[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 16 - 11:07:10 ]
Hello Everyone! Thanks for joining us today! Sten will be here in just a few minutes and then we will begin. Be sure to have your questions ready!

[ Homescholled-Jamie - 19 - 11:08:04 ]
Hi! Im Jamie and im Homeschooled

[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 20 - 11:08:09 ]
RE: [Miguel-Miguel/GIRA] Hi everyone! I'm Miguel, from Portugal and I'm an astronomy student.
Hi Miguel! Glad you could join us for your second chat today! Sten will be here momentarily...

[ Miguel-Miguel/GIRA - 21 - 11:09:26 ]
ok... I like this activity...you had an excellent idea. Congratulations! :)

[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 24 - 11:10:19 ]
RE: [YashMSOC-Mrs.Mock/MontessoriSchoolofCorona] Hello Sandy!!! Mrs. Mock already sent my questions but Ill participate in the chat. Im in 4th grade.
Hi Yash! Glad you could make it again also. I will post the questions you and your classmates asked.

[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 27 - 11:12:50 ]
EVERYONE: For some reason, Sten Odenwald cannot get into the chatroom. Soooo, if you will all just hold on for about 5 minutes, I'm going to try some of my wizardry to get him in...

[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 38 - 11:21:37 ]
EVERYONE: My wizardry is not working, and I cannot get Sten into today's chat room. Sooooo, this is what I'd like to suggest. Go ahead and send your questions for Sten, for the next 15 minutes. Then I will close the chat room down, give the questions to Sten via email, have him answer the questions, and then I will post his answers in the chat archive tomorrow. How does that sound? I apologize for the inconvenience :-(

[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 80 - 11:31:38 ]
RE: [Miguel-Miguel/GIRA] well, I have to go...good work here Sandy...I hope to "see" you in another chats...let me ask you one thing: are you planning to have any chat about extraterresrial intelligence?
Bye Miguel, thanks for joining us today. No, there won't be a specific chat devoted to extraterrestrial intelligence. But you may ask questions about it during chats.

[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 102 - 11:39:35 ]
RE: [CharlotteMary-Mr.Salmons/LexingtonTraditionalMagnetSchl] Thank you Sandy for the help about Sten!
You're welcome CharlotteMary :-)

[ Homeschooled-Jamie - 103 - 11:39:55 ]
Thanks Sandy i have to go tell Sten thanks too You were alot of help!

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 107 - 11:41:20 ]
RE: [KasheenaPrice-Mr.Salmons/LexingtonTraditionalMagnetSchl] What do you mean when you said that in your mind that you are transported a million years outside your my body?????
Hi...Because in my mind's eye, combined with what I know about the universe and its contents, I can imagine what things are like even though I can never go and visit them

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 112 - 11:42:32 ]
RE: [Gideon-Ms.Chapman/CoventryElem.School] How hot/cold is it in space?
It depends on how close to a star you are. At the earths distance, the temperature of a white surface can be as hot as -50 centigrade, or as cold as -276 C!

[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 114 - 11:43:41 ]
EVERYONE: STEN IS HERE :-) YAHOO!

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 115 - 11:43:58 ]
RE: [Danielle-Fisher/BlueRidgeMiddleSchool] Were there any times that you just wanted to give up?
Yes...many times. There are many things about professional astronomy that are very frustrating. Basically, Im too stupid to do the things I really want to do, but Im smart enough to know what the interesting topics are to study...frustrating

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 118 - 11:44:35 ]
RE: [eMily-Mr.Salmons/LexingtonTraditionalMagnetSchl] do you ever think about your profession?
All the time...in different ways...it depends on my mood.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 124 - 11:46:17 ]
RE: [Jasmine-Mr.Salmons/LexingtonTraditionalMagnetSchl] What are synodic and sidereal periods?
Sidereal is a measure of the time it takes a planet to go once around the sky and back to the same pattern of stars it started from. Synodic is the time it takes the phase of a planet or moon to reoccur and depends on the relationship between the sun, earth and the object.

[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 127 - 11:47:11 ]
RE: [Blake-BlakeMcCurdy] My. Classes end in about 30min. So if it is not too much trouble, could you please respond to my question I really need to know. I also have other questions waiting for you.
Hi Blake: We'll get to your questions as fast as we can. Sten is answering them in the order that he receives them. Be patient. As you can see, there are A LOT of kids signed on today :-)

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 128 - 11:47:22 ]
RE: [KasheenaPrice-Mr.Salmons/LexingtonTraditionalMagnetSchl] How do you visualize Olympus Mons on Mars???????
Hmmm...I dont really try to! I guess it looks like a tall, sloping mountain. Probably not too impressive from the base of the mountain because of its gradual slope.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 129 - 11:48:14 ]
RE: [Bianca-Ms.Chapman/CoventryElem.School] What'ts it like in space?
I dont really know, first hand. you will see stars everywhere, even with the sun in the 'sky' at the same time. This much be very disorienting!

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 130 - 11:48:44 ]
RE: [Michelle-Mr.Salmons/LexingtonTraditionalMagnetSchl] Could you give me a vivid picture of the surface of Mars?
Have a look at the pathfinder/sojourner images!

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 133 - 11:50:14 ]
RE: [Michelle-Mr.Salmons/LexingtonTraditionalMagnetSchl] What are some of your thoughts whenever you look up into the sky?
I think about how weird it looks. Think about it, and compare it with what the day time looks like around you. I thing it is peculiar that there is so big a difference between the day and night skies...especially the infinity aspect.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 134 - 11:50:43 ]
RE: [CharlotteMary-Mr.Salmons/LexingtonTraditionalMagnetSchl] Besides working in other hobbies do you like to do?
Have fun with my two daughters aged 4 and 7!

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 135 - 11:51:39 ]
RE: [Emily-Mr.Salmons/LexingtonTraditionalMagnetSchl] Thank you Sten for answering my question and for letting us ask you these questions!
Hi...sorry I got on so late...computer problems!!! Come back next time...

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 137 - 11:52:24 ]
RE: [Sara-Mr.Salmons/LexingtonTraditionalMagnetSchl] Are there any blueprints of the spacestation yet?
Sure...but they are ENORMOUS!!! there are millions of parts that fit together to make it...

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 138 - 11:52:46 ]
RE: [KasheenaPrice-Mr.Salmons/LexingtonTraditionalMagnetSchl] Well thank you for spending time with us this afternoon. Hope to talk to you soon. Have a nice day! Goodbye
Bye Bye!!

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 141 - 11:59:19 ]
RE: [Blake-BlakeMcCurdy] Hello, I have an interesting question about NASA's "Stardust" project. On the stardust project, how is the silicon material used to catch the comet particals made?
Hi Blake! They use something called an Aerogel..think of it like the soap foam in your bathtub or sink. The comet particles are supposed to get caught in this stuff, and then saved for transport to earth. Its kind of like flypaper.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 143 - 12:03:07 ]
RE: [ErinLetman-Ms.Chapman/CoventryElem.School] How long does it take to get into space?
With the Space Shuttle, it takes about 8 minutes...space is only 150 miles away!

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 147 - 12:05:08 ]
RE: [ErinLetman-Ms.Chapman/CoventryElem.School] What does it look like in space?
Astronauts tell me it is a darker 'black' than anything you can imagine except in a deep cave. You can see many more stars than on the ground, and there is a definite sense of 3-d to the sky we dont have down here. You also see both the sun and the stars at the same time!!

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 148 - 12:06:45 ]
RE: [Carolynn-Carr/Kipling] What do you think about Pluto? Should it be a planet?
It IS a planet. All astronomers want to do is give it two classifications...and for very good reason. It will still be a planet, but it will also be a 'trans-Neptunian body' too. no big deal.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 149 - 12:11:46 ]
RE: [Homeschooled-Jamie] Sten, Has Earth been able to count home many stars are in the Milky Way?
This is actually harder to fdo than you might think. We can figure out the total mass of the Milky Way...we usually get numbers like 250 billion times the mass of the sun, but this includes 'dark matter' and we dont know what that is. Also, there are lots of stars with 0.1 times the suns mass. so the number of stars could be as high as several TRILLION, or as small as a few 100 billion.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 150 - 12:12:49 ]
RE: [Homeschooled-Jamie] Sten, Do stars just blow up and appear in the sky? or is it a special star dust?
No..only the most massive stars 'blow up' as supernova, the rest of the stars just fade away over billions of years..its complicated and depends on the mass of the star.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 151 - 12:13:55 ]
RE: [Homeschooled-Jamie] Sten, Doy ou think man will ever be able to travel to differant star systems?
No...there is no known technology, or INEXPENSIVE future technologies that would make such a trip last less than 10 years. Also, we do not know how to make things that do not wear out!!

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 152 - 12:14:44 ]
RE: [Lauren-LaurenHarries/EasterbrookElem] Sten, are there any probes going to or near Neptune, if not are there any planned for the future?
There is nothing in the works by NASA for at least the next 10 years. there is a 'Pluto Express' mission, but that doesnt make a pit stop at neptune.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 154 - 12:20:52 ]
RE: [Homeschooled-Jamie] Sten, What made you interested iin cosmology when you were a kid?
I looked at the sky one night when I was 10 years old and wondered what a 'star' was. In a week, I had read every book on astronomy at my schools library.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 157 - 12:21:52 ]
RE: [Lauren-LaurenHarries/EasterbrookElem] Sten, How long would it take for people to get to Neptune with today's technology?
Hmmm...unmanned probes can take 3-5 years depending on whether they do a direct...expensive..route, or a bunch of planetary flybys enroute to pick up speed.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 158 - 12:22:55 ]
RE: [Danielle-Fisher/BlueRidgeMiddleSchool] Mr.Odenwald did you have to go to any special classes to get in your job?
Well...I had to take advanced physics and math courses that got progressively harder ( and more interesting) as I went through college and graduate school if thats what you mean!

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 159 - 12:24:10 ]
RE: [Homeschooled-Jamie] Sten, Do you just study the Milky Way or other star systems like Alphaceanturi?
I used to study how stars were formed in distant interstellar clouds in the Milky Way, but now I am working in cosmology trying to detect the faint light from infant galaxies 15 billion years ago.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 160 - 12:25:41 ]
RE: [Michelle-Mr.Salmons/LexingtonTraditionalMagnetSchl] Do you have any thoughts on extraterrestrial life? If so, what are they?
I have always been convinced that the universe is filthy with bacterial life. I am not as sure that there is much intelligent life with our kind of technology out there though...we only got smart in the last 1000 years of the history of this planet...pretty bad odds for elsewhere.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 161 - 12:26:10 ]
RE: [Hallie-Ms.Chapman/CoventryElem.School] Do like being a astronaut?
Im not an astronaut...Im an astronomer. I would never want to be an astronaut!

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 162 - 12:26:45 ]
RE: [Lauren-LaurenHarries/EasterbrookElem] Is there a Neptune surface that a spaceship can land on?
No..the 'gas giants' are jiant balls of steadily thickening gas...no surface.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 163 - 12:27:58 ]
RE: [Sara-Mr.Salmons/LexingtonTraditionalMagnetSchl] If a spacestation was built on Mars, approximately how many people will live there?
It's all or nothing according to the current NASA plans. we go there and immediatly set up a colony of say 6-8 people who stay there..or die...for 2 years until mars is again close to earth for a return trip.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 164 - 12:29:14 ]
RE: [Jasmine-Mr.Salmons/LexingtonTraditionalMagnetSchl] What is your theory on the evolution of the heavenly bodies?
There really arent any 'theories' anymore, because we have now seen just about every stage in the process going on at least somewhere. You will have to read a book about 'stellar evolution' to learn more..its a big field.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 165 - 12:29:53 ]
RE: [Lauren-LaurenHarries/EasterbrookElem] Are there any natural resources on Neptune or it's moons that we can use?
No..its mostly ice...and ice is boring. asteroids are more interesting in terms of rocks and basic elements.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 166 - 12:32:02 ]
RE: [Emily-Mr.Salmons/LexingtonTraditionalMagnetSchl] How long do you think that the sun will last, what will happen to Earth?
the sun will continue to evolve for another 6 billion years before becoming a red giant and then a white dwarf. Earth will survive the way it is now for another 500 million years or so, but becoming gradually hotter as the sun continues to evolve. by 700 million to 1 billion years the oceans will have boiled and evaporated into the atmosphere killing the biosphere.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 167 - 12:32:56 ]
RE: [Homeschooled-Jamie] Sten, Do you know of any oter star systems?
Do you mean solar systems? yes, we now know of at least a dozen other stars with planets around them...mostly big jupiter-sized planets...a total of 17 known so far.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 168 - 12:34:23 ]
RE: [Homeschooled-Jamie] Sten, Would you call doing what you do easy or hard?
doing chats?> its easy...fun...and very satisfying...but only a professional astronomer can really handle this many questions so quickly...you really got to know your subject just like we expect other professionals to do!

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 169 - 12:34:58 ]
RE: [Danielle-Fisher/BlueRidgeMiddleSchool] How many years of college did you go through?
4 years at UC berkeley, then 6 years in graduate school at harvard.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 170 - 12:36:02 ]
RE: [Lauren-LaurenHarries/EasterbrookElem] What would the Sun look like from the Neptune, would it look like just another star or would it be bigger or brighter?
It would be brighter, but it would also be a lot fainter than what we see here at earth..by about 900 times! Like a full moon at night

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 171 - 12:37:42 ]
RE: [Kasheena-Mr.Salmons/LexingtonTraditionalMagnetSchl] Could you describe Pluto, or the surface of it? Is it really a planet, or an escaped satellite of Neptune?
It is not an escaped moon of Neptune. Calculations show this is physically impossible. It is one of , and the largest known, trans-neptunian body and is a mamber of the Kuiper belt of comet-like, icy bodies we are just beginning to detect...about 70 now known and counting!

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 172 - 12:38:19 ]
RE: [CharlotteMary-Mr.Salmons/LexingtonTraditionalMagnetSchl] If you have the chance to go to space, would you take the offer?
No...I am not interested in the risk, and there is nothing I would see there that I dont already know about as an astronomer.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 173 - 12:40:01 ]
RE: [Kasheena-Mr.Salmons/LexingtonTraditionalMagnetSchl] How does your family react to your obession with Space?
They are sympathetic, but dont think of it as a big deal .I never talk about space at the dinner tables..no one is really interested in talking about it. Thats why I love chat rooms...lots of enthusiasm there for what I do.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 174 - 12:42:12 ]
RE: [Sandy/NASAChatHost] Amber L. - MSOC 5th Grade: What are the names of your books? We could only find one at amazon.com.
The Astronomy Cafe is the only one I have had published. I have other manuscripts but no publisher. One is called 'Astronomy the Human Dimension' the other is the 'Accidental Vacuum'. Ill let the titles speak for themselves.