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2013-06-18 03:04:51 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 9 +1s)

Join +Fraser Cain and +Pamela Gay for a special recording of Astronomy Cast. We'll take about 30 minutes to record the show, and then stick around to answer your questions about space and astronomy. Join us live, here on Google+

This is a special catch-up episode of Astronomy Cast. Sorry for the timing...
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Astronomy Cast Episode 309: Creating a Sciency Society

Our modern society depends on science. It impacts the way we eat, work, communicate and play. And yet, most people take our amazing scientific advancement for granted, and some are even hostile to it. What can we do to spread the love of science through education, outreach and media?

2013-06-18 02:16:37 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 12 +1s)

Join +Fraser Cain and +Pamela Gay for a special recording of Astronomy Cast. We'll take about 30 minutes to record the show, and then stick around to answer your questions about space and astronomy. Join us live, here on Google+

This is a special catch-up episode of Astronomy Cast. Sorry for the timing...
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Astronomy Cast Episode 308: Climate Change

When it comes to carbon dioxide, just a little goes a long way to warming the planet. Unfortunately, we've been dumping vast amounts into the atmosphere, recently passing 400 parts per million. Let's look at the science of the greenhouse effect, and how it's impacting our global climate.

2013-06-17 10:14:21 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 26 +1s)

Nicole Gugliucci and 1 other was tagged in Pamela Gay's album.

2013-06-17 19:55:42 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 16 +1s)

Added photos to The CosmoQuest 24 Hour Hangout-A-Thon - Main Event Page.

2013-06-17 01:52:28 (7 comments, 0 reshares, 54 +1s)

You just shared an amazing 32hrs of science, sharing, laughter, and hope with my team. We are all so grateful for all your support. <3

2013-06-16 21:32:00 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 8 +1s)

YouTube link Part 8 http://youtu.be/Qe9WqjEwAFU

*TL;DR. +Pamela Gay & +Nicole Gugliucci will bring you a whole slew of guests, science, and fun during this 24-hour long fundraiser for CosmoQuest!

http://cosmoquest.org/blog/donate/?title=donate

Event links for...
Part 1: https://plus.google.com/events/c8hipsag07ngda5h3r06bqbprv8
Part 2: https://plus.google.com/events/cglasd846s15n0n7sqdvs9nol3o
Part 3: https://plus.google.com/events/c7ntqnrh01rejv3smtq9dmmub4o
Part 4: https://plus.google.com/events/cagts10npsub757psnh1e4mbj0g
Part 5: https://plus.google.com/events/cchro36b2mlth0nv27ftgm1elqo
Part 6: https://plus.google.com/events/c3lu15j2t9p2o3tc0hv11ubjuu0

Faced with governmental funding cuts to science education and research, the CosmoQuest Virtual Research Facility (CosmoQuest.org) at Southern Illinois UniversityEdwardsv... more »

2013-06-16 13:22:40 (9 comments, 0 reshares, 17 +1s)

Testing to see if you can look through a viewfinder with #glass.

The answer: maybe, but it made me motion sick

2013-06-16 12:12:14 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 7 +1s)

Nicole Gugliucci is hanging out with 1 person right now in a live Hangout On Air! #hangoutsonair

2013-06-16 08:31:34 (14 comments, 2 reshares, 65 +1s)

It is the Bear of Charging!

2013-06-16 08:13:39 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Nicole Gugliucci is hanging out with 1 person right now in a live Hangout On Air! #hangoutsonair

2013-06-16 02:52:28 (4 comments, 1 reshares, 52 +1s)

All the dragons

2013-06-15 19:09:54 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 22 +1s)

#throughglass

2013-06-15 05:25:32 (9 comments, 6 reshares, 46 +1s)

We are ready for tomorrow's 24-hour  Hangout-a-thon! Two sets, one in the attic, one in the Library. We'll also stray to the kitchen now and then. 

2013-06-14 21:26:58 (35 comments, 0 reshares, 164 +1s)

I think I heard this was required ;-)

2013-06-14 20:47:25 (0 comments, 3 reshares, 10 +1s)

Do you like to TL;DR? Well, we've got a video for you and it's all about this weekend's Hangout-a-thon

2013-06-13 01:08:04 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 12 +1s)

Join +Fraser Cain  and +Pamela Gay for a live recording of Astronomy Cast. Today we'll be recording episode 307: Pacific Ring of Fire

Watch us record the episode, and then stick around and ask your questions about space and astronomy.

#ac307

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Astronomy Cast 307: Pacific Ring of Fire

The Pacific Ring of Fire wraps around the Pacific Ocean, including countries like Japan, Canada, New Zealand and Chile. And the inhabitants within those countries are prone to... oh... killer earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunamis. Let's chat about the history of this region and the kinds of risks they face.

2013-06-12 06:38:07 (8 comments, 0 reshares, 16 +1s)

What keyboard deity did I offend?

This will be funny someday.

I don't know what I did; what settings I triggered, what weird mode I turned on in some app, but on my computer every time I depress the number one it pastes the entirety of my clip-board to whatever I'm doing.

This is funny. Hilarious even. But I don't know how to undo it.

For now, I'm typing 21 and then deleting the 2 if I want to type 1.

#CanIhaza1   #Fail   

2013-06-10 19:08:56 (4 comments, 1 reshares, 11 +1s)

It's Monday and it's time for +Astronomy Cast  This week: Accretion Disks 

Astronomy Cast Episode 306: Accretion Disks

2013-06-09 20:41:33 (2 comments, 1 reshares, 15 +1s)

Need a #ScienceSunday Space Story?

Today, the +365 Days of Astronomy podcast (a part of +CosmoQuest) presents +Christiana Ellis's "Making Noise." Check out this science inspired short story today! 

2013-06-08 02:47:52 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 30 +1s)

My master's thesis was shorter than the research paper I'm editing that has  +CosmoQuest  #MoonMappers  results.

Please bring me all the coffee.

2013-06-08 02:46:34 (6 comments, 0 reshares, 33 +1s)

I'll fly away (and back again) next Thursday. Will have Glass for our #HangoutAThon  June 15-16.

If you do not know of this #HangoutAThon of which I speak check out: http://bit.ly/18U733k

P.S. Got Charcoal so no fear of clashing with hair #FirstWorldProblems 

2013-06-07 03:49:10 (5 comments, 5 reshares, 27 +1s)

They had me at Jalopeno Vanilla Breakfast Syrup

I can't figure out if this is FTW or WTF. I do think I will make it next time friends visit for fun.

h/t +Vivid Muse 

2013-06-06 00:20:26 (50 comments, 26 reshares, 56 +1s)

Only 5% of the people who get an undergrad deg in Physics/Astronomy get a job in the field

While folks with phys/astro degrees have a low overall unemployment rate, the fact that so many work outside their field tells me one or of the following is likely true:
1) Lots of fields that require college degrees apparently don't care what your degree is in (like computer science),
2) Maybe physics prepares you better for some of those fields than an actual degree in that field does (computer science??),
3) We are wasting a lot of students' time on physics problem sets to teach them content they will never use and we don't want to grade just so we can teach them excellent problem solving skills.

There has got to be a better way.

2013-06-05 19:03:02 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

Fraser Cain is hanging out with 1 person right now in a live Hangout On Air! #hangoutsonair

2013-06-05 06:36:40 (5 comments, 4 reshares, 19 +1s)

*TL;DR. +Pamela Gay & +Nicole Gugliucci will bring you a whole slew of guests, science, and fun during this 24-hour long fundraiser for CosmoQuest!

Event links for...
Part 1: https://plus.google.com/events/c8hipsag07ngda5h3r06bqbprv8
Part 2: https://plus.google.com/events/cglasd846s15n0n7sqdvs9nol3o
Part 3: https://plus.google.com/events/c7ntqnrh01rejv3smtq9dmmub4o
Part 4: https://plus.google.com/events/cagts10npsub757psnh1e4mbj0g
Part 5: https://plus.google.com/events/cchro36b2mlth0nv27ftgm1elqo
Part 6: https://plus.google.com/events/c3lu15j2t9p2o3tc0hv11ubjuu0

Faced with governmental funding cuts to science education and research, the CosmoQuest Virtual Research Facility (CosmoQuest.org) at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville has decided to go old school with a twist: On June 15-16, +Pamela Gay & +Nicole Gugliucci  are hosting atelethon ... more »

2013-06-04 16:03:58 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Join +Fraser Cain and +Pamela Gay for a live recording of Astronomy Cast. Today we'll be recording episode 304: Death of a Spacecraft. 

This is one of our special catch-up episodes...

#ac304  

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Astronomy Cast 304: Death of a Spacecraft

In the end, everything dies, even plucky space robots. Today we examine the last days of a series of missions. How do spacecraft tend to die, and what did in such heroes as Kepler, Spirit, and Galileo (the missions... not the people).

2013-06-04 16:03:58 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 7 +1s)

Join +Fraser Cain and +Pamela Gay for a live recording of Astronomy Cast. Today we'll be recording episode 304: Death of a Spacecraft. 

This is one of our special catch-up episodes...

#ac304  

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Astronomy Cast 304: Death of a Spacecraft

In the end, everything dies, even plucky space robots. Today we examine the last days of a series of missions. How do spacecraft tend to die, and what did in such heroes as Kepler, Spirit, and Galileo (the missions... not the people).

2013-06-04 02:01:22 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

Fraser Cain is hanging out with 1 person right now in a live Hangout On Air! #hangoutsonair

2013-06-02 03:19:10 (37 comments, 7 reshares, 73 +1s)

Tornado versus Tree versus Jeep

Last night my husband and I were stupid. We went out for dinner in Bethalto, IL with friends and while I could see the radar on the TV that was for the first time ever not showing sports, and while I know enough about reading radar to know without sound that it was showing tornado returns to the west in Missouri. I could also see the storms were coming our way. All that said, in my "I've lived in tornado land a while" headspace, I was pretty sure that as the storm crossed the Mississippi it would lose power. 

I was wrong.

As we got our second round of drinks, my friend +Dee Eberhart 's Husband Dan (who apparently isn't on G+, shame on him) got text messages that his offices had been hit with a tornado. At this moment we realized the bastard storm had dared to cross the river. Looking at the diagonal storm track,+... more »

2013-06-02 02:51:45 (8 comments, 6 reshares, 39 +1s)

All I can say is it could have been a whole lot worse, but it certainly wasn't good

Last night a tornado/funnel cloud/narrow sucking thing of evil went through our area. Our house was 2 blocks from the worst of the damage, but as I'll explain in a second post, +Kyle Quevillon and I had the misfortune of being in the middle of the worst of it in the moment it was worst.

We live in the St Louis St Historic District in Edwardsville, Illinois. Homes on our street range from $70,000 to 7 figures, and it is a nicely mixed neighborhood. The damage seems to have wrecked havoc equally across all income levels, but it is most startling to see the mansions covered in trees.

All in all, things could have been much worse. No one was even injured. In one case, a tree crashed into the bedroom of a home where the family was gone for the weekend. In many other cases, the... more »

2013-06-01 21:28:54 (8 comments, 2 reshares, 63 +1s)

Today I wish I had Google Glass so that I could better document the destruction of tornadoes in my hometown. #IfIHadGlass

2013-05-31 04:52:35 (7 comments, 3 reshares, 53 +1s)

Last week +Kortney Hogan and I paused to smell the flowers (or at least photograph them) as we raised around Washington DC. These are located outside the Smithsonian's main building on The Mall.

2013-05-31 04:43:59 (4 comments, 5 reshares, 33 +1s)

What is past is prologue

This statue looms near the research entrance to the National Archives in Washington, D.C. It serves to remind that while we must learn from our history, we must also ever move forward and work each day to write the story of humanity.

Let's make sure it is a good story we write.

And a long one.

2013-05-31 03:01:18 (9 comments, 0 reshares, 18 +1s)

Filed under "Things that make you go h'uh"

While in Washington, DC last week meeting with folks in various Illinois representatives offices (including a representative, even!), I noticed that stairs in all the House Office Buildings were consistently labeled "Internal Relocation Site." 

I suspect this has something to do with evacuation procedures, but mostly I've decided ignorance makes it funny.

2013-05-31 02:51:44 (7 comments, 3 reshares, 14 +1s)

It looks like when it comes to poor teeth, Portland is striving to be first in the nation.

Seriously, of all the weird things not to pass, denying a plan to fluoridate the water kind of takes the cake.

2013-05-29 23:04:23 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 14 +1s)

A weekly hangout brought to you by Nicole Gugliucci, Georgia Bracey, and Pamela Gay on space science and astronomy outreach education.

#learningspace  

2013-05-22 04:58:08 (7 comments, 5 reshares, 41 +1s)

Our first selection is Terry Bisson’s “They’re made out of Meat”, which originally appeared in Omni magazine in 1990. This short story encourages you to think outside of the box and instead of imagining aliens, imagine how the might see us.

2013-05-22 04:48:24 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 25 +1s)

The 1st +Universe Awareness space scoop podcast on 365 Days Of Astronomy.

2013-05-21 02:27:24 (17 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Just wanted to pipe up and say I'll be getting there Thursday sometime (coming up from DC). If anyone has suggests on the best way from the Capitol to the con... all ears.

2013-05-17 03:27:41 (6 comments, 9 reshares, 46 +1s)

Thought this might be worth sharing.

2013-05-17 02:34:39 (5 comments, 0 reshares, 46 +1s)

Happy Old Dog: An update

Leah, my 13 year old mutt, is starting to do better. We still have her wearing a harness that allows us to help her up and down the stairs, but she's able to go out and bask in a sunbeam on our porch at her leisure. 

The diagnosis was vestibular disease. If you want to learn more so you can help your old guy or gal when they are in need, read up about the problem here: http://www.petmd.com/blogs/fullyvetted/2011/oct/old_dog_vestibular_disease

2013-05-15 06:05:15 (7 comments, 5 reshares, 42 +1s)

Faith In Humanity = Restored 

A while back, my friends and fellow science folks, +Pamela Gay , +Nicole Gugliucci (and a ton of others) wrote about Kiera Wilmot - a high school student who performed an "unsanctioned" science experiment, and was expelled from school and arrested on FELONY charges. 

Someone who is familiar with making things go "pop" and getting arrested in high school for "science" is Homer Hickam, author of "Rocket Boys" and you know, real-life rocket scientist. 

Homer has come to the aid of Kiera, and has also started a scholarship fundraiser for her twin sister. 

#beremarkable   #rocketboys   #scienceisnotcrime   #scienceeveryday  

2013-05-13 19:07:07 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

Join +Fraser Cain and +Pamela Gay for another live episode of Astronomy Cast. This week we'll talk about Planetary Migration, how the planets formed and then moved around in the Solar System.

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Astronomy Cast Episode 301: Planetary Migration

We're so familiar with the current configuration of the planets in the Solar System, but did the planets always orbit in this way? Did they form further out and then migrate inward to their current positions? And what about other star systems out there? 

#ac301  

2013-05-13 15:54:51 (15 comments, 9 reshares, 51 +1s)

Using the Space Station as a Film Set

I saved watching +Chris Hadfield's "Space Oddity" music video for Monday morning. The whole time I was watching it I kept thinking, "They must have recorded the audio before he took off." Listen to the room ambience on the guitar parts and the quality (likely bitrate) of the guitar audio. It is completely different from the vocals which sound studio quality. This implies that before he took off, some awesome individual approved this video and agreed that time and resources would be spent using the ISS as a film set, and more time and resources would be spent taking all the videos (It looks like Chris could have done it alone) and then editing it all together (I'm guessing it was a pro on Earth). I suspect there was someone involved on Earth who helped direct the cinematography, but if there wasn't +Chris Hadfield is... more »

2013-05-12 03:59:20 (10 comments, 2 reshares, 46 +1s)

I never realized how erotic irises could be. From come hither poses to Georgia O'Keefe inspiring pedal formations, these Irises are beckoning the zoom lens. 

2013-05-12 03:44:59 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 21 +1s)

It is supposed to ran tomorrow, so I took a dose of flowers today.

2013-05-10 20:00:04 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 35 +1s)

The Yard is Buzzing

I was trying to take some pictures of the evening sun on one of our shurbs, but found myself instead photographing BEES.

2013-05-10 15:27:35 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 11 +1s)

Speaking Truth to Power: The Once and Future Speech

On June 19, 1996 (when I was 22) I was able to give a brief speech to the Democratic Forum on Science and Technology Research. I found the text of that speech over the weekend and was amazed at the relevancy of it today. The full text is available on my blog below, by here is the part that I wish most that people would remember:

Without the ability to allow students to taste the thrill of discovery young, as I did, many will never learn an appreciation of science, and good students will enter nontechnical fields. Without continued funding now, current college students will leave research for the more lucrative field of computer science and finance.

I'm going to Baltimore for Balticon at the end of May, and prior to that event I'm going to try to go to DC on my own dime to try and speak to the politicians who... more »