Thespaceshow's Blog

Kimberly Arcand, Megan Watzke, Monday, 5-20-13 May 21, 2013

Kimberly Arcand, Megan Watzke, Monday, 5-20-13

http://archived.thespaceshow.com/shows/2012-BWB-2013-05-20.mp3

Guests:  Kimberly Arcand, Megan Watzke.  Topics:  Touring our Solar System with our two guests.   Please direct all comments and questions regarding Space Show programs/guest(s) to the Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com.  Comments and questions should be relevant to the specific Space Show program. Written Transcripts of Space Show programs are a violation of our copyright and are not permitted without prior written consent, even if for your own use. We do not permit the commercial use of Space Show programs or any part thereof, nor do we permit editing, YouTube clips, or clips placed on other private channels & websites. Space Show programs can be quoted, but the quote must be cited or referenced using the proper citation format. Contact The Space Show for further information.  We welcomed Kimberly (Kim) Arcand and Megan Watzke to the program to discuss their new book, “Your Ticket To the Universe: A Guide To Exploring The Cosmos” published by Smithsonian Books.  Visit their website for more information our guests and this amazing book, www.yourtickettotheuniverse.com/Index/Home.html.  Also check out this YouTube video for the book, www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-KamC0Plro.  If you order the book using this Amazon URL, Amazon will make a contribution to The Space Show:  www.amazon.com/Your-Ticket-Universe-Exploring-Cosmos/dp/1588343758/ref=onegiantlea20.

During the first part of our 90 minute discussion, our guests explained why they wrote this book and how they came up with its unique structure, format & famous person quote at the beginning of each chapter.  We talked about the pictures used in the book and a few of the items that stood out to me including “Taking an Alien to a Baseball Game” which helps us understand visible light along with all of the other types of light.  A listener with a copy of the book emailed in to ask about the use of the terms light second, light minutes, and light hours when describing objects in our Solar System.  Their discussion of Pluto as a dwarf planet came up in addition to my talking about the book as an excellent teaching tool for school libraries, students of all ages, even adults.  Our authors talked about art and I noticed the inclusion of the famous painting Starry Night in the book.  Don’t miss what Kim and Megan had to say about why Starry Night was used in their book and the overall subject of art, space science, aesthetics, and the night sky abundant with stars.  As our segment was ending, we talked about Mars analogs here on Earth such as Svalbard and Rio Tinto among the many Earth Mars analogs referenced in this book, plus the book’s astrobiology focus.

In our second segment, I asked our guests if space exploration was worth it and why.  Don’t miss what each had to say in answering the question.  We talked about the NASA budget, what is accomplished with the budget, and general population misunderstandings about the actual amount of the NASA budget.  I mentioned a TV documentary on the Dutch East Indies Company and the necessity of human exploration.  I asked our guests what they thought our world would look like had we sent robots out instead of humans in those very early and risky exploration missions.  A listener asked about the description of the book as both a coffee table book and a science book, and we talked about that hybrid description.  Near the end of our discussion, I asked each guest for their favorite place mentioned in the book where they would want to hang out.  You might be surprised by their choices.  Both Kim and Megan signed off with excellent closing comments that you will want to hear and remember.

If you have comments/questions, please post them on The Space Show blog.  You can contact both guests through their website, Twitter, and Facebook, as well as through me.