For the Love of Science

In this special episode, hear the story of BAERI’s founding from the founders themselves: husband and wife team Robert Bergstrom and Sharon Sittloh.

In this episode we hear from planetary scientist Victoria Hartwick who works with the Mars Climate Modeling Center at NASA Ames. The conversation includes a discussion about Dr. Hartwick’s paper that explores whether wind turbines on Mars could be a viable source of energy for future humans on that planet, then ranges to how clouds form in the highest reaches of the atmosphere, how climate models work, and how planetary climates, including our own here on Earth, are affected by the space environment around them.

Exoplanet - Any planet outside of our solar system (i.e., a planet revolving around a star that is not our Sun)

Climate model - Computer programs that simulate weather patterns over time

Kelvin - The temperature scale used in exoplanetary science

Ablation - The breaking up of a meteor when it travels through Earth’s atmosphere

Noctilucent clouds - Pearlescent extremely high-altitude clouds visible at dawn and dusk. They are formed on meteoric smoke.

What’s it like to work as a climate scientist today? In this episode I speak with climate scientist Kristina Pistone about her research, her role on the sustainability commission for the city of Sunnyvale in California, and how our current system of science funding impacts her ability to do her work.

More about Kristina: https://baeri.org/people/kristina-pistone

How to save a planet podcast: https://gimletmedia.com/shows/howtosaveaplanet/llh8gxg/is-your-carbon-footprint-bs

This two-part series is all about exoplanets, planets outside of our solar system, and how they and the stars they orbit are a key part of the search for extraterrestrial life.

In this episode, Part 2, we talk with two more BAERI folks, astronomer Geert Barentsen and science communicator Kassie Perlongo, about their citizen science accelerator, Planet Hunters Coffee Chat, where they teach you how to dig into space telescope data to look for planets, and other potentially weird things, yourself.

In this episode we hear from two researchers who helped make the data from NASA’s Kepler mission accessible to the public, so that anyone in the world, including you, could sit down at your computer and discover a new planet.

Guests:

• Geert Barensten, Senior Research Scientist at the Bay Area Environmental Research Institute at NASA Ames
• Christina Hedges, Support Scientist at the Bay Area Environmental Research Institute at NASA Ames

Learn more, and discover your own planet at:

• https://keplerscience.arc.nasa.gov/
• https://docs.lightkurve.org/

For the Love of Science is produced by the Bay Area Environmental Research Institute. Learn more at: baeri.org

Music by Danny Clay.