[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 0 - 22:58:35 ]
Today's Space Scientist Online QuestChat with Astronomer Jim Thieman will begin at 10 am Pacific (1 pm Eastern). Be sure to read Jim's bio before the chat begins-- http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/sso/team/thieman.html

[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 3 - 09:55:26 ]
Hello to anyone who might be in the chat room at this time! Astronomer Jim Thieman is standing by and ready to take your questions.

[ JimThieman/Astronomer - 4 - 09:58:30 ]
RE: [Erin] Jim, After reading your biography, I have a few questions for you. What emotions passed through you when you found out that because of your eyesight you were invalid in becoming an astronauut? What actually are the requirements to becoming an astonaut? Also if we wanted to get involed in NASA what are other good majors besides astrophysics? What schools would you recomend? Are there many jobs in the field of Astrophysics? What spacecrafts have you worked with? Do you need to have an extensive background in computers? I went to the Radio Jove website was interested. I was wondering what the schools listed do and how could my school get involved? If possible could you send information to the email address rodkey@kosd.org? Thank you very much. Erin
Erin, I'm not sure I can answer all your questions right now, but I will try to at least provide some answer afterwards if there is time to some of the questions about Radio JOVE, etc. Regarding my emotions about not having the eyesight for an astronaut, I at first thought it was unfair since I know the physical requirements are being lessened all the time. Nonetheless, they need some criteria to separate the multitude of applications they get and I guess that is one of them. There is a pamplhlet available from NASA about how to become an astronaut. You can probably get it from the public affairs office of most NASA Centers.

[ JimThieman/Astronomer - 6 - 10:00:59 ]
RE: [vicki-Mrs.Rotella/HollyGlenSchool] HI! Vicki form Holly glen here. Jim I read about how you felt inspired by Alan Shepard and I wanted to know how it affected you when Apollo 11 reached the moon. Was this also an inspiration?
Words cannot express how proud I felt when watching the first step on the moon. I will remember that moment always. I only wish I could have been there personally.

[ JimThieman/Astronomer - 8 - 10:02:42 ]
RE: [vicki-Mrs.Rotella/HollyGlenSchool] Have you ever worked with any of the data gathered by Apollo 11 or any of the other moon missions either in your role as a radio astronomer or with the National Space Science Data Center?
We have data here from Apollo 11, but I have not personally worked with it. I have worked with data from Voyager, Dynamics Explorer, Galileo, Ulysses, etc. which are also exciting missions.

[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 9 - 10:03:56 ]
For those interested in becoming astronauts, you can go to the "NASA Astronaut Biography" web site at-- http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios

[ JimThieman/Astronomer - 11 - 10:06:08 ]
Erin, getting back to your questions about computers, it always helps to have a good background in computers almost regardless of profession. Concerning Radio JOVE, any school is welcome to get involved. Just fill out the application and order forms on the Radio JOVE website at http://radiojove.gsfc.nasa.gov

[ JimThieman/Astronomer - 13 - 10:09:26 ]
RE: [vicki-Mrs.Rotella/HollyGlenSchool] Has working as a "space scientist" been as fulfilling as you hoped it would be when you started? What has been one of your favorite momentws in the field?
Being a space scientist has indeed been very fulfilling. The only thing better would be to be an astronaut. I have had some great moments even not being an astronaut. Probably one of the best was being at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory when Voyager first encountered Jupiter. It was extremely exciting to see the first closeup pictures of the moons of Jupiter and know what they actually looked like. Then the discovery of volcanism on Io later on was even more exciting. Needless to say there were some wonderful discoveries in the radio observations of Jupiter as well.

[ JimThieman/Astronomer - 14 - 10:12:19 ]
RE: [vicki-Mrs.Rotella/HollyGlenSchool] I'm sorry if I seem stuck on Apollo 11 but that is a topic we are doing some current research on. Did it make your desire to go into space science even stronger? How about otehers you have worked with at NASA?
Apollo 11 definitely increased my desire to go into space science. I wanted to be a part of it all. A close friend of mine, Ron Parise, did actually go into space twice and I kind of lived it through him. Getting back to Apollo 11, I was able to see the Apollo on the pad before it was launched. I did see several Apollo launches. Those were just as exciting.

[ JimThieman/Astronomer - 16 - 10:14:32 ]
Vicki, are there any particular aspects of Apollo 11 that you want to know about? I did study it pretty thoroughly since I was so interested it.

[ JimThieman/Astronomer - 17 - 10:17:40 ]
RE: [vicki-Mrs.Rotella/HollyGlenSchool] Are your children also interested in careers in science? When you talk about the excitement when Voyager first encountered Jupiter, I can only imagine what being right there and involved must be like. I know I get excited as a distant spectator! Are moments like that rare, or does the excitement level remain high?
My children are actually planning to go into education and food science. I think it is often true that one's children often take a different direction from their parents. The moments of true discovery are relatively rare, but every new mission holds the hope of something new and exciting. For example, the discoveries of NEAR orbiting the asteroid EROS are exciting right now!

[ JimThieman/Astronomer - 20 - 10:21:47 ]
RE: [vicki-Mrs.Rotella/HollyGlenSchool] My daughter is in a fourth grade talented and gifted program and is doing a research project on Apollo 11. Since she had to be in school now we discussed questions before she left this morning. And then Mom gets to have fun! What would you say was the most significant scientific contribution made by Apollo 11?
Clearly the greatest significance for Apollo 11 was being the first on the Moon. There are all kinds of things that go along with that. For example, knowing that you can land safely and not be swallowed up by a 10 foot layer of soft dust, knowing that there are a variety of materials of interest the landing site and what their composition is, etc.

[ JimThieman/Astronomer - 21 - 10:23:50 ]
RE: [vicki-Mrs.Rotella/HollyGlenSchool] Since you also have an interest in education I wouldn't say a child entering the field was too far astray from dad! Does your interest in space extend to leisure time? Do you enjoy science fiction or is that just overkill when you're trying to relax?
I do enjoy science fiction, but usually don't have enough time to read too many books. I read the paper a lot and try to keep up with all the fields of science with my Science News subscription or just reading about the exciting things that get reported in the paper.

[ JimThieman/Astronomer - 22 - 10:24:11 ]
Erin, are you still out there?

[ JimThieman/Astronomer - 24 - 10:27:18 ]
RE: [vicki-Mrs.Rotella/HollyGlenSchool] If you had the opportunity to get any project you wished off the ground (no pun intended) what would be your dream research project in your field?
Surprisingly, though we have sent many missions to the planets, only one, Voyager, has had a radio receiver capable of receiving radio emission in the 10-40 MHz frequencies. Voyager was a flyby mission so we don't have too much radio data from Jupiter and the other planets. It would be wonderful to have a radio receiver at those frequencies in orbit around Jupiter.

[ JimThieman/Astronomer - 26 - 10:28:56 ]
Vicki, what exactly does your daughter hoping to include in her research on Apollo 11?

[ JimThieman/Astronomer - 28 - 10:31:09 ]
RE: [vicki-Mrs.Rotella/HollyGlenSchool] Do you think the space sciences will be a good career choice for todays kids? Is the field growing or does it seem on the inside that it may be cut back?
Space sciences are a great career choice. As a matter of fact, in the area of my interest, sun-earth connections, a new program is being started which will double the budget in five years.

[ JimThieman/Astronomer - 29 - 10:32:24 ]
RE: [vicki-Mrs.Rotella/HollyGlenSchool] Are there any plans for future missions that would put that type of radio receiver near Jupiter?
There are no plans for a mission of that sort at the present time. We have to keep watching for the opportunities and propose to have something like that when the situation comes along.

[ JimThieman/Astronomer - 34 - 10:35:50 ]
RE: [Erin-Mr.Rodkey/KeystoneOaksHighSchool] Jim, Thank you for anwering my questions. I have yet another question for you. Since you said you were a teachers assistant, what grade did you go to?
The teaching assistantship was in graduate school. I taught undergraduate physics and astronomy.

[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 35 - 10:36:15 ]
Welcome Gustavo!

[ JimThieman/Astronomer - 36 - 10:37:15 ]
RE: [Gustavo-BigMan] Hi!! I have a question on stars and maybe you could help me How can I know if a star is hot or cold just by looking at it?
The temperature of a star is indicated by the light it gives off. By knowing for example how much intensity there is at the different wavelengths of light we can tell how hot it is, especially in relation to other stars.

[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 37 - 10:37:48 ]
EVERYONE: There are about 20 minutes left in today's chat with Astronomer Jim Thieman. At the end of the chat, please let us know how we did by filling out a short chat survey at-- http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/qchats/qchat-surveys -- thanks :-)

[ JimThieman/Astronomer - 38 - 10:38:33 ]
RE: [vicki-Mrs.Rotella/HollyGlenSchool] Her projest has included much general info on the mission such as the equipment used, the astronauts, the timeline of the mission itself etc. all of course on a fourth grade level. But she also wants to include some info on the impact of the mission. Did it inspire today's scientists? Did people around the world really feel that it was a step for all mankind? was any of the data gathered of real use?
For the facts about the Apollo mission there are some great websites on Apollo history. For feelings of people I guess she will have to ask a variety of people.

[ JimThieman/Astronomer - 40 - 10:41:03 ]
RE: [Erin-Mr.Rodkey/KeystoneOaksHighSchool] Jim, In your biographgy you talk about Jupiter emmisions, what have you found these emmisions to mean?
Good question, Erin! I've been studying the emissions for almost 30 years and still don't understand them all. They do tell us about how charged particles like electrons and protons move about in Jupiter's magnetic fields and how a small moon like Io is a major influence on the radio emission from Jupiter.

[ JimThieman/Astronomer - 43 - 10:45:14 ]
RE: [Gustavo-BigMan] Thank you. That definitely helped. Just one more question. How can you tell the difference between a planet and a star? Does a planet twinkles more? Why?
The major difference that you can notice just by looking at the sky every chance you get is that the planets in our solar system move across the sky with time whereas the stars stay in fixed positions relative to each other. Many of the planets are brighter than the stars so they are more noticeable and its easy for people to notice how they move in relation to all the fixed positions for the stars relative to each other. Planets were often called "wanderers" by ancient peoples.

[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 46 - 10:46:42 ]
EVERYONE: There are about 10 minutes left so send Jim a few more questions and then we'll let him get back to his other work :-)

[ JimThieman/Astronomer - 47 - 10:47:08 ]
RE: [vicki-Mrs.Rotella/HollyGlenSchool] What is the most distant planet that you have been able to study the radio emissions from?
Because Voyager traveled all the way to Neptune we know that Neptune is a radio source as is Uranus, Saturn, Jupiter, and the Earth. From the ground it is very difficult to get emissions for anything other than Jupiter and the Sun.

[ JimThieman/Astronomer - 50 - 10:48:54 ]
RE: [Erin-Mr.Rodkey/KeystoneOaksHighSchool] Jim, I am really intrested in magnetic forces around plantes espcially Earth. What is the differences between Earth and Jupiters magnetosphers?
Jupiter has a much stronger magnetic field than the Earth. What is interesting is that both Jupiter and the Earth have magnetic fields that are tipped about 10 degrees from their rotational axes. So they have similarities as well.

[ JimThieman/Astronomer - 51 - 10:49:35 ]
RE: [vicki-Mrs.Rotella/HollyGlenSchool] Since time is growin short I also just wanted to take a minute to thank you for spending this time with us. What a wonderful opportunity these chats are for students. I know my daughter was very excited about the chance to pass some questions on to a "real live" NASA scientist! We will definitely be keeping our eye on the chat schedule in the future.
Happy to help. Feel free to send questions by email as well.

[ JimThieman/Astronomer - 52 - 10:51:12 ]
RE: [Erin-Mr.Rodkey/KeystoneOaksHighSchool] Jim, If no one understands the emissions then why do we continue to study them?
I didn't say no one understands the emissions. We have a better understanding of them all the time. We just can't explain everything yet. As with all science it seems that as soon as you explain one mystery it raises two more!

[ JimThieman/Astronomer - 53 - 10:52:48 ]
Erin, let me know if you have any specific questions about Radio JOVE. We'd love to have your school or any school participating. Just email me at thieman@nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov

[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 55 - 10:53:43 ]
EVERYONE: There are just 5 minutes left in our chat with Jim today so I wanted to say three things: 1) THANK YOU for your terrific questions! 2) Please be sure to fill out the short survey and let us know how we did with today's chat. It can be found at: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/qchats/qchat-surveys 3) And last but not least, please join us again next week for another in our series of Mars Millennium Chats with physicist Daniel Winterhalter. THANK YOU :-)

[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 56 - 10:55:16 ]
One last note: today's chat with Jim will be archived later this afternoon. You will be able to find it in the SSO chat archives and as a link from Jim's bio. Thanks again for your participation today :-)

[ vicki-Mrs.Rotella/HollyGlenSchool - 57 - 10:55:26 ]
No, Thank You!

[ JimThieman/Astronomer - 58 - 10:55:36 ]
RE: [Erin-Mr.Rodkey/KeystoneOaksHighSchool] Jim thank you for anwering all my questions. This will be very helpful in my classes and I know my classmates will be happy to know this information. If we think of any questions where could we email you at?
Erin, happy to answer questions from you or your classmates. I hope to do another chat session in the near future, so be watching for that and I'll be happy to talk with you again.

[ JimThieman/Astronomer - 59 - 10:56:24 ]
RE: [vicki-Mrs.Rotella/HollyGlenSchool] No, Thank You!
It was enjoyable. Thank you for joining us!

[ JimThieman/Astronomer - 60 - 10:57:35 ]
Back to work now! Enjoy school. It's a wonderful learning experience!