Oftentimes, for many of us, our way into the world of science is through gazing at the night skies, through astronomy, through NASA. We’re drawn to space and frontiers only limited by our imaginations. Natalie Batalha, a mission scientist on NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope, brings this same sense of childhood astonishment and wonder to us in our show, “On Exoplanets and Love.” This week’s sketchnotes by Doug Neill captures moments of her insights that, we hope, will lure you into listen and read. Quotations from Carl Sagan and rainbows in oil puddles are only the tip of the iceberg with this show. I encourage you to print it out, hang it on your door or in your office. Share with others. Listen and talk about what you see and what you heard. ~Trent Gilliss, senior editor
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Oftentimes, for many of us, our way into the world of science is through gazing at the night skies, through astronomy, through NASA. We’re drawn to space and frontiers only limited by our imaginations. Natalie Batalha, a mission scientist on NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope, brings this same sense of childhood astonishment and wonder to us in our show, “On Exoplanets and Love.”

This week’s sketchnotes by Doug Neill captures moments of her insights that, we hope, will lure you into listen and read. Quotations from Carl Sagan and rainbows in oil puddles are only the tip of the iceberg with this show. I encourage you to print it out, hang it on your door or in your office. Share with others. Listen and talk about what you see and what you heard.

~Trent Gilliss, senior editor

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  • On Exoplanets and Love: Natalie Batalha on Science That Connects Us to One AnotherOn Being with Krista Tippett
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A mission scientist with NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope, Natalie Batalha hunts for exoplanets (yes, she’s a planet hunter!) — Earth-sized planets beyond our solar system that might harbor life. She speaks about unexpected connections between things like love and dark energy, science and gratitude, and how “exploring the heavens” brings the beauty of the cosmos and the exuberance of scientific discovery closer to us all.

We’re putting the final touches on our show with Natalie Batalha, a research astronomer and mission scientist with NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope. What is she searching for? Exoplanets: terrestrial planets with liquid water approximately the size of Earth that exist outside of our solar system. But, we may not have to look that far. NASA’s Curiosity Rover transmitted back this incredible panorama (well, actually stitched-together images) of the Mars surface. Adam Mann reports on Wired: Late on Feb. 8, Curiosity drilled a 6.4-cm-deep hole into a rock nicknamed John Klein on the surface of Mars. The area the rover is in appears to have been repeatedly flooded with water in the past and the drilling operation will allow scientists to uncover the complex aqueous history of the place. Nevertheless, it’s edifying to know that parallel efforts are taking place to discover more about the strata of deep time and our place in this sacred universe.
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We’re putting the final touches on our show with Natalie Batalha, a research astronomer and mission scientist with NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope. What is she searching for? Exoplanets: terrestrial planets with liquid water approximately the size of Earth that exist outside of our solar system.

But, we may not have to look that far. NASA’s Curiosity Rover transmitted back this incredible panorama (well, actually stitched-together images) of the Mars surface. Adam Mann reports on Wired:

Late on Feb. 8, Curiosity drilled a 6.4-cm-deep hole into a rock nicknamed John Klein on the surface of Mars. The area the rover is in appears to have been repeatedly flooded with water in the past and the drilling operation will allow scientists to uncover the complex aqueous history of the place.

Nevertheless, it’s edifying to know that parallel efforts are taking place to discover more about the strata of deep time and our place in this sacred universe.

The lights of the Nile River delta as seen from the International Space Station. These images from NASA never cease to amaze me. ~Trent Gilliss, senior editor
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The lights of the Nile River delta as seen from the International Space Station. These images from NASA never cease to amaze me.

~Trent Gilliss, senior editor

theatlantic: Science Picture of the Day: The Mars Horizon NASA’s Mars Rover Opportunity captured this image looking eastward over the Endeavour Crater late in the afternoon of Opportunity’s 2,888th Martian sol (day) which corresponded with March 9, 2012 here on Earth. In the foreground, Opportunity’s own shadow appears, in a sort of one-step-removed self-portrait. […] The image is a mosaic of about a dozen images and presented in false color to draw out certain features of the topography. [Image: NASA] Apropos to our upcoming show with deep sea explorer Sylvia Earle, who reminds us that we ought to explore the depths of our oceans and selves as much as we do outer space. She’s right; nevertheless, this is marvelous.
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theatlantic:

Science Picture of the Day: The Mars Horizon

NASA’s Mars Rover Opportunity captured this image looking eastward over the Endeavour Crater late in the afternoon of Opportunity’s 2,888th Martian sol (day) which corresponded with March 9, 2012 here on Earth. In the foreground, Opportunity’s own shadow appears, in a sort of one-step-removed self-portrait. […] The image is a mosaic of about a dozen images and presented in false color to draw out certain features of the topography.

[Image: NASA]

Apropos to our upcoming show with deep sea explorer Sylvia Earle, who reminds us that we ought to explore the depths of our oceans and selves as much as we do outer space. She’s right; nevertheless, this is marvelous.

At lectures there are always some who raise their hands. But I think it’s unethical to send young people, since there are serious health risks. You need highly trained scientists with a life expectancy of less than 20 years.
Paul Davies, on sending people on a one-way trip to Mars in this month’s issue of Wired magazine

~Trent Gilliss, senior editor
newshour: A satellite designed to study the Earth’s weather and climate launched into space aboard a Delta II rocket early Friday. (Photo credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls) ~reblogged by Trent Gilliss, senior editor
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newshour:

A satellite designed to study the Earth’s weather and climate launched into space aboard a Delta II rocket early Friday.

(Photo credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls)

~reblogged by Trent Gilliss, senior editor

From Being Visual: This Crab Nebula is a remnant of a star’s supernova explosion. It’s six light-years wide and expanding! Congratulations to the three astrophysicists who won this year’s Nobel Prize in physics for discovering that the fading lights of supernovas tell us that our universe is expanding into a cold, dark place. (Photo by NASA via Getty Images)
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From Being Visual:

This Crab Nebula is a remnant of a star’s supernova explosion. It’s six light-years wide and expanding! Congratulations to the three astrophysicists who won this year’s Nobel Prize in physics for discovering that the fading lights of supernovas tell us that our universe is expanding into a cold, dark place.

(Photo by NASA via Getty Images)

Earth and Moon as Stars in the Night Sky by Trent Gilliss, senior editor Twenty-one days into its journey to Jupiter, NASA’s Juno space probe captured this remarkable sight on August 26th: our planet and its moon (Earth’s on the left) from approximately six million miles, nearly ten million kilometers, away. Seeing Earth from the outside, Scott Bolton, Juno’s principal investigator, put it best, “We see a humbling yet beautiful view of ourselves.” (image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI)
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Earth and Moon as Stars in the Night Sky

by Trent Gilliss, senior editor

Twenty-one days into its journey to Jupiter, NASA’s Juno space probe captured this remarkable sight on August 26th: our planet and its moon (Earth’s on the left) from approximately six million miles, nearly ten million kilometers, away. Seeing Earth from the outside, Scott Bolton, Juno’s principal investigator, put it best, “We see a humbling yet beautiful view of ourselves.”

(image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI)

Space Shuttle Launch Above the Clouds by Trent Gilliss, senior editor Yesterday’s final launch of the space shuttle Endeavour was captured from many angles, but this shot from Stefanie Gordon from a commercial jet has captured the imaginations of hundreds of thousands of people. This perspective also makes me marvel at how well the traffic in our skies is managed. And, if you don’t have an iPhone, you just may be able to justify purchasing one now (just in case). [h/t skibinskipedia]
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Space Shuttle Launch Above the Clouds

by Trent Gilliss, senior editor

Yesterday’s final launch of the space shuttle Endeavour was captured from many angles, but this shot from Stefanie Gordon from a commercial jet has captured the imaginations of hundreds of thousands of people. This perspective also makes me marvel at how well the traffic in our skies is managed.

And, if you don’t have an iPhone, you just may be able to justify purchasing one now (just in case).

[h/t skibinskipedia]