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Weekly Space Hangout — June 22, 2022: Former NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver and Her New Memoir "Escaping Gravity"

Weekly Space Hangout

Release Date: 06/25/2022

Weekly Space Hangout — January 11, 2023: The Final Episode show art Weekly Space Hangout — January 11, 2023: The Final Episode

Weekly Space Hangout

Join us this week for our first News Roundup of the New Year, which is also the final episode of the Weekly Space Hangout! Thank you to everyone who made this show possible over the years and who helped bring science to the community! **************************************** The Weekly Space Hangout is a production of CosmoQuest. Want to support CosmoQuest? Here are some specific ways you can help: Subscribe FREE to our YouTube channel at Subscribe to our podcasts Astronomy Cast and Daily Space where ever you get your podcasts! Watch our streams over on Twitch at – follow and subscribe!...

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Weekly Space Hangout — January 4, 2023: Dr. Eddie Schwieterman Discusses Nitrous Oxide as a Biosignature show art Weekly Space Hangout — January 4, 2023: Dr. Eddie Schwieterman Discusses Nitrous Oxide as a Biosignature

Weekly Space Hangout

Historically, scientists using spectrographic analysis to study exoplanet atmospheres have considered oxygen and methane as two key biosignatures when identifying "life-friendly" planets. But could nitrous oxide (N2O) — aka "Laughing Gas" — also be a reliable biosignature? A explains why N2O can — and should — be included as a biosignature gas. Tonight we are pleased to welcome the paper's lead author, Dr. Eddie Schwieterman, astrobiologist at UC Riverside, to discuss why N2O is an indicator of life. Dr. Eddie Schwieterman is an Assistant Professor of Astrobiology in the Department of...

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Weekly Space Hangout — December 14, 2022: Chillin' with Dr. Francis Halzen, PI of IceCube show art Weekly Space Hangout — December 14, 2022: Chillin' with Dr. Francis Halzen, PI of IceCube

Weekly Space Hangout

Viewers who watched/listened to our November 16, 2022, episode may remember that Dr. Leah Jenks told us about . This week we are pleased to welcome Dr. Francis Halzen, Principal Investigator for IceCube, who will discuss the significance of these detections in understanding how active galaxies "work," and potentially ushering in the age of Neutrino Astronomy. With funding from the National Science Foundation the IceCube project at the South Pole melted eighty-six holes over 1.5 miles deep in the Antarctic icecap to construct an enormous astronomical observatory. The experiment discovered a...

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Weekly Space Hangout — December 7, 2022: The Science of the L1527 Weekly Space Hangout — December 7, 2022: The Science of the L1527 "Butterfly" with Dr. Karl Stapelfeldt

Weekly Space Hangout

During our November 16th show, Carolyn Collins Petersen introduced us to the hourglass/butterfly of L1527, an image captured by JWST using its onboard NIRCam. (You can read the original story . This week we are joined by Dr. Karl Stapelfeldt, Chief Scientist for NASA's Exoplanet Exploration Program at JPL who will help us understand the science behind this amazing structure. Karl earned a B.S.E. in Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Physics at Princeton University, and a Ph.D. in Astrophysics at Caltech. His career at NASA includes positions at both the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and most...

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Weekly Space Hangout: November 30, 2022 - News Roundup! show art Weekly Space Hangout: November 30, 2022 - News Roundup!

Weekly Space Hangout

It's time for another News Roundup ! Buckle up for another hour of news!! **************************************** The Weekly Space Hangout is a production of CosmoQuest. Want to support CosmoQuest? Here are some specific ways you can help: Subscribe FREE to our YouTube channel at Subscribe to our podcasts Astronomy Cast and Daily Space where ever you get your podcasts! Watch our streams over on Twitch at – follow and subscribe! Become a Patreon of CosmoQuest Become a Patreon of Astronomy Cast Buy stuff from our Redbubble Join our Discord server for CosmoQuest - Join the Weekly Space...

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Weekly Space Hangout — November 23, 2022: Hipparchus' Lost Star Catalogue with Dr. Victor Gysembergh show art Weekly Space Hangout — November 23, 2022: Hipparchus' Lost Star Catalogue with Dr. Victor Gysembergh

Weekly Space Hangout

Greek astronomer Hipparchus, who lived in the second century BCE, is considered to be the greatest astronomical observer of his time. Among his achievements are the development of trigonometry, the ability to predict solar eclipses, discovering and measuring the precession of the equinoxes, and, in approximately 135 BCE, the compilation of the first comprehensive star catalogue in the western world. Since that time, scientists have spent centuries searching for Hipparchus' Star Catalogue, but it disappeared and has never been found. Or has it? In 2017, researchers used multispectral imaging...

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Weekly Space Hangout — November 16, 2022: Up, Up, & Away with Dr. Jacob Izraelevitz and JPL's Venus Aerial Robotic Balloons show art Weekly Space Hangout — November 16, 2022: Up, Up, & Away with Dr. Jacob Izraelevitz and JPL's Venus Aerial Robotic Balloons

Weekly Space Hangout

Despite the romance associated with Venus for millennia thanks to its having been named after the Roman god of love, Venus has proven to anything BUT romantic - LITERALLY! Combining the toxic and corrosive composition of its atmosphere with the crushing pressure exerted on anything that attempts to venture too far into it, Venus is the last place most of us would choose for a date. These conditions proved to be disastsrous for missions that sent traditional craft to the planet. To date, the only "craft" to have survived for more than a few hours are the 1985 and balloon missions where each...

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Weekly Space Hangout — November 9, 2022: Untying an Early Weekly Space Hangout — November 9, 2022: Untying an Early "Cosmic Knot" with Dr. Andrey Vayner

Weekly Space Hangout

Since its final commissioning and being placed in service, JWST has been delivering on its promise to provide unprecedented insight into the most distant — and oldest — regions of our Universe. Whether it's providing a new view of our nearby neighbor Jupiter, or sussing out never-before-seen details of the iconic Eagle Nebula and its Pillars of Creation, let's face it - the imagery so far has been nothing less than stunning! But more importantly, the data being collected by JWST's onboard instrumentation are allowing scientists the ability to peer back in time to study the oldest cosmic...

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Weekly Space Hangout — November 2, 2022: Revisiting Apollo Photographically with Andy Saunders, Author of Apollo Remastered show art Weekly Space Hangout — November 2, 2022: Revisiting Apollo Photographically with Andy Saunders, Author of Apollo Remastered

Weekly Space Hangout

This week we are airing our prerecorded interview with Andy Saunders, the author and creative force behind the new book "Apollo Remastered." Andy used his talent and expertise to digitally remaster and restore the original flight film from America's first missions to the Moon. Universe Today's own Nancy Atkinson (who is also a WSH alumna,) interviewed Andy this past month, and as a special treat, Nancy is joining us tonight as well. Andy Saunders is a British author, science writer, and one of the world's foremost experts of NASA digital restoration. His photographic work has been exhibited...

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Weekly Space Hangout — October 26, 2022: The ATA Searches for Technosignatures with Dr. Sofia Sheikh from the SETI Institute show art Weekly Space Hangout — October 26, 2022: The ATA Searches for Technosignatures with Dr. Sofia Sheikh from the SETI Institute

Weekly Space Hangout

As we discover new exoplanets on an almost daily basis - particularly now that JWST is online - scientists are ramping up their research into identifying those planets that may exhibit traces of life (as we know it.) Scientists use spectrographs to examine the composition of these exoplanet atmospheres looking markers called technosignatures - trace elements that may be indicative of life. What constitutes a technosignature? Does the presence of one or more technosignatures mean that an exoplanet is a strong candidate for hosting life? Can atmospheric markers not included in our current list...

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More Episodes

This week we are honored to welcome former NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver to the Weekly Space Hangout. Her new memoir, Escaping Gravity (Diversion Books, June 21, 2022), offers a "first-hand account of how a handful of revolutionaries managed to outmaneuver the system of political patronage and bureaucracy that threatened the space agency and the future of human spaceflight. From inside NASA, Garver drove changes to policies and programs that enabled competition that challenged the expensive and ineffective traditional systems at the exact time the capabilities and resources of the private sector began to mature."

Lori Garver led the NASA transition team for President-elect Obama and served as Deputy Administrator of NASA from 2009 - 2013. Lori is a Senior Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, an Executive in Residence at Bessemer Venture Partners, and a member of the Board of Directors for Hydrosat.

Garver founded Earthrise Alliance, a philanthropic organization utilizing satellite data to address climate change, and co-founded the Brooke Owens Fellowship, an internship and mentorship program for collegiate women. Previous senior executive positions include former General Manager of the Air Line Pilots Association, Vice President of the Avascent Group, Associate Administrator for Policy at NASA, and Executive Director of the National Space Society. Garver is the recipient of the 2021 Public Service Award for AIAA, the 2021 Heinlein Award for the National Space Society, the 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award for Women in Aerospace, and has been awarded three NASA Distinguished Service Medals.

Lori holds a B.A. in Political Economy from Colorado College and an M.A. in Science, Technology, and Public Policy from George Washington University.

Be sure to visit the Escaping Gravity website to learn more about the book, including how to order your own copy.

You can also learn more about Lori by visiting her website as well as her NASA webpage.

Follow Lori on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

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