[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 0 - 09:58:35 ]
Welcome to another Space Scientist Online QuestChat with Astronomer Jim Thieman. Jim will be in the chat room and ready to answer your questions at 10:30 am Pacific (1:30 pm Eastern). Be sure to read Jim's bio before the chat begins-- http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/sso/team/thieman.html

[ JimThieman/Astronomer - 1 - 10:26:38 ]
Hi, I'm here if anyone has any questions.

[ JimThieman/Astronomer - 12 - 10:37:41 ]
RE: [Walt] What is it that actually causes the planet to give off radio signals?
The planets give off radio emissions (we think) because they have charge particles (electrons, protons, etc.) moving in magnetic fields, the magnetic field of the planet.

[ JimThieman/Astronomer - 15 - 10:38:40 ]
RE: [Carolyn] What incident in your life caused this intest in space?
My interest in space came from watching the launch of Alan Shepard our first astronaut. I said, "that's what I want to be.

[ JimThieman/Astronomer - 16 - 10:39:33 ]
RE: [MrsMcD/RuralHall/Malory-Mrs.McD/RuralHall] Do all planets and moons emit raido waves?
The only planets that emit radio waves that we are aware of are the Earth, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Naptune.

[ JimThieman/Astronomer - 18 - 10:40:21 ]
RE: [MrsMcD/RuralHall/josh-Mrs.McD/RuralHall] What sports do you like to play?
Regarding sports, my favorite is probably football, but I like volleyball, basketball, tennis, karate, etc. as well.

[ JimThieman/Astronomer - 21 - 10:40:50 ]
RE: [MrsMcD/RuralHall/tyler-Mrs.McD/RuralHall] Where did you go to college?
I went to college at the University of Dayton, but did my graduate work at the University of Florida.

[ JimThieman/Astronomer - 23 - 10:41:47 ]
RE: [MrsMcD/RuralHall/ben-Mrs.McD/RuralHall] What state were you born in?
I was born in Ohio, and spent 21 years there. Then I went to Florida for graduate school. Then Maryland for my job. Ho Hum, huh?

[ JimThieman/Astronomer - 25 - 10:43:11 ]
RE: [MrsMcD/RuralHall/Indolfo-Mrs.McD/RuralHall] What did you like most about your job?
In my job I get to deal with science, math, education, computers, all the things I like on a daily basis. You are paid to solve puzzles and do the things you like. I recommend that to everyone.

[ JimThieman/Astronomer - 26 - 10:44:37 ]
RE: [Walt-LoriEckland/MEC] Are the charged particles being generated on the planet or are they coming from the sun or other sources?
The charged particles are generated on the planet, but we think through the influence of the Sun's ultraviolet light or by coming direct from the Sun.

[ JimThieman/Astronomer - 27 - 10:45:36 ]
RE: [Lil-LoriEckland/MEC] Have you ever been in space? If so, when and with whom?
Boy, I wish I had been in space. I wanted to be an astronaut and still do, but my eyesight won't allow it. I have a friend who is an astronaut and I kind of lived it through him.

[ JimThieman/Astronomer - 28 - 10:46:29 ]
RE: [MrsMcD/RuralHall/Danielle-Mrs.McD/RuralHall] How did not being an astronaut effect your life? Did it make you work harder?
Not being an astronaut disappointed me, but I knew I still wanted to work for NASA, so I put my efforts into making that happen and I was lucky enough to accomplish that.

[ JimThieman/Astronomer - 32 - 10:49:39 ]
RE: [Walt] Do you know who Harrison Schmidt is and if so did he have any influence on your career choice?
I do know who Harrison Schmitt is as a scientist astronaut. I was in graduate school when he was in space, so at that time I was already committed to going into astrophysics.

[ JimThieman/Astronomer - 33 - 10:50:59 ]
RE: [Erica] Do we receive radio signals from outside the solar system? If so from where?
There are a lot of radio signals from outside the solar system. Mainly from other stars and galaxies that also have charged particles moving in magnetic fields or in fields that cause charged particles to oscillate.

[ JimThieman/Astronomer - 35 - 10:52:48 ]
RE: [Erin] Hi Jim, I was on the last chat you had and was really interested in the work you do on the magentic field of Jupiter are there alot of career opprutinities in this field?
Hi Erin, Good to have you here again. I was going to answer your first list of questions by email, but it looked like I answered most of them in the chat session. Regarding career opportunities, there are a number of opportunities, but it sometimes takes a little work to get yourself established somewhere. Thats' the hard part.

[ JimThieman/Astronomer - 37 - 10:54:28 ]
RE: [Lil] At what high school grade level should astronomy be offered as an elective? Pre-requisites?
I believe astronomy can be taught at most any level without any prerequisites, it depends on how deeply you want to go into it. If you go at it like a professional, you should probably have calculus and physics before taking the mainstream astronomy subject areas.

[ JimThieman/Astronomer - 39 - 10:55:41 ]
RE: [Rob] Why does Mars not emit the radio waves?
Mars does not emit radio waves because it has only a very small magnetic field. There may be some very weak radio waves emitted because it has at least that small field, but thus far we have not detected them.

[ JimThieman/Astronomer - 41 - 10:57:05 ]
RE: [MrsMcD/RuralHall/Adriana] What did you want to do as an adult when you were in 5th grade?
When I was in the 5th grade I got a chemistry set and thought it was a lot of fun. I gradually realized that I liked all kinds of science and got science sets for other types of fields. I decided I wanted to be a scientist probably as a result of that.

[ JimThieman/Astronomer - 44 - 10:59:12 ]
RE: [Walt] Did the movie 2001 have any influence on your decision to investigate the radio signals from Jupiter? What kind of science fiction would you recommend that kids read that contains some good science as well being well written?
The movie 2001, A Space Odyssey did influence me very much. I thought it was a breakthrough in science fiction movies. At the time I was planning to study science. That movie did not make me decide to study radio waves. I did so because that was an interesting field of study at the University of Florida.

[ JimThieman/Astronomer - 46 - 10:59:51 ]
RE: [Lil] Jim, Thank you so much for your time and information. This is great!
You're welcome.

[ JimThieman/Astronomer - 47 - 11:02:02 ]
RE: [Erin] In your last chat you were talking about a new space program dealing with sun-earth connections could you tell us more about this program?
Erin, I had answered the question about planets with radio emissions earlier namely, Earth, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Regarding Sun-Earth Connections this is a theme area for space science and I manage a group that has the responsibility of making this science known to students and the general public. Sun-Earth Connections deals with the Sun, how it works and how it affects Earth And the other planets.

[ JimThieman/Astronomer - 50 - 11:08:25 ]
RE: [Diane] Have you ever worked at the radio/astronomy center in Westford, MA?
There was a question back at the beginning of whether I ever worked in Westford Mass. I have not, although I have visited Haystack in Mass.

[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 51 - 11:08:46 ]
EVERYONE: There are about 20 minutes left in Jim's chat today. Once this chat is over, please let us know how we did by filling out the short chat survey form atL http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/qchats/qchat-surveys -- Thanks :-)

[ JimThieman/Astronomer - 52 - 11:09:42 ]
RE: [Erin] Jim that sounds interesting, I know my class would love to get involved. I personally am very interested in sun emmisions and would like to see my CSLP class do this.
If you or your class are interested in radio or solar emissions I would suggest getting involved in the Radio JOVE project by going to the Radio JOVE website and learning about it.

[ JimThieman/Astronomer - 54 - 11:11:23 ]
RE: [Christine] If one were to make a scale model of the solar system, what would you use for the planet Pluto?
Regarding the early question on a scale model of the Solar System, if you made the Sun the size of a ball six feet high, the Earth would be the size of a marble and Pluto would be smaller, of the order of a pea or less.

[ JimThieman/Astronomer - 57 - 11:14:24 ]
RE: [MrsMcD/RuralHall/Indolfo-Mrs.McD/RuralHall] How did you get your job?
There was a question at the beginning about how I got my job. I came to NASA on a postdoctoral fellowship for two years, then I worked as a contractor to NASA for about 6 years and finally was offered a position as an employee of NASA. It's sometimes hard to get into NASA, but I think it is worth it.

[ JimThieman/Astronomer - 59 - 11:15:15 ]
RE: [Erin] Jim I would love to work on radio JOVE project. What is the website?
The website is http://radiojove.gsfc.nasa.gov

[ JimThieman/Astronomer - 60 - 11:16:46 ]
RE: [Erin] Jim thank you so much for chatting with me today. I enjoy these chats and I am very excited for the next one. my email has changed to outreach422@hotmail.com. Thank you so much.
Erin, I think you mentioned what grade you are in, but ask your teacher to look into the web site as well. I will be happy to answer questions about it.

[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 61 - 11:16:49 ]
EVERYONE: Just a reminder that next week we'll be chatting with Jim's colleague, Astronomer Sten Odenwald on Tuesday, March 7 at 11 am, Pacific. On March 8 is a Mars chat with Kelly Snook at 11 am. For a complete schedule of chat events go to: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/common/events

[ JimThieman/Astronomer - 67 - 11:20:06 ]
RE: [Erin] Jim, no i am a senior at Keystone Oaks high school. I know my teacher would be happy to look it over. Thanks again.
Erin, where is Keystone Oaks?

[ JimThieman/Astronomer - 71 - 11:23:12 ]
RE: [Jim] I'm at SCSU and working with Don Walter on the JOVE project here. I think you've spoken with him.
Jim, yes, I remember. Hope it is working OK at SCSU.

[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 74 - 11:24:59 ]
It looks like there are no more questions, so we're going to let Jim get back to work. Thank you everyone, for your well-thought questions! This chat will be archived later today. We look forward to chatting with you again very soon! Be sure to fill out our short chat survey at: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/qchat/qchats-survey

[ JimThieman/Astronomer - 75 - 11:25:55 ]
RE: [Jim] Just finished the receiver and antenna yesterday. Hoping to get it field tested soon.
Let us know if you have any questions. Also, if you have any pictures, comments, or observations just send them to thieman@nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov. We appreciate any feedback.

[ JimThieman/Astronomer - 76 - 11:27:15 ]
OK, if there are no other questions, I'll get back to work. Nice chatting with all of you.

[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 78 - 11:29:50 ]
Goodbye Jim, thank you for spending time with us today! We look forward to chatting with you again in the near future :-)

[ JimThieman/Astronomer - 79 - 11:30:18 ]
RE: [Jim] On the antenna, I might suggest a design change (slight). I decided to use clips on the masts to make set up and take down easier. Just put loops on the ends of the dipoles, and then you can just clip them to the masts. That way the masts and antenna can be stored seperately. I can take a picture and forward it to you if you like.
Sounds like a good idea, Jim. We'd appreciate a picture and you might describe what you did and send it to radiojove@listserv.gsfc.nasa.gov