[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 8 - 20:28:52 ]
Hello to Leonardo and Ted! Glad you could make it this evening/morning! Sten is here and ready to answer your questions.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 9 - 20:29:35 ]
RE: [Leonardo-Mr.Leonardo] Hello..my name is Leonardo..is a great pleasure be here..talking with you..i´m from Brazil..i would like to ask something Mr. Sten..why..after so many eclipses and the evolution of sciencies..the mainkind still beliving in the end of the World.....?? p.s:Sorry for some mistakes in english
Because we are all fools....sorry, I shouldnt be so harsh, but in terms of what humans now believe, there isnt a single idea that we have ever cooked up in 10,000 years that has 'gone away' with 6 billion people, every crazy idea that we have ever imagined is still alive and doing very well 'out there'. Science is only 350 years old or so...when we get to be 2000 years old, then mayby things will be very different.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 11 - 20:31:32 ]
RE: [Ted-Mr.Mebane/MadisonMissionAdventurers] How do I get my screen to update?
Well...depending on which website you are on, you will just have to keep hitting the page/reload button on your browser. the web servers are so clogged that most of your 'loads' will probably be interrupted with 'broken images' sorry!

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 14 - 20:34:45 ]
RE: [Ted-Mr.Mebane/MadisonMissionAdventurers] Sorry, its working correctly now. Ok. Hello and its also my pleasure to be here. I would like to know, does Mr. Sten think this will be the most observed Solar eclipse in history?
Hi! Gee, I dont know...but it wouldn't surprise me at all if that were true given the media coverage. The problem is that for North America it comes at a not very fun time of the day/morning when lots of people are on the road going to work.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 16 - 20:36:19 ]
RE: [Leonardo-Mr.Leonardo] That is true...what is the importance of this eclipse for the science??...it will help our evolution??...
It is only of very minor importance to science except for those few astronomers who study the faint outer corona of the sun, or work to perfect our knowledge of the lunar orbit and its change with time....but HEY its awesome isnt it?

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 17 - 20:37:27 ]
RE: [Ted-Mr.Mebane/MadisonMissionAdventurers] Then the USA will get a partial eclipse?
No...we miss it completely. We see nothing at all...except the full solar disk as usual.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 20 - 20:42:22 ]
RE: [Ted-Mr.Mebane/MadisonMissionAdventurers] I'm a computer scientist by trade, but am fascinated with everything to do with space travel. I already work at NASA as a contractor, how could I get more involved directly with the study of space science itself?
Depending on where your computer skills are, and what company you are with, you could get involved with software development of data pipeline systems that take raw satellite data and convert it into meaningful formats for mission scientists and engineers to use. Raytheon, COmputer Sciences Corporation and SAIC all have a number of these science support contracts with NASA.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 21 - 20:44:38 ]
RE: [Leonardo-Mr.Leonardo] A few years ago..professor Einstein looking too the outer Corona of the Sun, could say that the space is curve...what is the importance of this fact nowadays??Could we discover things like that in this eclipse??
Yes...you measure the positions of stars near the limb of the eclipses sun during the eclipse, and later on when the sun is not there a few weeks later. You then see that the stars positions have shifted when the sun was there because of gravitational 'lensing' predicted by general relativity. We now have done this experiment far more acurately using the massive star astrometry data base of the Hipparchos Satellite.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 23 - 20:48:09 ]
RE: [Ted-Mr.Mebane/MadisonMissionAdventurers] Do you think that there is support for continued exploration of the solar system by manned space craft given the fact that we have all of the available technology to perfom these same tasks more safely?
I think we will land on MArs and even return to the Moon in the next century...but beyond that there is simply no where else to go for humans...costs escalate geometrically if you want to venture beyond the orbit of mars because of power, shielding and human factors issues! Unmanned probes are far more economical...but less emotionally compelling.

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 25 - 20:52:23 ]
RE: [Ted-Mr.Mebane/MadisonMissionAdventurers] I think that my children will find it common to book passage for a shuttle to view the eclipse from outside earth's atmosphere.
I think the comercialization of near-earth space is about 30 years away, and both NASA and commercial rocket builders are committed to $200/pound launch costs, so at this rate $30,000 would get you a trip into orbit in the next century.

[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 27 - 20:53:51 ]
EVERYONE: The hour is up and it's time to end tonight's chat with Sten. Thank you very much for your questions! Please be sure to come back and join in another NASA Quest chat. For our chat schedule go to: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/common/events

[ StenOdenwald/Astronomer - 28 - 20:54:09 ]
RE: [StenOdenwald/Astronomer] I think the comercialization of near-earth space is about 30 years away, and both NASA and commercial rocket builders are committed to $200/pound launch costs, so at this rate $30,000 would get you a trip into orbit in the next century.
But, like Han SOlo said in Starwars...traveling through 'space' aint like dustin crops boy! You do risk death every time the rockets start-up!

[ Ted-Mr.Mebane/MadisonMissionAdventurers - 29 - 20:55:55 ]
Thank you, once i got past the technical issues it was enjoyable. I'll try to make it to the next one.

[ Leonardo-Mr.Leonardo - 30 - 20:57:31 ]
Thank you very much..it was a pleasure talk with you...

[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 31 - 20:58:38 ]
Goodnight Ted and Leonardo! Thank you for coming tonight!