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A question from Issac, age 4. Dr. Jeff Rich answers. For more on Dr. Rich's work, see episodes 14, 81, 118, or 159, or visit the Carnegie Observatories website. Find the pocket solar system instructions here.

A question from Renny, age 4. Dr. Jessie Christensen answers. For more on Dr. Christensen's work, see episodes 42 and 102.

A question from Sabine, age 5. Dr. Christopher Snead answers. For more on Dr. Snead's work, see Episode 184 of Spacepod. Do you know a kid with a space question? Upload it at listentospacepod.com and I'll do my best to get an answer!

Dr. Sabine Stanley answers. For more about planetary insides, check out her book, "What's Hidden Inside Planets".  Do you know a kid with a space question? Upload it at listentospacepod.com and I'll do my best to get an answer!

Dr. Michael Busch answers. Do you know a kid with a space question? Upload it at listentospacepod.com and I'll do my best to get an answer!

Dr. Jeremy Kubica talks about his work on the LINCC Frameworks project, and how he brings together astronomers and computer scientists to create software tools. He shares advice for students and talks about his books, which explain computing concepts in fun and accessible ways.

Dr. Pascal Lee tells the story of how he and his collaborators found a new volcano on Mars. He tells us about the "convergence of lines of evidence" that led to this discovery. He also explains why this site may be a good place to look for life.

Astrophysicist Tina Ibsen tells us about the northern lights. She talks about her research and gives tips on how to observe the lights. She tells us how Denmark is a space nation and shares her thoughts about the future of space exploration. We also talk about RumSnak, the space podcast she co-hosts with Anders Høeg Nissen.

Dr. Carrie Holt talks about how she's getting ready for the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) by the Vera C. Rubin Observatory. She explains how astronomers are using simulated and real data to prepare in advance of this new data.

Dr Tracy Becker tells us about solar system science using ultraviolet light. She explains how the color of a planet's northern lights depends on the planet's atmosphere. She also describes how scientists repurposed the New Horizons spacecraft to measure how empty space is.

Professor Thomas Tauris explains what gravitational waves can tell us about colliding neutron stars. He corrects Carrie's misconception about how gravitational waves affect people. He also explains how the last 400 years of astronomy have been like watching a silent movie, but now with gravitational waves, we have a soundtrack. 

Prof. Sabine Stanley, author of "What's Hidden Inside Planets," tells us how the interior of Earth helps make this planet a nice place to live. She tells us that the Earth's mantle is actually solid rock, not liquid rock. She also explains what the Earth's interior and birthday balloons have in common. Spacepod listeners can get a 30% discount on "What's Hidden Inside Planets" with the code HPLAN if you order through Hopkins Press at press.jhu.edu. (This code is shared as a courtesy, Spacepod does not receive compensation if you order a book.)

Dr. Jon Merrison talks about the Mars Simulation Laboratory. Here, scientists study what happens in low temperature, low pressure, windy environments.  He says visiting scientists often "come to our lab with some idea based on the conventional model and go away with data which makes no sense to them."

Dr. Morgan Cable returns to the show after nine years!  She tells us how she creates new minerals in her laboratory. She explains how this work helps shape NASA's Dragonfly mission. She encourages listeners to have confidence in their results.

Dr. Geronimo Villanueva tells us about solar system discoveries with JWST. He talks about several projects, including observing water plumes from Saturn's moon Europa and looking for rings around Mars. He shares what it feels like to use this incredible space telescope.