PhD Candidate Ian Cohen schools Steve and Jarman on black holes, dark matter, telescopes, gravity, the difference between a meteor and a meteorite, and so much more!
****Fact fix from Ian Cohen on his own interview: The Sun is 8 light minutes away from the Earth, not light seconds.
Please enjoy episode 31 of the A Play On Nerds podcast, where PhD candidate from the University of New Hampshire, Ian Cohen (full bio and experience below), schools Steve and Jarman with finally some correct information about the science of space. If you listened to our episode a few weeks back all about space, man did we get a lot wrong. Ian is here to help us out and better inform you, the listener too! He'll cover many misconceptions about dark matter, the difference between meteors, comets, and asteroids, and so much more.
Ian Cohen is a Physics PhD candidate at the University of New Hampshire. He received his B.A. in Astronomy & Physics from Boston University and worked for three years at the Charles Hayden Planetarium at the Museum of Science in Boston. At UNH, he builds instruments that are launched on rockets to study the aurora and manages the UNH Observatory. He is also a NASA Student Ambassador, NASA Solar System Ambassador, and member of the Aurorasaurus Scientist Network. By far his most important credential is that he received the “Right Stuff Award” when he attended U.S. Space Camp in 1998. When he’s not needing out about space, Star Wars, U.S. history, or video games, he also writes for his blog “At the Center of It All”, which aims to explain the science and societal impact of the field of heliophysics.
We also cover some science-y Nerdy News involving black holes and drunk birds (yes, drunk birds) as well as some Trailer Reviews, where we cover Heart in the Sea, Predestination, and White God... definitely worth checking them out, for various reasons.
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