Archive of Marguerite Syvertson's chat on 3/17/98

[ MargueriteSyvertson - 7 - 09:00:14 ]
Good morning!

[ MargueriteSyvertson - 9 - 09:05:21 ]
RE: [Tish/NASAChatHost] Marguerite is here and ready so you may begin posting your questions now. Welcome Marguerite and thank you for being here today for us.
Glad to be here, and Happy St. Pat's day!

[ MargueriteSyvertson - 12 - 09:08:02 ]
RE: [Tish/NASAChatHost] Via email from Sharon Ridge at Willow Oaks - Do you think there really are things we can do personnally that will help with the depletion of the ozone layer or is this going to happen anyway?
Ozone depletion is caused by chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)working together with the right temperature and light conditions. CFCs can last up to 400 years in the atmosphere (!), so things we've put up this century can be up there quite a while. But stopping production of CFCs can lessen ozone depletion in the future, so anything we can do helps.

[ MargueriteSyvertson - 14 - 09:09:40 ]
RE: [Tish/NASAChatHost] From Willow Oaks School - What does Sally Ride do now? Do you think it is a letdown after being an astronaut?
Sally Ride is a professor at UC San Diego (south of here) in physics, and she is also running a student program called EarthKAM that lets kids use a camera on the shuttle. First EarthKAM mission was in January, and it was a great success. I think she truly enjoys what she does, partly because she has a lot more leeway in her activities!

[ MargueriteSyvertson - 16 - 09:11:26 ]
RE: [Tish/NASAChatHost] Via email from Burton Valley School - What types of things did you do as a family that encouraged your interest in Space when you were younger?
I spent a lot of time at Ames Research Center in northern California (where Tish is), and got to see several planetary fly-bys and encounters when I was a kid. Last summer I worked in the Mars Pathfinder press room, and that reminded me quite a bit of childhood. I also met a few astronauts (Apollo 15) and got to see all the great planes that are at Ames.

[ MargueriteSyvertson - 18 - 09:13:25 ]
RE: [Tish/NASAChatHost] Via email from Shaun at Burton Valley - Are there things that scientists can do to help with the ozone hole or do you so research so we will know how to help?
Most scientist try to understand the mechanics and chemistry of the ozone hole: why it happens, how it happens, how it changes over time. Once they have either the answers or ideas (theories), the government (policy makers) can decide how to react. It is the government that decides to ban CFCs: scientists make recommendations. I don't do much research in my job; I try to communicate the results.

[ MargueriteSyvertson - 19 - 09:15:13 ]
RE: [Tish/NASAChatHost] Via email from Clarette - How long will El Nino last and does any of your research have to do with this?
El Nino seems to be winding down now. The latest data I work with (from the Microwave Limb Sounder; check the JPL webpage El Nino site) shows the signal from El Nino decreasing (not as much warm water in the mid-Pacific, and not as much water in the atmosphere) and a big blob of humidity off the coast of Japan. Off Japan is a sort of "storm nursery".

[ MargueriteSyvertson - 21 - 09:21:55 ]
RE: [Brittany/homeschool] Why is it important to have women at NASA?
That's a great question! Many important discoveries have been made by women (the volcanoes on Io, the ice volcanoes on Triton, and a LOT of the ozone research here), and I don't think that being a woman or a man should stop someone from doing what they want to do in life! As much as I hate to stereotype, women tend to see the big picture, and that's always valuable.

[ MargueriteSyvertson - 22 - 09:23:27 ]
RE: [MargueriteSyvertson] That's a great question! Many important discoveries have been made by women (the volcanoes on Io, the ice volcanoes on Triton, and a LOT of the ozone research here), and I don't think that being a woman or a man should stop someone from doing what they want to do in life! As much as I hate to stereotype, women tend to see the big picture, and that's always valuable.
If you can find the MLS webpage (that's both the ozone and the El Nino data I work with), you'll notice research by Michelle Santee and Gloria Manney. I recently worked with Candy Hansen (ice volcanoes) on a Mars proposal.

[ MargueriteSyvertson - 26 - 09:33:19 ]
RE: [Brittany/homeschool] What is the % of women at NASA?
Hi Brittany: For 1996, at NASA overall it was 31.5%. It varies from about 23% to 50% at NASA HQ!!! I don't have the JPL numbers.

[ Brittany/homeschool - 27 - 09:33:25 ]
My aunt works at NASA, how do you think I could make myself a better choice of the next generation of the NASA's women crew?

[ MargueriteSyvertson - 30 - 09:35:55 ]
If you want to be an astronaut, a degree in math, science, engineering, or medicine is useful, and usually at least a Masters or PhD/MD is needed, or you could go into the Air Force to be a pilot. For the rest of us NASA-types, degrees in anything from math/science/engineering/computers to English (writers), human resources, library science, business...you name it, we have lots of different people here. It depends on your interests!

[ MargueriteSyvertson - 33 - 09:38:41 ]
For a bit of background, I currently work with 7 different instruments, 1 of which is currently flying (MLS), and 3 that will be launched later this year (late August and November 1). These instruments will measure clouds, dust, volcanoes, geology, and ocean winds. AIRS won't launch until 2000, and two more instruments (MLS again and another one) will launch in 2002 to measure atmospheric chemistry. The last instrument is still trying to get approved.

[ MargueriteSyvertson - 36 - 09:41:00 ]
RE: [Tish/NASAChatHost] Via email from Beth - Can you tell us more about the instrument that will be flying in the year 2000. We are 6th graders.
Hi Beth/sixth graders! AIRS measures air temperature and humidity from the ground up to 45 km (about 27 miles up!). It also will figure out cloud temperature (pretty cold) and ground temperature (the actual temperature of the surface). We'll use this info in computer models to predict weather and understand changes in climate. It's hard to tell if there is warming or cooling unless you have many many measurements of temperature in the air and the ground around the world, not just where people live.

[ MargueriteSyvertson - 38 - 09:43:57 ]
RE: [Tish/NASAChatHost] Via email from Beth's 6th grade - We want to know what chlorine monoxide is and what the smoking gun means?
You've been reading earlier chats! Chlorine monoxide is a molecule made up a 1 chlorine atom and 1 oxygen atom. When CFCs are hit by sunlight, they break up into smaller molecules. Chlorine bumps into ozone (3 oxygen atoms) and rips off an oxygen atom (ouch). That makes chlorine monoxide. It's a smoking gun because it tells us that CFCs destroyed ozone (in old movies, when someone gets shot, there's a smoking gun with the person who did it!)

[ MargueriteSyvertson - 39 - 09:45:06 ]
RE: [Cherlyn/SandhillsMiddleSchool] What kind of traning did you have to go through?
Training: I have a degree in geology and 1 year of graduate work in atmospheric sciences, and a few classes in outreach/public relations. Mostly I learn on the job talking to scientists, attending meetings, and teaming up with other outreach people.

[ MargueriteSyvertson - 40 - 09:48:27 ]
RE: [Tish/NASAChatHost] Via email from Claudia in Lafayette - What kinds of instruments do you send up into the air? How big are they and how long do they stay up? How do they get information back to you? Is it with signals or do they gather it and then come back to earth? Thank you for answering our questions.
We launch instruments that see visible light (the type humans see), infrared light (like heat), and either see microwaves (the energy your microwave oven uses) or make their own microwaves and bounce them off the surface (similar to a laser or flashlight). The instruments can be the size of a chair or bigger than a bus! Most that I work with would fit in my office (sort of small). They use microwaves to send information back to us, sort of like a cellular phone. Some instruments fly for a short time on the shuttle, but the ones I work with will last 5-6 years in space. MLS was launched in September 1991 and is still going strong!

[ mcdermon/RuralHall - 44 - 09:50:02 ]
I am in a fourth grade class in Winston-Salem, NC. There is not a NASA place close by. I wonder if going to space camp would be good way to learn more about space, aeronautics, etc. Wish my Dad worked for NASA!

[ Cherlyn/SandhillsMiddleSchool - 45 - 09:50:02 ]
What kind of training did you have to go through?

[ Brittany/homeschool - 46 - 09:52:29 ]
Well, thanks for listening; I really enjoyed the chat but I don't have time to stay for you to answer my questions, thanks anyway! Bye. -Brittany [reply to:] Small_1@thegrid.net thanks again!!!

[ Tish/NASAChatHost - 47 - 09:52:29 ]
Thank you Brittany for joining us. You can read your answers later as we will archive this chat and link it from Marguerite's profile later today.

[ MargueriteSyvertson - 48 - 09:52:50 ]
RE: [mcdermon/RuralHall] What do you like most about your job?
What do I like most/why did I choose this: I love working with people and students, and I love the excitement of exploration. I also like the fact that research about the Earth has an effect on all of us: Earth really matters! I've had the opportunity to work for other planets, but my heart is with Earth. Growing up in NASA, my heart is also with NASA.

[ MargueriteSyvertson - 51 - 09:55:40 ]
RE: [Brittany/homeschool] Thank you this has been very helpful and now I know how to make myself a better choice for NASA. My aunt, and uncle, work there as I said before, and they said that I should go to spacecamp! I would like to know what you do there before I sign up for a scholarship, maybe you can tell me some of the activities they have so I can be ready. I'm ten yrs. old and very interesed in the solar system,(the moon particularly!) and would love to go to the moon some day I wanted to be the first Native American Woman astronaut to go to the moon, am I already, too late? I would appreciate it if you answered my questions, thank you again! -Brittany Vigil, 10-Trinity Valley Elem. Willow Creek, Calif.
Space camp is one way, but there are many ways to learn about space. There is a lot of information on the internet, take a look at JPL's and NASA's webpages. Teachers can be trained by NASA (Galileo, Stardust, and soon Earth) and can give you a lot of info and activities. Sometimes you can participate in missions such as EarthKAM. Some museums have teamed up with NASA for talks and exhibits, and sometimes the local colleges are doing research with NASA. Or write us!

[ MargueriteSyvertson - 52 - 09:57:31 ]
RE: [Cherlyn/SandhillsMiddleSchool] Hey, This is Patricia and David from Mrs.Andersons homeroom class.Do you know anyone from a famous space shuttle?
I've known a few astronauts (Sally Ride, Kathy Sullivan, Jay Apt, Linda Godwin, Tom Jones...and more!) Mostly I work with scientists. Astronauts tend to be the rock stars of NASA, but there are many scientists and engineers who are equally important. Remember, there weren't any astronauts on Mars Pathfinder!

[ MargueriteSyvertson - 53 - 09:59:00 ]
RE: [mcdermon/RuralHall] Do you download information from a satilite?
The information is sent down at regular intervals (time periods) from the satellite when it passes over a receiving station. You can then download it from wherever the data is stored, sometimes on-line! We hope to do that for the Earth Observing System which launches in August or so...you too can get NASA data!

[ MargueriteSyvertson - 57 - 10:01:18 ]
RE: [mcdermon/RuralHall] Does this job mean a lot to you?
I really enjoy my job, especially when we have news to report on El Nino or the ozone and when I get to work with the public or students. Work is VERY important, but the rest of my life (what I do outside work) is also really important. I try to stay balanced (!).

[ MargueriteSyvertson - 58 - 10:03:34 ]
RE: [Cherlyn/SandhillsMiddleSchool] Have any one in your family ever been in a space mission?
My dad started working at the pre-NASA in 1948 (!): he's now 72 so he wasn't an astronaut (but if you've seen the Six Million Dollar Man on TV you've seen his airplane...the one that crashes...they fixed it!). He retired in 1984. My mom was a flight attendant with United until the mid 1950s, so she had the most airtime. I'd like to see Earth from space, but my goal in life isn't to be an astronaut!

[ MargueriteSyvertson - 62 - 10:07:21 ]
RE: [Cherlyn/SandhillsMiddleSchool] Do you have anything to do with the future space mission to the moon?
I don't work with the moon mission going on now (Lunar Prospector), and I think I'll stay with Earth.

[ MargueriteSyvertson - 63 - 10:08:26 ]
RE: [Cherlyn/SandhillsMiddleSchool] What did you major in science?
I majored in geology, because it was by far the most FUN science: lots of field trips and solving geology puzzles (is this a fault? Is it a fold? What happened?) I also like observing the weather and understanding climate change.

[ Tish/NASAChatHost - 64 - 10:10:10 ]
Okay I think that is all of the questions. Thank you all for joining us and for your patience with the connectivity problems. We do not have a chat next week but we will resume on March 31. Please join us then. Thank you Marguerite for being with us today.

[ MargueriteSyvertson - 65 - 10:10:55 ]
Thanks Everyone!

[ Cherlyn/SandhillsMiddleSchool - 66 - 10:23:17 ]
We had a great time chatting with you. We hope we can chat another time. bye,bye