Episode 29 – We’re All Stellar Corpses

Dr. Michelle Thaller

Our guest this week is Dr. Michelle Thaller.  A research scientist at the California Institute of Technology, Thaller is currently the Manager of the Education and Public Outreach program for the Spitzer Space Telescope.  Thaller talks to us about Spitzer, infrared light, and our origins in stellar corpses.

• Profile from Spitzer
  
• Profile from Cool Cosmos
• SIRTF Profile
• NASA Profile
• Entry in IMDB
• Wikipedia entry on Dr. Michelle Thaller

• Spitzer Space Telescope
  
• Video: Infrared: More than your Eyes can See
• Animation from NASA’s SpacePlace
  
• Post from Bad Astronomy
• Chandra X-Ray Telescope

I have always had a deep respect for people who can take complex ideas and make them seem profoundly simple and elegant. Instinctually, I’ve always felt that wisdom and eloquence are related. It’s not just what you say, but now effectively you communicate the inner workings of your mind to another human being.

-Dr. Michelle Thaller, from Spitzer Profile

Videos about our origins in stars:

• The Elements: Forged in Stars, from NOVA on Teachers Domain
• Cosmos: The Lives of The Stars (Carl Sagan) – Episode 1, season 9

Direct download: LOL29.mp3