Life as an Aspiring Astronaut | #AskAbby Homeschool Edition | The Mars Generation | Season 3 | Episode 12

Season 3, Episode 10, #AskAbby Space and Science Show: Homeschool Edition

Presented by TheMarsGeneration.org

How Are Planets Formed?

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In this episode, host and aspiring astronaut Abby “Astronaut Abby” Harrison discusses planets! From how planets are formed to when they were formed, Abby will break down some of your biggest questions about planets. She will also discuss how astronomers know what they know about planets millions and even billions of miles away!

In the 9th Episode of the #AskAbby Space and Science Show: Homeschool Edition, host Abby Harrison answers a question submitted by Christine Graham’s 6th grade science class in Cockrill Middle School in Mckinney, Texas including: What is the temperature in space at the distance from the sun that the Earth is? What is the oldest planet? How were the planets formed? Why are all planets round? Is Neptune a water planet? How do you measure the distance between planets?

Transcription of How Are Planets Formed?

ABBY

Hi everyone and welcome to #AskAbby: Homeschool Edition! This is a new series of Ask Abby intended to provide resources, as well as some space jokes and puns, to students who are now doing distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Each episode will feature questions submitted by students from around the world. 

This episode is focused on planets in our solar system, with questions submitted by 6th grade students from Cockrill Middle School in Texas. For this episode we actually received so many questions that we just weren’t able to fit them all into this one video. But I do want to say thank you to those students, and to let you all know that we loved seeing your questions and that they were all fantastic.

Question Number One
Ella would like to know: What is the temperature in space at the distance from the sun that Earth is at?

While space is normally super cold, that doesn’t necessarily mean that the space around Earth is always cold.

When Earth is in direct sunlight, the space around it is roughly 50.3° degrees Fahrenheit or 10.17° Celsius. 

Question Number Two
Isabel would like to know: What is the oldest planet?

The oldest planet in our solar system is Jupiter at 4.503 billion years old! And just for reference, that’s about 2-3 million years older than Earth.

But the oldest planet in the universe? The oldest planet that we currently know about is PSR B12620-26 B…oof, say that name three times fast.

PSR B126 2… *sighs* …PSR B1 R2D…

Alright, you know what, from now on, PSR B12620-26 B shall be known to us as Planet Bob.

ANIMATED CLIP
“You can’t call a planet Bob”

ABBY

Planet Bob is a “Hot Jupiter” type planet that is about 2.5 times bigger than Jupiter. It’s 5,600 light years away in the globular star cluster M4 in the Scorpius constellation of the Milky Way Galaxy. 

Another cool fact about Planet Bob is that it orbits around both a white dwarf and a pulsar. That makes it a circumbinary planet, or a planet that orbits around two stars instead of one!

Question Number Three
David would like to know: How were the planets formed?

Planets form through a process called accretion. Our whole Solar System actually started out as a big nebula of gas and dust particles. And the first thing that was formed out of that nebula was the central star, or our Sun. After that star is formed, the rest of the gas and dust particles continue to orbit around the star in something that’s now called the protoplanetary disk. And as those particles orbit around the star, sometimes they bump into each other. You can think about it like roller skaters on a crowded roller rink. Collisions are bound to happen. 

So in this protoplanetary disk when you have very small pieces of material, just grains of dust or gas particles, bumping into each other. In some of those collisions, they actually end up melding together, and they start to form larger and larger objects that eventually get big enough that one of them becomes a planet, or multiple of them become planets.

And eventually after this process of bits and pieces of space debris in the protoplanetary disk bumping into one another or colliding, and then merging together happens enough times, they start to get large enough that they can actually exert gravitational pull. And this is really important to a planet forming, because one of the three central defining features of a planet is actually that it has to be large enough and have enough mass to clear its orbit around the sun of space debris through gravitational attraction.

Question Number Four
Jenna would like to know: Why are all planets round?

Jenna you’re completely right. Planets are all spherical, or at least, nearly spherical. Sadly you can’t have any cubic or trapezoidal or even…hmm…even any dinosaur-shaped planets. As interesting as those may sound, they don’t hold up with the laws of physics. And that’s actually one of the defining features of what makes a planet is its shape. Planets have to be nearly spherical. But that doesn’t quite answer the question, does it? Why are planets all spherical?

The short answer is gravity. Gravity acting essentially from the center of the planet pulls inwards on the surface equally in all directions, causing a sphere to form. 

So I suppose that this means that in Minecraft the rules of gravity must be completely different.

Question Number Five
Doubra would like to know: Is Neptune a water planet?

Essentially yes. Neptune does have a very small rocky core at the center of the planet. But the majority of Neptune is actually made up of liquid water, ammonia and methane. This part of the planet is called the mantle. On top of the mantle it does also have a layer of gas, which I suppose makes Neptune the seaworld of our solar system.

And now for our final question…

Question Number Six
Logan would like to know: How do you measure the distance between planets?

I’ll talk about both the old fashioned way and the current way to get these measurements. 

Let’s start with the old-fashioned way. Early astronomers used a method called parallax, which is the apparent movement of an object based on a change in the location of the observer. You can actually try parallax right now. Close one eye, take your finger, point at an object, and then switch which eye you have closed, and you may notice, or you should notice, that you’re no longer pointing at the object that you originally were. But your finger didn’t move, so it’s merely that you changed the perspective that you were looking at that object from.

The exercise that you just practiced was actually used by early astronomers. They would find a planet in the night sky, and they would use the parallax effect to measure the distance from Earth to that planet. And that method actually was pretty decently accurate. But the big problem was that you could only use it to measure something that was visible to the naked eye, and that’s not everything that you want to be measuring the distance to.

Thankfully we now have a more accurate and more widely usable method. Nowadays, the way we measure the distance to a planet is by sending a radio wave to the planet, bouncing it off the surface, and then recording the amount of time that it takes for that radio wave to return. And because we know how fast radio waves travel, we’re then able to use that information to determine how far away the planet is. 

In order to do this we use our handy dandy speed equation, which tells us that speed = distance / time. So if you rearrange that you get that distance = speed x time. And you can plug in the things you know here. You know the speed that radio waves travel at, and you also know the time that it took for the radio wave to reach the planet and return. So once you plug those two numbers in… ba-da bing, ba-da boom – you’ve got your distance!

Today we talked about all about planets! We learned how planets form, why they’re the shape they are, how old they are, and even how to measure the distance to planets.

Thanks for watching! To send in a question you can Tweet me with the hashtag #AskAbby, or by submitting it at The Mars Generation website which is linked below.

And until next time, keep safe, keep healthy, and keep learning!

So long fellow travelers of spaceship Earth.

Season 3, Episode 9, #AskAbby Space and Science Show: Homeschool Edition

Presented by TheMarsGeneration.org

Girl Meets Astronaut

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In Episode 9 of  #AskAbby Space and Science Show: Homeschool Edition, host Abby Harrison will discuss growing up with the dream of becoming the first astronaut to walk on Mars! From her role models to her support system, Abby will discuss all the people who have supported her towards following her dream.

In this episode, Abby answers questions posed by MaryRose Candere’s class at After School STEAM Center: Clever Play Education & Training. Questions include: Are you super smart? What toys did you like to play with as a child? Who were your heroes growing up? What did your family and friends think when you told them about your dream? What was your favorite subject in school? What’s one thing many people do not know about you?

Transcription of Girl Meets Astronaut

ABBY

Hi everyone and welcome to #AskAbby: Homeschool Edition! This is a new series of AskAbby which is meant to provide resources, as well as some of those much needed space puns and jokes, to students who are now doing distance learning during the COVID-19 Pandemic!

Each episode will feature questions submitted by students from around the world.

This episode is focused on…me! With questions submitted by MaryRose’s 6 – 12 year old students from the After School STEAM Center: Clever Learning Education & Play. 

Today we’re going to be focusing on how to shoot for the stars…as a kid!

*INTRO*

ABBY

Question number one: Are you super smart?

I think so. We’re all smart in our own ways, and especially so when we’re focusing on subjects that fit our interests. And it just so happens that, if you weren’t aware yet, one of my big interests is space. 

So when it comes to space, I would say yes, I’m pretty smart. I’m also really passionate and interested in education as a whole – I always loved school – and also in science. So those are some other areas that I would say, yeah, I’m pretty smart.

Yeah I am pretty smart. Sometimes I even get called a smart Alec…which is weird, cause my name’s not Alec. Should be… a smart Abby.

Question number two: What toys did you like to play with as a child?

I was actually a pretty easy kid as far as toys go. For me, my favorite toys were anything that allowed me to really use my imagination. And especially things that I could play with outside, and get kind of hands on or dirty with. And so one of my favorite things when I was really little was to take all of the pots and pans out of our house, anything I could find and make mud pies in them. Basically just dumping dirt and water and whatever else I could find and act like I was making something new. But really what I was doing was just getting as many dishes dirty as I could.

Question number three: Who were your heroes growing up?

As a kid my heroes were actually really close to home. It was people like my science teacher, my mom, my big sister, those kinds of people. And then as I got older, I started to add more people to the list of who I really looked up to and would call a hero. Those people were astronauts, or scientists, or other people who were doing really incredible and amazing things out there in the world. 

And I think that we can all agree that our lists of who we look up to or who we see as heroes have grown massively during this difficult time during this pandemic. I know that I’ve seen a lot of people who have done heroic things, and heroic, or looking up to someone as a hero, doesn’t always mean that they’re out there doing something massive like traveling to space or speaking in front of an audience or anything like that. 

The people that I’ve seen who have become my heroes recently are those who are putting others before themselves. People like essential workers or healthcare professionals who are making sure that everyone gets what they need in order to live and survive. And even the people who are doing small gestures, small acts of kindness; neighbors helping one another out, families coming together, things like that. That’s been real heroism that I’ve seen recently. 

And if you are an essential worker or a healthcare professional and you’re watching this, I want to say thank you. Truly and deeply. Thank you. And hopefully you know now that you’ve been added to my list of heroes.

Question number four: What did your family and friends think when you told them about your dream?

When I was a little kid my family definitely thought that I might grow out of my dream of wanting to be an astronaut or maybe didn’t quite take it very seriously. But they still supported me and told me to believe in myself and that I could do anything that I wanted. And it turns out that as I got older and kept saying that I wanted to be an astronaut, and didn’t grow out of that dream, they were right there for me. My family’s always been really supportive, I’ve been really lucky to have a lot of other people as well who have been supportive. People like the friends that I’ve made,  the teachers that I’ve had, the mentors who have helped me. 

And what I’ve learned from all of that is the way that you convince other people to support your dreams is by being vocal about them. By telling other people about your dreams, that’s the very first step. And then also showing that you’re taking actions to make those dreams a reality. If you take actions towards your dreams, and are really vocal about them, I think the people in your life will be much more likely to respond positively and help support you and help you reach those dreams. At least that’s what happened for me.

Question number five: What was your favorite subject in school?

I didn’t have quite one favorite subject, I had two favorite subjects when I was in school and those were: science, of course, and recess. I’m just kidding. My two favorite subjects were actually science and art, which when you think about it, they’re not too dissimilar from one another. Hmm. 

What’s your favorite subject in school right now?

And Finally, our last question – and it’s a good one.

Question number six: What’s one thing that many people do not know about you?

You asked, I’ll tell. That’s the deal. So, here’s something that many people may not know about me because I do things like flying airplanes, jumping out of airplanes, (but not those two at the same time), climbing mountains, and even want to go to space. But I actually used to be afraid of heights. I had a real phobia of heights when I was little. But I got over it and now I get to do a lot of fun stuff. And you know what I actually also had a fear of needles. But, just like heights, kind of got over it, kind of didn’t. I still go get my shots and my vaccinations and all that, without too much drama or fuss. Okay, a little bit of fuss with that one. Fine, a lot of fuss. You bite one doctor, one time…

Now that’s something you know about me that you may not have before.

Today I talked about my dream, and the early days of my dream. And especially about the people who helped support me, guide me, inspire me, and generally were there for me along the way towards my dream.

I hope that sharing my story will help you chase after your own dream as well, and especially that from what I had talked about you learned that it’s important to be vocal about your dream, and that in doing so you can build an invaluable network of people who will support you. And just remember; believe that you can achieve your dream. And also know that even though it’s your dream, that doesn’t mean that you have to do it alone. And hey, thanks for watching!

If you have a question you’d like to ask, you can go ahead and Tweet me using the hashtag #AskAbby, or by submitting it on The Mars Generation website.

And until next time, keep safe, keep healthy, and keep learning! So long fellow travelers of spaceship Earth.

Season 3, Episode 8, #AskAbby Space and Science Show: Homeschool Edition

Presented by TheMarsGeneration.org

What Happens if an Astronaut Gets Sick?!

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In Episode 8 of the #AskAbby Space and Science Show: Homeschool Edition, host Abby Harrison will discuss ways that a sick astronaut can receive needed treatment while in space! From medical training prior to takeoff to video communications with doctors on Earth (like we’re doing now!) Abby will discuss some of the ways we can still support sick astronauts, even if they’re outside Earth’s atmosphere!

In this episode, Abby answers questions posed by Ms. Souad Belcaid’s 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 6th grade science classes at the Fessenden School in Newton, Massachusetts including: How does an astronaut feel physically after returning to Earth? what happens if you get sick? Is there a doctor at the space station? What advice would you give us children during this pandemic?

Transcription of What Happens if an Astronaut Gets Sick?!

ABBY
Hi everyone and welcome to #AskAbby: Homeschool Edition!

This is a new series of AskAbby intended to provide resources—and of course, some low-quality space puns and jokes—to students who are now doing distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Every episode will feature questions submitted by students from around the world.

This episode is focused on sickness in space, and features questions submitted by the students at the Fessenden School in Newton, Massachusetts.

*INTRO GRAPHIC*

ABBY
Question number one: How does an astronaut feel physically after returning to Earth?

Astronauts returning to Earth after time in space can face a wide variety of different physical reactions, and it really is a case by case basis, because every astronaut will react differently. The two factors that are most impactful in the physical reaction that an astronaut will have when they return is the duration of time that that astronaut spent in space, and also just that astronaut’s own unique physiology.

Some of the physical reactions that astronauts might have to returning down to gravity include things like being dizzy, a loss of balance, feelings of heaviness or even the inability to walk or run properly. For example, U.S. Astronaut Scott Kelly, who spent a year in space, had some trouble walking when he returned. If you want to learn more about how space affects the body, you can go ahead and check out our AskAbby episodes about space motion sickness, and about astronaut DNA, both of which are linked below.

Question number two: What happens if an astronaut gets sick? Is there a doctor at the space station?

There is no resident doctor or surgeon onboard the International Space Station, but astronauts do have some basic medical training and have access to medicines and medical equipment onboard the space station. If there isn’t a doctor onboard the International Space Station and an astronaut needs medical treatment, they are able to talk remotely with doctors here on Earth, just like how I’m sure a lot of you are doing remote learning with your teachers, or have maybe even had a remote appointment with a doctor. I suppose if you get sick in space, you better hope that your buddy knows what he’s doing.

Luckily, if an astronaut does experience a major medical emergency while on the International Space Station, they could return to Earth to get treatment, or even have supplies sent up to them. On a long trip, such as to Mars, where astronauts no longer have the options of either returning home in case of a medical emergency, or having specialized equipment sent to them, it will become even more necessary for astronauts to have a deeper level of medical training and knowledge, as well as having a wider variety of specialized medical equipment available, essentially trying to prepare for any possible emergency, or even just being as prepared as possible.

And who knows what the future looks like. By the time that we’re landing humans on Mars, it’s possible that we’ll have systems like artificial intelligence or even robotics that can assist in diagnosing and treating astronauts during medical emergencies. If you want to learn more about that, be sure to check out the AskAbby episode about Artificial Intelligence and how it’s used in space! It’s linked below.

And for our final question, question number three: What advice would you give us students during this pandemic?

First off, during this pandemic, it’s really important both to take care of your own health, and to take care of those in your community by adhering to social distancing guidelines, washing your hands for 20 seconds at a time with hot water and soap, or using hand sanitizer frequently, and wearing a mask when you do need to go out in public.

Secondly, it’s important to stay calm, and remember that you’re looking after not just your physical health, but also your emotional health. So even though you’re social-isolating and avoiding contact with others, you shouldn’t be isolating yourself emotionally. Luckily we live in a time when there are a lot of different options of how you can interact meaningfully with other people whether those are your friends or your family, even when you can’t see them in person.

And finally, I understand that things probably seem really scary and uncertain right now, but it’s important to remember that they won’t always be that way. And that you can keep dreaming big, setting goals and working towards achieving those dreams and goals every day.

Today we answered questions about how medicine and health relate to space travel. We learned about the support systems that astronauts have if they do get sick in space and also what medicine might look like for astronauts on future missions to Mars.

And finally, we talked about the fact that this is a really difficult time, that a lot of things are changing, and that there’s a lot of uncertainty. But now more than ever, it’s important to keep dreaming big.

And finally we talked about the fact that this is a really difficult time, but that doesn’t mean that you should stop or that you have to stop setting goals or dreaming big, and if anything, it should give you more reason to dream big and to look towards the future.

Thanks for watching! To send in a question, you can Tweet me with the hashtag #AskAbby, or submit it at The Mars Generation website which is linked below.

Until next time, keep safe, keep healthy, and keep learning! So long fellow travelers of spaceship Earth.

Season 3, Episode 7, #AskAbby Space and Science Show: Homeschool Edition

Presented by TheMarsGeneration.org

KIDS EDITION: Can I Become an Astronaut?

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In the 7th Episode of the #AskAbby Space and Science Show: Homeschool Edition, host Abby Harrison answers a question posed by parent Eleanor from Cornwall, England UK, who is asking a question on behalf of her 8-year-old son, Thomas, who dreams of going to space: What can Thomas do now to help with his goal (astronaut, one of the first on mission to Mars)?

In this episode, Abby speaks specifically to her younger fellow aspiring astronauts like Thomas! Abby shares how she started reaching towards the stars as a kid too (at only five-years-old) and what steps she took. We hope this video gives you ideas for how to jumpstart your own journey into the exciting world of space and science!

Transcription of KIDS EDITION: Can I Become an Astronaut?

ABBY

Hi everyone and welcome to #AskAbby: Homeschool Edition!

This is a new series of AskAbby meant to provide resources—as well as the all-important space puns and space jokes–to students who are now doing distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Each episode will feature questions submitted by students from around the world.

This episode features a question from Eleanor and her 8-year-old son Thomas from England, and is focused on becoming an astronaut.

*INTRO GRAPHIC *

ABBY
The question is: What can 8-year-old Thomas do now to help with his goal of becoming an astronaut and maybe one of the first on a mission to Mars?

I really love this question and was excited when I got it because even as a kid, no matter how old or how young you are, there’s a lot that you can be doing to reach this dream.

For example, if you’re dreaming of being an astronaut like 8-year-old Thomas, you could be learning about space, astronomy, what astronauts currently do, all types of things. And really looking for what it is that you’re passionate about and what will help drive you towards achieving your goal and dream in the future.

Being an astronaut is really all about being a scientist. At its core, that’s what it is. Almost all astronauts are scientists in some way, and I’ll tell you they were scientists way before they became astronauts. So that’s another area that you can be focused on right now, apart from space, is what brand or type of science you’re really interested in. And some of the ways that you can do that is by exploring.

Explore by reading about it, by learning about different kinds of science through YouTube, or by going to local museums or doing virtual museum tours. Or even by doing your own fun science hands-on experiments at home. For a fun science experiment to do at home, check out my video below.

How you engage with space and science will be different for you and for every single person watching this. It might include things like what I did when I was younger. I was part of a lot of after school groups, like GEMS – Girls in Engineering, Math and Science. Or Science Bowl, where we all learned science together.

But I also really loved to learn about science on my own, whether it was through reading books or just going outside at night and learning about the night sky and about what was visible where I was. And the good news with that is that there are more resources now than there ever have been before where you can learn about science on your own.

So you can download apps that will help you stargaze, that will help you know what it is that you’re looking at and tell you all kinds of information about them. You can go on virtual tours of museums around the world. Really anything that you can imagine, you can probably find somewhere on the internet, and you can do all of it whether you’re staying at home or not.

Staying healthy is also really important to becoming an astronaut, and health doesn’t just happen overnight. It’s something that you have to build over your lifetime. So start now by getting involved in a sport, playing outside and making sure that you’re eating well, and that means eating lots of vegetables. “Lettuce” all eat our vegetables, as “corny” as it may sound. *ba-dum tss*

And finally it’s really important to do your best in school. Astronauts have to have a solid educational foundation and now is the time for you to start on that. So yes, doing your homework could get you to space.

Today we learned that no matter your age, you can always get started working towards your dream. It’s never too early. And I should know – I decided I wanted to become an astronaut when I was maybe four or five years old and have been working on it ever since then.

Science can be so fun and exciting, so Thomas and everyone else out there who’s watching this video: I’m really glad to hear that you’re ready to jump in and get involved. For even more detailed information on how to become an astronaut, go ahead and check out the AskAbby video titled How to Become an Astronaut.

Thanks so much for watching. To send me a question or a comment, you can go ahead and Tweet me using the hashtag #AskAbby, or through The Mars Generation website. 

And until next time, keep safe, keep healthy, and keep learning! So long fellow travelers of spaceship Earth.

Season 3, Episode 6, #AskAbby Space and Science Show: Homeschool Edition

Presented by TheMarsGeneration.org

Could We Live Without Magnetism?!

Subscribe to our YouTube channel here so you don’t miss an episode!

In episode 6 of the #AskAbby Space and Science Show: Homeschool Edition, host Abby Harrison discusses magnetism and why humans actually need magnetism to survive! From protecting us from radiation caused by the Sun’s solar storms to creating a beautiful aurora borealis in the night sky, it’s safe to say magnetism is pretty magnificent!

Abby answers questions posed by Jennie Anderson’s 3rd Grade class at Murch Elementary in Washington D.C. including: How does Earth’s magnetic field protect us from the sun? What is the planet with the most magnetism? Do other planets have a magnetic field too? Why do some planets have magnetic fields and others don’t? Are Earth and Jupiter the only planets with magnetism? Does the sun have any magnetism inside or does it have any iron in the Sun? What types of metal are magnetic?

Transcription of Could We Live Without Magnetism?

ABBY
Hi everyone and welcome to #AskAbby: Homeschool Edition!

This is a new series of AskAbby meant to provide resources–as well as the all-important space puns and space jokes–to students who are now doing distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic!

Each episode features questions submitted by students from around the world.

This episode is focused on magnetism, and features questions submitted by teacher Jennie Anderson’s 3rd grade students at Murch Elementary School in Washington, D.C.

*INTRO GRAPHIC*

ABBY
Question number one: How does Earth’s magnetic field protect us from the sun?

Earth’s core acts essentially like a giant magnet, and projects a magnetic field around the planet. We call this the magnetosphere. And having a magnetosphere is really important to having life here on Earth because it protects us from the harmful solar wind and solar storms that our sun generates.

Basically our sun sends out waves or blasts of charged particles that carry harmful radiation and could even strip away our atmosphere. Luckily for us the magnetization of our planet’s magnetosphere deflects most of these charged particles away from Earth. You can think of it like how an umbrella deflects rain.

If the sun produces a particularly large solar wind or solar storm, some of those charged particles do make their way through our magnetosphere, and end up interacting with Earth’s atmosphere, which causes…auroras!

Question number two: Do other planets have a magnetic field as well? What’s the planet with the most magnetism?

Yes, of the remaining 7 planets in our Solar System, five of them actually have magnetic fields as well. The four gas giants – Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune all have incredibly strong magnetic fields–magnetic fields that are much stronger than Earth’s! And then you have Mercury, which kind of sort of has a magnetic field…it’s a little bit wimpy.

Mercury’s magnetic field is only about 1/100th of the strength of Earth’s. On the other hand, the planet with the most magnetism, and the strongest magnetic field, is Jupiter. Jupiter’s magnetic field is 20,000 times stronger than Earth’s.

Question number three: Why do some planets have magnetic fields and others don’t?

A planet’s magnetosphere is a result of the interaction between the convection of the planet’s interior and the planet’s rotation. And in order to have convection in its interior or core, a planet’s core has to be made up of a liquid. We can use these two positive features to explain the three planets in our Solar System that have little to no magnetosphere.

So let’s start with Mercury, because we already said that Mercury does have a magnetosphere, it’s just not a very good one. And the reason for that is because Mercury is simply rotating too slowly.

After that, we can go ahead and look at Venus, which is rotating fast enough and has a liquid core, but its core isn’t convective, so it can’t create a magnetosphere around the planet.

And finally we have Mars. Mars, once again, like Venus, is rotating fast enough, but unlike Venus, Mars does not have a liquid core…at least not anymore. It’s believed that Mars used to have a liquid core and that over time, it solidified.

Question number four: What types of metals are magnetic?

Ferromagnetic metals like iron, steel, cobalt and nickel. Iron’s actually the metal at Earth’s core that’s primarily responsible for our magnetosphere.

Question number five: Does the sun have any magnetism inside and does it have any iron inside?

The Sun does have iron, but it’s only about 0.14% of the Sun’s total mass. The majority of the Sun is made up of hydrogen and helium, something that was first shown in 1925 by Cecelia Payne-Gaposchkin, who was actually the first woman in the United States to get a PhD in astronomy.

To be completely honest, we don’t know for sure how our Sun’s magnetosphere is formed. But we think that it’s likely that it’s formed as a result of convection of elements like hydrogen and helium that deep within the Sun, are in a state of matter known as Plasma.

Today we learned about magnetism in space. We found out what causes magnetic fields for planets and the Sun, and how these magnetic fields protect us from harmful solar and cosmic particles.

And most importantly, we learned that our own magnetic field is so vital, that we actually wouldn’t be able to have life on Earth without it.

*Talking to fridge magnets* Aww, thanks guys. Gotta appreciate magnets.

Thanks for watching. To send in a question, you can tweet me with the hashtag #AskAbby, or submit it to The Mars Generation website which is linked below.

And until next time, keep safe, keep healthy, and keep learning! So long fellow travelers of spaceship Earth!

Season 3, Episode 5, #AskAbby Space and Science Show: Homeschool Edition

Presented by TheMarsGeneration.org

Becoming an Astronaut

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In episode 5 of the #AskAbby Space and Science Show: Homeschool Edition, Abby encourages all her fellow aspiring astronauts to dream big and set a game plan! From working hard in school to focusing on science to developing habits to stay physically fit, Abby will explain how all of these things will help you become an astronaut (as well as achieve other benefits!). She’ll also discuss how to be a NASA astronaut from another country – just like Kalpana Chawla, the first Indian-American astronaut and first female astronaut of Indian descent!

In this episode, Abby answers questions posed by Nisa, a 9th grade student at Mary Immaculate Girls High School in India including: Is sports very important to go to space? How do I become an Astronaut? Is it necessary to be a pilot to be an astronaut?

Transcription of 3 Factors of Becoming an Astronaut

ABBY
Hi everyone and welcome to #AskAbby: Homeschool Edition!

This is a new series of AskAbby to provide resources–as well as our ever-so-necessary bad space puns and jokes–to students who are now doing distance learning during the COVID -19 Pandemic!

Each episode will feature questions submitted by students from around the world.

This episode is focused on becoming an astronaut, with questions submitted by Nisa, a 9th grader at the Mary Immaculate Girls High School in India.

*INTRO GRAPHIC*

ABBY
First question: How do I become an astronaut?

I get this question a lot. So luckily, I’ve already made a full-length video about it. You can go ahead and watch that video, which is linked down below, to get more information and the steps required. 

Spoiler alert: the answer is lots of school. You’ll need a STEM degree, either a Master’s or a PhD, and you’ll probably have to do scientific research that’s related in some way to space exploration as well.

You also have to be really physically healthy. And then you have to apply to your country’s space program once you’re old enough. But don’t worry, if your country doesn’t have a space program, you can apply to NASA, because NASA accepts naturalized U.S. citizens.

Question two: Are sports very important to go to space?

I’d say studying is the most important part of becoming an astronaut, but staying healthy is also important, and sports are a really great, fun way to do that!

Space is really difficult on the human body, and this means that you need to be in tip top physical shape before you go to space. Astronauts generally spend about 2-3 hours a day, 6 days a week, exercising when they’re in space. They do this to fight back against the negative effects that microgravity has on the human body. So, partaking in sports right now can help you both to have a healthy, fit body, and to build up those good, positive exercise habits. I’d say that’ll help you on your way to becoming an astronaut.

Personally I like to dance, hike, climb mountains, play rugby, play soccer, even ride unicycles, to stay physically active and make sure that I’m getting some kind of physical activity every single day.

Now you tell me, how do you stay physically active?

Additionally, sports teach you how to work well with others on a team, which is a really good skill for astronauts to have. No, it’s not just really good. It’s essential.

Question three: Is it necessary to be a pilot to be an astronaut?

No, it isn’t necessary, but it is pretty helpful, and lots of astronauts have experience as pilots.

I’m actually the proud owner of a pilot’s license myself! And if you’re interested in getting your pilot’s license, I’ve made a full-length #AskAbby video about the experience, so you can go ahead and watch it at the link down below.

Today we talked about how to become an astronaut, including how education, physical fitness, and becoming a pilot might even play a part.

ABBY
What I hope you take away is that if you have the dream to become an astronaut, you can work towards that dream right now and right where just by doing your homework or maybe even kicking around a soccer ball.

Thanks for watching! If you’d like to submit a question, you can do so by Tweeting me with the #AskAbby, or by submitting it to The Mars Generation website which is linked below.

And until next time, keep safe, keep healthy, and keep learning! So long fellow travelers of spaceship Earth!

Season 3, Episode 4, #AskAbby Space and Science Show: Homeschool Edition

Presented by TheMarsGeneration.org

Challenges of Living in Space

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In Episode 4 of the #AskAbby Space and Science Show: Homeschool Edition, Abby will discuss the array of challenges of living in outer space that have to be overcome to allow human-space exploration! Be sure to bring your spacesuit…Abby will also talk about what would happen if an astronaut doesn’t wear one in space (spoiler alert: it’s not pretty).

In this episode, Abby answers questions posed by Chelsea Vasquez’s 7th Grade Science Class from CIS 303 in the Bronx: How big is space? Why is there no gravity in space? Do astronauts ever wish they could go back home? How long can you go out into space without a space suit? If you had to choose between living on Earth or living in space what would you choose? How long does it take to go to space [specifically to the ISS]? Why does water become bubbles in space?

Transcription of “Challenges of Living in Space”

ABBY
Hi everyone and welcome to #AskAbby: Homeschool Edition!

This is a new series of #AskAbby intended to provide resources–as well as those oh-so-important bad space puns and joke–to students who are now doing distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic!

Each episode will feature questions submitted by students from around the world.

This episode is focused on living in space, featuring questions submitted by the 7th grade students of Chelsea, a teacher at the CIS 303 school in Bronx, New York.

*Intro*

ABBY
Question number one: How big is space?

As far as we can tell, space is actually infinite in size. But what’s even harder to wrap your head around is that space is also constantly expanding. The size of the observable universe is 93 billion light years, but what’s past that? We don’t really know.

Question number two: Why is there no gravity in space?

This actually isn’t true. There is still gravity in space. We just probably don’t notice it. You see, every object exerts a gravitational pull on other objects. For some objects, like let’s say, a coffee cup, its gravitational pull is too small for you to notice. It has no tangible effect. But for other objects, such as planets, stars, those types of things, they have enough gravitational force and gravitational pull, that they actually dictate the movement of everything else around them.

But for astronauts who are orbiting around the Earth, they’re actually still close enough to the planet that they’re feeling the effect and experiencing the effect of about 90% of Earth’s gravity.

So, why then do astronauts orbiting the Earth still appear as if there’s no gravity acting on them?
The answer is because astronauts orbiting Earth are constantly in free fall, which is an experience that, for all intents and purposes, mimics microgravity.

Question number three:
Do astronauts ever wish that they could go back home?

Of course, every astronaut is different, and feels differently about this. But, for the majority of astronauts, of course, they do miss home while they’re in space. And especially now that missions are getting longer and longer, missions now can take up to a year, and that’s a long time to be away from home.

You can think about an astronaut’s time in space kind of like you going to summer camp. You’re really happy to be there, you’re having a good time, you want to be there. But that doesn’t change the fact that you still miss home a little bit, and that a small part of you might wish that you could go home.

In order to manage and deal with this homesickness, astronauts actually spend a lot of time talking to people back on Earth, whether it’s mission control who they talk to very frequently. Or, even having video chats, conferences or calls with their families here on Earth.

Think about it, it’s just how right now, you can’t necessarily go hang out with your friends or go to your Grandma’s house, or otherwise see people that you would like to. But you can, and probably are, still video chatting with them.

ABBY
Question number four: How long can you go out into space without a space suit?

The short answer is not very long at all. But don’t worry, I’ll go into the details of exactly how long not very long is. After about 15 seconds in space without a spacesuit, you’d pass out. And after about 2 minutes, you’d actually die. This would happen because when you’re in space without your space suit, all the oxygen gets pulled from your body. And also, because space is so cold, that you’d eventually freeze solid. Additionally, you’d get a pretty bad sunburn from all that UV radiation from the sun that you’re being exposed to, but I think at that point, a sunburn would be the least of your worries.

Question number five: If you had to choose between living on Earth or living in space, what would you choose?.

Well, it depends… Who am I stuck in space with? That makes all the difference.

No, I’m kidding. In most cases, or most instances, this is actually a pretty easy choice for me. I would choose to live on Earth for the rest of my life. And the reason for that is because space is a really inhospitable place. It’s very difficult for humans to exist and live in space. And we don’t yet have the technological abilities to sustain a reasonable lifespan in space, which means that if you chose to live in space for the rest of your life, it would end up being a pretty short life.

But that said, let’s imagine for a moment that we could sustain a full human life in space. Which would you choose… Earth or space?

Question number six: How long does it take to go to space and specifically to the ISS?

It takes about 8-and-a-half minutes to get from the surface of Earth to outer space. But after that, it can take anywhere from six hours at the shortest to two days in order to actually get to the ISS, or International Space Station.

That might leave you wondering, why does it take so much longer to get to the International Space Station, which is not that far up above Earth, than it does to just get into space?

And the answer is that it’s not actually about the relative distances. It’s about speed. The International Space Station is traveling at roughly 17,500 mph as it orbits around the Earth. And catching something going that fast is a very difficult task. If you were to launch your rocket ship
straight from the planet Earth going at a velocity to match the International Space Station’s Speed by the time you reached its orbit, you’d actually end up passing it by a lot; you’d end up in deep space. You’d completely miss the International Space Station, and that would be a tricky situation to be in.

So instead of launching at the correct speed to catch the International Space Station, astronauts and spacecraft that are headed to the ISS have to do a complex series of orbital maneuvers known as Hohmann Transfers, where essentially they start in a smaller orbit and make engine burns, or orbital maneuvers, to increase the size of their orbit over a time. And they have to do this in a really precise manner. It takes a lot of math and a lot of planning. So anywhere between six hours and two days.

And finally, I’ve saved the best question for last.

Question number seven:
Why does water become bubbles in space?

Water, or H2O, is a really special and unique substance. And one of the reasons for this is because water molecules on a molecular level are attracted to one another. Oooh la la!

Just kidding. Attraction in this case means that water molecules hold onto one another and don’t want to let go. And the optimal shape for this–this being as many water molecules as possible to be as close to each other as possible–is a sphere. This is because a sphere has the highest volume to surface area ratio of any object out there.

You may have noticed that water here on Earth actually does form into a sphere, at least up until a certain point. Have you ever gone outside and seen a dew drop? That’s an example of how water can form a sphere if it’s a small enough amount of water.

Now you might be wondering, why does the amount of water matter? And the answer to that is that the force between water molecules that’s holding them together and trying to keep them close is fighting against the force of gravity, which is pulling them apart. So when you have a small amount of water, all of the water molecules in there are able to exert force on one another, force that’s more than the force that’s being exerted on them by gravity. But when you have a really large amount of water, the water molecules at the center aren’t able to exert or experience as much of that interconnected force with the water molecules that are out towards the edges of the sphere, and suddenly gravity has the upper hand here, and causes the water to flatten out, or to lose the spherical shape, which is what we see when you dump anything more really than a couple drops of water at a time.

You have to keep in mind though that in space, water is experiencing the effects of microgravity. And without the effect of gravity, there’s no force pulling the water molecules apart from one another; there’s only the force that the water molecules are exerting on one another to stay together. This means that there’s nothing causing that sphere to break apart. And you can keep adding water to it with no upward limit of how much water, and it’ll stay in this optimal spherical shape.

Today we answered questions about some of the ways that space is fundamentally different from Earth. Substances like air and water behave differently in space. Unlike Earth, Space is essentially limitless. And even the forces of physics that we take for granted, such as gravity, seem to act different.

Space is full of differences from Earth, and that’s what makes space travel so exciting and interesting. We get to experience all of these differences and then even use them to answer some of the most mysterious questions.

Thanks for watching! To send in a question, you can Tweet me with the hashtag #AskAbby, or submit it at The Mars Generation website which is linked below.

And until next time, keep safe, keep healthy, and keep learning! So long fellow travelers of spaceship Earth!

 

Season 3, Episode 3, #AskAbby Space and Science Show: Homeschool Edition

Presented by TheMarsGeneration.org

What’s at the Center of a Black Hole?

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While science can tell us so much, there are still many unanswered questions! In episode 3 of the #AskAbby Space and Science Show: Homeschool Edition, Abby will discuss what modern-day physics can explain (and what it can’t explain) about the centers of black holes and white holes. The episode does not assume any background knowledge as Abby will also explain what quarks, singularities, and white holes are!

In this episode, Abby answers questions posed by 3rd grade teacher Amanda Scott from the Marietta Center for Advanced Academics (MCAA): What’s beyond the singularity of a black hole? What would happen if a quark popped into existence at the singularity of a white hole?

Transcription of “What’s at the Center of a Black Hole”

ABBY
Hi everyone and welcome to #AskAbby: Homeschool Edition!

This is a new series of AskAbby meant to provide resources, as well as some really important bad space puns and jokes, to students who are now doing distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Each episode will feature questions submitted by students from around the world.

This episode is focused all about black holes and will feature questions submitted by 3rd grade teacher Amanda from the Marietta Center for Advanced Academics.

*Intro Graphic*

ABBY
Question number one:
What’s beyond the singularity of a black hole?

But hold on, if you’re not very familiar with black holes, pause this video right now and go watch the previous AskAbby episode that was all about black holes. It’s linked below.

I’m assuming if you’re still here, or if you paused and you came back, you now have a pretty decent understanding of things like what a black hole is. But let’s start out by defining what a singularity is as well.

For those who don’t know, the singularity of a black hole is an infinitely small point at the very center of a black hole that contains a massive amount of, well, mass.

And at this point of the singularity, physics, as we know it, starts to sort of break down.

In Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity, which explains gravity through the curvature of space-time, can’t actually completely explain what’s happening at a singularity.

However, a theory called Loop Quantum Gravity, developed in 2006 at the University of Pennsylvania, might just have some answers for us.

According to the theory of Loop Quantum Gravity, mass at the singularity of a black hole is compressed and then sent off to another part of the universe…or maybe even an entirely different universe.

So the tricky thing here is that we don’t really know if General Relativity Theory is right, and space-time breaks down at the singularity of a black hole, or if the Quantum Gravity Loop Theory is right, and the singularity of a black hole compresses matter and sends it off somewhere else. And since we don’t know, on to the next question.

Question number two:
What would happen if a quark popped into existence at the singularity of a white hole?

Two quick definitions here: A quark is a small elementary particle, even smaller than an atom. And a white hole is basically the opposite of a black hole. While a black hole has tons of matter and mass, a white hole has no matter and no mass. And while nothing can get out of a black hole, nothing can get into a white hole. And also, white holes are at this point a purely theoretical concept, meaning they haven’t been proven to exist, and we haven’t actually discovered any yet.

So if a quark appeared at the singularity of a white hole, the white hole would theoretically collapse because now it has matter in it, even though it’s a very small amount of matter.

So while a lot of the physics behind black holes remains unknown, we have new promising theories being created and new research being done every day to help us understand them better.

Thanks for watching! If you’d like to submit a question, you can Tweet me at the hashtag #AskAbby, or submit it on The Mars Generation website which is linked below.

Until next time, keep safe, keep healthy, and keep learning! So long fellow travelers of spaceship Earth!