNO 1m R/C

Percival Lowell’s Crypt

Lowell Observatory’s 24-inch Clark Refractor - the scope that discovered the expansion of the Universe

The Chalet, where we stayed. It’s a converted roll-off observatory.

Aaron & Matt on I-17

The interstate…