Professor of astronomy, farmer of goats. Asteroid (42910). She/her.
Has mostly lived in warmer places, now learning to live respectfully on Treaty 4 lands (Saskatchewan, Canada)
Due to some unexpected travel, I am going to replace Jonathan McDowell as the online speaker for the Kalamazoo Astro Society next week. I won't lie, it's pretty darn cool to be the substitute Jonathan McDowell for anything, really!
But yeah, sorry, Kalamazoo. I don't have everything in orbit in my head (and a public database) like Jonathan does! But I do have stories of trying to offer donuts to silent SpaceX employees at a middle-of-nowhere grain farm, so hopefully that'll be an ok swap.
when2meet just gave me a poll link for a space debris committee meeting that ends with, I kid you not, "-lonmk"
Am I being trolled by random letters?!!
(Or perhaps am I just being a little too sensitive?)
Did interview number 3 in my office on campus with my kids hanging out in the hallway. A student slipped their (late) homework under my office door WHILE I was being interviewed for national TV, by the very same reporter who first contacted me about about the Ituna SpaceX debris fall!
Pretty cool to be able to yell about space junk to a national audience, but holy crap I'm tired. And now I have to read to my kids and complete an overdue science proposal review aaauuuggghhh.
Sending extra love to everyone who's trans. I support you. Thank you for being you.
Interview number 2 done! Focused on the newly discovered asteroid that NASA/ESA announced, and the fact that even if that 1% chance of impact with Earth turns out to be real, we have demonstrated technology to deflect it (yay DART Mission!) BUT, this relies on finding them early, which satellites and space junk make harder to do.
Now COFFEE, a couple of meetings, put on professor-y clothes, pick up kids, then interview number 3...
I hope* NASA saved this potentially hazardous asteroid specifically to announce right after they get all their funding cut/gutted/withheld by Trump to make people realize that NASA is really freaking important
*Yes, I know they absolutely did not do this on purpose. I'm just being snarky.
Oh oops just listened to my voice mail more carefully. This interview is for *national* TV. Hahaha oh man. I guess I should brush my hair or something.
It's extra hilarious having all these interviews at a very small school where I'm the only professor who regularly does ridiculous numbers of interviews. "Dear Dean, I have another interview on campus today. Hope that's ok!"
HAHAHAHA now I have a 3rd, in person interview about the space junk Tesla, after I pick up my kids from school for local TV. My life is hilarious.
First interview done. Didn't get to talk about the 22% collision chance with Earth, but did talk about how you can see satellites and space junk with your eyes.
Active satellites look like stars that are moving across the sky, space junk will be flashing because it's tumbling. (Not coloured like from an airplane, just white flashes).
Anyway... maybe a few more people will be inspired to go out and look up and see how many damn satellites there are.
Next interview in 4 hours. I'm tired.
