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hi welcome to the international space

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station flight control room we are here

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for a distance or digital learning

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network event and uh with us we're

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talking with the middle middle school

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kids at lanier middle school in buford

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georgia so today we have a special guest

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for you guys because i understand you

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guys have been studying about earth and

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earth science and it's a good time

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because this is earth month here at nasa

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um so here with us today we have will

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stephanov he is the chief earth

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scientist here at the nasa johnson space

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center welcome well and thank you for

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coming

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thank you so guys we're ready to take

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um how can you see the difference

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between the past and the future and the

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present and what shows the plate to

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tectonics and the satellites

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that's an excellent question

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sorry to get myself arranged here

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that's an excellent question

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the the way that you look at changes in

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time with satellite data is you collect

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lots and lots of images over a long

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period of time

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the a good example of this is the

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landsat satellite series which has been

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collecting data since 1972

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so when you have all these scenes you

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can line them up and just look at them

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directly to see what's changed over time

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like you can see things like change in

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vegetation growth of cities

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new lava flows from erupting volcanoes

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things like that

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for the plate tectonic question

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you it's hard to actually measure or see

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plate tectonics from satellites but what

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you can see is the

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effects of plate tectonics so you can

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see where volcanoes are erupting because

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volcanoes are typically associated with

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plate tectonic activities

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you can see

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damage from earthquakes and for some

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different kinds of satellite sensors

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like gps satellites we can actually use

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that information to measure

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the height of mountains and how they're

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growing over time so we can see how that

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that part of the plate tectonic process

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is working as well

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that was a good smart question we have

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another one

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how are satellites kept from damage

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also very good question

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satellites typically uh unfortunately

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they don't have they don't have

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shields like you'd see in star trek or

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something like that uh most satellites

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the best way to protect them is by

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putting them into orbits high enough so

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that they're out of most of the orbital

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debris that blankets

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well that doesn't like our planet but

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orbits our planet

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this

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the orbital debris itself

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is caused by

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old satellites pieces of old satellites

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old rocket pieces of old rocket launches

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as well as natural debris like meteors

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that enter the earth's atmosphere all

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the time

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so there's groups both here at nasa and

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in the department of defense that

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actively track

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about a half a million a little objects

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some smaller than the size of a baseball

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and they track these every day as they

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orbit around the earth the purpose of

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that is so that they can warn manned

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spacecraft like the international space

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station

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when

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orbital debris might be approaching them

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so they can take a they can maneuver the

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station out of the way for satellites

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that aren't manned

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uh typically like i said they put them

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into high orbits so they're out of the

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path of most of this orbital debris

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but satellites do occasionally get hit

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by things and sometimes they get hit by

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other satellites which has happened over

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good question

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how long does it take to process

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information from satellites and what

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kind of information can you get from

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them

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ah that's a that's a twenty thousand

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dollar question uh the the time

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with with satellites that are up there

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now the recent the most recent

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generations of satellites

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and the fact that

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you can put ground stations

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almost anywhere now to receive data from

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the satellites

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depending on the sensor you can get data

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back in a few hours

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and have it available for other

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scientists or the public to look at

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the

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things you can measure from satellites

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is i won't say it's endless but

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pretty much almost anything about the

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surface of the earth and the atmosphere

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you can measure from a satellite you can

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look at things like surface compositions

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of different materials like the elements

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or the minerals that make it up you can

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look at the composition of the

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atmosphere or the presence of pollutants

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in the atmosphere you can look at things

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like surface temperature like the

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surface of the land surf land surface

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temperature or the ocean surface

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temperature you can look at things like

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vegetation extent and health over the

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entire globe

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it's really the possibilities are

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are really defined by

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the physics of the electromagnetic

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very good question and very good answer

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do we have another one

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what is one of the satellites that take

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the best and most up-to-date photos

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that's

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that i'd have to say is in the the

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commercial satellite realm

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there's a number of commercial

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satellites that collect data of fine

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enough resolution or surface detail that

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you can see things that are less than

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about a foot and a half apart on the

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ground from orbit

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and one of those satellites is called

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goi

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in fact some of the some of the images

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if you look at google earth

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some of the imagery that you see in

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there when you can zoom down to the

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street level

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satellites like this that kind of

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resolution in fact some of them collect

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data that's so finely detailed that you

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can't release it to the public because

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it's a security concern

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but other satellites uh other sensors

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are designed so that they collect more

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information over the same spot on the

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earth in shorter time scales so some

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sensors can take data several times a

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day over the same spot on the earth as

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opposed to getting really high

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resolution data it's kind of a trade-off

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right now our technology is still at the

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level where you either get really really

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detailed information or you get detail a

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lot of information over the same spot

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but you don't typically get it at the

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very interesting i can tell you guys

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have done your homework

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we've got another question

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how long will it be until the next png

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are simple continent forms

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ah that's an excellent geological

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question right right close to my heart

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um the

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the supercontinent pangaea

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the last one there's actually been we

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think there's been six uh in geological

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history the last one formed about 300

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million years ago and then started to

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break up about 200 million years ago

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and we can look at the way the plates

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are currently moving today and make

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predictive models

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of if everything continues the same what

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will happen so the current predictions

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are that we might see another

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pangea-like continent which geologists

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are calling pangaea ultima

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how long do you have to be in college

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before you get to work at nasa as a nasa

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scientist

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uh it's an excellent question

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the the answer is it really kind of

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depends on what you want to do

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and nasa there's a wide range of job

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opportunities available

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you can be

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i would have to say that

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probably getting a bachelor's degree is

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the basic minimum that you might want to

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do so four to five years in college

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uh but you could be

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you could be a computer programmer you

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can be a scientist you can be an

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engineer uh you can be a writer you can

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be a speaker you can be a tv producer uh

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it's all really depends on what you want

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to do but i'd say i'd say a bachelor's

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degree is probably the minimum for some

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things you might need a more advanced

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degree like a master's degree or phd and

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that adds more years to your time in

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school but it starts where you are now

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every every course you take every you

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know every year that

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you add more education to yourself

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is something that only enhances what you

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your knowledge and will

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pave the way to where you want to go so

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keep studying exactly right yes

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yes

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is there a chance that one of our

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current continents will split again if

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so which one would be most likely to

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split

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well okay i think yeah i think you're

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asking uh if we're gonna see any any uh

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large large new separations of

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continents probably not

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uh as i as i said earlier

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the the current thinking is that we're

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actually entering a phase where the

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continents are starting to come back

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together again over the next 250 million

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years or so that being said there is an

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active rift an active area where there

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is a little bit of continental splitting

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going on right now

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in east africa the east african rift and

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that's where

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basaltic magma is coming up through the

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earth's crust and actually splitting off

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the horn of africa the easternmost part

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of africa away from the rest of the

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mainland so that's going on right now

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but but apart from that that's really

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about the only place where we're seeing

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a large-scale continental rifting going

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good questions

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if the ocean floor was a different rock

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than basalt what would change about

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earth

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great questions for you being a

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geologist that is that is a that is a

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that is a deep question uh

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what would happen uh

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the first the big answer is plate

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tectonics

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probably wouldn't work

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at least it certainly wouldn't work the

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way we see it now uh because the big

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difference between the oceanic crust and

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the continental crust

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is their densities continental crust is

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much less dense and light

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so it has a tendency to float

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or raise higher above the on the earth's

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surface oceanic basalt is very dense so

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very heavy

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and it's produced by

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magma from the earth's mantle coming out

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and erupting along mid-ocean ridges

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what that does is it creates new

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seafloor and pushes the continents apart

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and that's one of the big driving

285
00:10:21,350 --> 00:10:19,360
factors behind plate tectonics if it was

286
00:10:23,430 --> 00:10:21,360
all the same kind of material

287
00:10:25,509 --> 00:10:23,440
then it would be very difficult to move

288
00:10:28,710 --> 00:10:25,519
them apart that way also

289
00:10:30,470 --> 00:10:28,720
the heavy oceanic crust is recycled

290
00:10:32,150 --> 00:10:30,480
easier back into the mantle along

291
00:10:33,670 --> 00:10:32,160
subduction zones and again if the

292
00:10:35,509 --> 00:10:33,680
material was the same as have the same

293
00:10:36,389 --> 00:10:35,519
density that would be very difficult to

294
00:10:37,269 --> 00:10:36,399
do

295
00:10:39,590 --> 00:10:37,279
so you wouldn't have this whole

296
00:10:41,910 --> 00:10:39,600
recycling going on so that that would be

297
00:10:44,230 --> 00:10:41,920
the major change what that would mean to

298
00:10:46,470 --> 00:10:44,240
the way the earth's surface would look

299
00:10:48,550 --> 00:10:46,480
well over time you you wouldn't have new

300
00:10:50,069 --> 00:10:48,560
mountains being formed for one thing and

301
00:10:51,350 --> 00:10:50,079
so you could expect that over millions

302
00:10:52,949 --> 00:10:51,360
of years you might see the mountains

303
00:10:53,910 --> 00:10:52,959
starting to be eroded down to flat

304
00:10:55,750 --> 00:10:53,920
plains

305
00:10:58,069 --> 00:10:55,760
that doesn't happen on earth because we

306
00:10:59,670 --> 00:10:58,079
have active plate tectonics

307
00:11:01,030 --> 00:10:59,680
that would be one major

308
00:11:03,430 --> 00:11:01,040
change and of course that would cause a

309
00:11:05,350 --> 00:11:03,440
whole series of climatic differences

310
00:11:07,910 --> 00:11:05,360
and uh a lot of stuff would be very

311
00:11:09,590 --> 00:11:07,920
different so very excellent question

312
00:11:12,389 --> 00:11:09,600
there's a lot contained in that question

313
00:11:16,230 --> 00:11:12,399
deep literally and figuratively

314
00:11:21,110 --> 00:11:19,990
how do you predict natural disasters

315
00:11:22,389 --> 00:11:21,120
oh you guys are just coming up with

316
00:11:23,350 --> 00:11:22,399
awesome questions

317
00:11:24,230 --> 00:11:23,360
uh

318
00:11:27,269 --> 00:11:24,240
we

319
00:11:29,590 --> 00:11:27,279
disasters

320
00:11:31,190 --> 00:11:29,600
with any degree of certainty today but

321
00:11:33,509 --> 00:11:31,200
there are there are a lot of types of

322
00:11:34,550 --> 00:11:33,519
disasters that frequently give us

323
00:11:35,910 --> 00:11:34,560
warnings

324
00:11:37,190 --> 00:11:35,920
that something might be might be

325
00:11:39,269 --> 00:11:37,200
happening

326
00:11:40,470 --> 00:11:39,279
for instance large storm systems like

327
00:11:42,710 --> 00:11:40,480
hurricanes

328
00:11:44,949 --> 00:11:42,720
were now pretty good at being able to

329
00:11:46,389 --> 00:11:44,959
detect when those storms are forming and

330
00:11:47,269 --> 00:11:46,399
be able to detect where they're going to

331
00:11:52,470 --> 00:11:47,279
go

332
00:11:54,069 --> 00:11:52,480
plot their tracks enough to let people

333
00:11:56,069 --> 00:11:54,079
know that a storm is coming so they can

334
00:11:57,750 --> 00:11:56,079
evacuate and get out of the way for

335
00:11:59,030 --> 00:11:57,760
other things like volcanoes volcanic

336
00:12:01,030 --> 00:11:59,040
eruptions

337
00:12:03,590 --> 00:12:01,040
sometimes we we can detect some of them

338
00:12:05,190 --> 00:12:03,600
sometimes occasionally volcanoes will

339
00:12:07,110 --> 00:12:05,200
have hot spots that you can detect from

340
00:12:08,710 --> 00:12:07,120
satellites in orbit that indicate that

341
00:12:10,230 --> 00:12:08,720
there might be magnetic magma coming to

342
00:12:12,310 --> 00:12:10,240
the surface and that eruption might be

343
00:12:14,790 --> 00:12:12,320
imminent also sometimes the volcano

344
00:12:16,389 --> 00:12:14,800
shape itself changes as magma comes into

345
00:12:18,710 --> 00:12:16,399
the volcano and it causes the ground to

346
00:12:21,030 --> 00:12:18,720
raise we can measure that

347
00:12:23,350 --> 00:12:21,040
with gps sensors

348
00:12:25,430 --> 00:12:23,360
things like earthquakes those are really

349
00:12:27,350 --> 00:12:25,440
difficult because earthquakes quite

350
00:12:28,949 --> 00:12:27,360
frequently occur with no advanced

351
00:12:30,629 --> 00:12:28,959
warning whatsoever

352
00:12:32,069 --> 00:12:30,639
sometimes we know

353
00:12:34,150 --> 00:12:32,079
where earthquakes have occurred so we

354
00:12:35,590 --> 00:12:34,160
can assume based on the last time a big

355
00:12:37,430 --> 00:12:35,600
earthquake occurred we can make some

356
00:12:39,990 --> 00:12:37,440
some idea of when the next one might

357
00:12:41,990 --> 00:12:40,000
happen but it's really just a prediction

358
00:12:44,310 --> 00:12:42,000
it's really hard to predict with to make

359
00:12:52,710 --> 00:12:44,320
a real certain uh deduction of when a

360
00:12:57,269 --> 00:12:54,870
how will the technology of the goes-r

361
00:13:00,389 --> 00:12:57,279
series satellites improve compared to

362
00:13:01,190 --> 00:13:00,399
the current goes satellites

363
00:13:03,269 --> 00:13:01,200
ah

364
00:13:05,350 --> 00:13:03,279
excellent technical question uh the big

365
00:13:07,110 --> 00:13:05,360
difference there between goes-r and the

366
00:13:09,750 --> 00:13:07,120
current goes satellites

367
00:13:11,910 --> 00:13:09,760
is in the the sensitivity of the sensors

368
00:13:12,949 --> 00:13:11,920
and their capabilities the goes-r

369
00:13:15,670 --> 00:13:12,959
satellite

370
00:13:17,030 --> 00:13:15,680
will still view the western hemisphere

371
00:13:19,190 --> 00:13:17,040
and we'll collect the same measurements

372
00:13:20,790 --> 00:13:19,200
that the current goes satellites collect

373
00:13:23,590 --> 00:13:20,800
but it'll have better imaging

374
00:13:25,269 --> 00:13:23,600
capabilities it'll be sensitive to some

375
00:13:27,350 --> 00:13:25,279
new pieces of information that the

376
00:13:29,509 --> 00:13:27,360
current satellites aren't and on the

377
00:13:32,310 --> 00:13:29,519
solar end it's kind of the same story

378
00:13:34,389 --> 00:13:32,320
better imagers better detectors for some

379
00:13:36,470 --> 00:13:34,399
of the solar particles that come back

380
00:13:37,670 --> 00:13:36,480
and all of this is designed to give us

381
00:13:38,949 --> 00:13:37,680
better

382
00:13:45,990 --> 00:13:38,959
weather forecasting predictive

383
00:13:50,069 --> 00:13:47,990
is it possible for a super storm or

384
00:13:51,750 --> 00:13:50,079
multiple natural disasters at once to

385
00:13:54,069 --> 00:13:51,760
occur and cause mass extinction on the

386
00:13:56,389 --> 00:13:54,079
planet earth

387
00:13:58,389 --> 00:13:56,399
this this is another great question

388
00:14:00,949 --> 00:13:58,399
i'd have to say the answer

389
00:14:03,269 --> 00:14:00,959
is probably no and the reason i say that

390
00:14:05,430 --> 00:14:03,279
is because there's enough spots on the

391
00:14:06,790 --> 00:14:05,440
earth that are geologically quiet

392
00:14:07,910 --> 00:14:06,800
they're not prone to big earthquakes

393
00:14:09,430 --> 00:14:07,920
they're not they don't have active

394
00:14:10,629 --> 00:14:09,440
volcanoes going on

395
00:14:12,470 --> 00:14:10,639
to where

396
00:14:13,990 --> 00:14:12,480
even if all the other ones went off it

397
00:14:15,670 --> 00:14:14,000
wouldn't cause mass extinction the human

398
00:14:17,189 --> 00:14:15,680
race there would still be people left in

399
00:14:19,350 --> 00:14:17,199
those areas

400
00:14:20,470 --> 00:14:19,360
what would be more likely to cause mass

401
00:14:21,990 --> 00:14:20,480
extinction

402
00:14:23,590 --> 00:14:22,000
would probably be something similar to

403
00:14:25,670 --> 00:14:23,600
what caused the dinosaurs extinction

404
00:14:26,629 --> 00:14:25,680
like a large asteroid impact on the

405
00:14:28,310 --> 00:14:26,639
surface

406
00:14:30,550 --> 00:14:28,320
you need a you need an event of that

407
00:14:32,389 --> 00:14:30,560
kind of magnitude to create enough

408
00:14:35,350 --> 00:14:32,399
environmental disturbance

409
00:14:37,269 --> 00:14:35,360
to really make the environment uh

410
00:14:39,110 --> 00:14:37,279
so inhospitable that we'd be looking at

411
00:14:40,230 --> 00:14:39,120
mass extinction but that's a great

412
00:14:44,870 --> 00:14:40,240
question

413
00:14:48,710 --> 00:14:47,030
um at any point in time will any land

414
00:14:50,629 --> 00:14:48,720
forms arrow to a point that there isn't

415
00:14:53,430 --> 00:14:50,639
enough room for the organisms inhabiting

416
00:14:54,470 --> 00:14:53,440
it to remain stationary if so will they

417
00:14:56,550 --> 00:14:54,480
um

418
00:15:00,310 --> 00:14:56,560
evolve into some

419
00:15:01,509 --> 00:15:00,320
other sort of life or migrate

420
00:15:03,509 --> 00:15:01,519
that's that's another great plate

421
00:15:05,829 --> 00:15:03,519
tectonic question uh it kind of gets

422
00:15:07,030 --> 00:15:05,839
back to an answer to a previous question

423
00:15:08,790 --> 00:15:07,040
about what would happen if plate

424
00:15:10,150 --> 00:15:08,800
tectonics stopped working

425
00:15:12,629 --> 00:15:10,160
that's really what you'd need to have

426
00:15:14,949 --> 00:15:12,639
happen to to cause what you're talking

427
00:15:17,590 --> 00:15:14,959
about um there's actually a term that

428
00:15:19,509 --> 00:15:17,600
geologists use for that uh geologists

429
00:15:21,350 --> 00:15:19,519
about 100 years ago thought this same

430
00:15:23,269 --> 00:15:21,360
question they said why how come how come

431
00:15:24,629 --> 00:15:23,279
we have mountains before plate tectonics

432
00:15:26,069 --> 00:15:24,639
was understood

433
00:15:27,829 --> 00:15:26,079
and they were asking why don't the

434
00:15:29,670 --> 00:15:27,839
mountains just wear down

435
00:15:31,269 --> 00:15:29,680
to flat plains we know now it's because

436
00:15:32,949 --> 00:15:31,279
mountains or new mountains are formed

437
00:15:34,310 --> 00:15:32,959
due to plate tectonics but if that

438
00:15:36,310 --> 00:15:34,320
didn't exist

439
00:15:37,990 --> 00:15:36,320
and you just had erosion yeah eventually

440
00:15:39,590 --> 00:15:38,000
you'd wear everything down to a flat

441
00:15:40,710 --> 00:15:39,600
plane

442
00:15:42,150 --> 00:15:40,720
now this this wouldn't happen

443
00:15:44,310 --> 00:15:42,160
instantaneously of course this will take

444
00:15:47,749 --> 00:15:44,320
hundreds of millions of years so that's

445
00:15:50,949 --> 00:15:47,759
plenty of time for existing creatures to

446
00:15:53,670 --> 00:15:50,959
migrate to adapt to new conditions

447
00:15:55,590 --> 00:15:53,680
and so forth so i think you would see

448
00:15:57,990 --> 00:15:55,600
adaption occurring if this if plate

449
00:16:04,310 --> 00:15:58,000
tectonics stopped functioning um but

450
00:16:09,990 --> 00:16:08,310
getting some zingers these are good

451
00:16:12,870 --> 00:16:10,000
they are i'm shifting

452
00:16:15,269 --> 00:16:12,880
so in the near in um anywhere like in

453
00:16:17,189 --> 00:16:15,279
the next million years would there be

454
00:16:20,389 --> 00:16:17,199
anything falling off coming off of north

455
00:16:26,230 --> 00:16:23,350
whoops sorry the the answer that um

456
00:16:27,670 --> 00:16:26,240
probably the short answer is no um

457
00:16:29,910 --> 00:16:27,680
except for

458
00:16:32,389 --> 00:16:29,920
probably southern california

459
00:16:34,230 --> 00:16:32,399
most of the plate tectonic models show

460
00:16:36,870 --> 00:16:34,240
that southern california over the next

461
00:16:38,949 --> 00:16:36,880
50 million years or so is likely to

462
00:16:41,269 --> 00:16:38,959
break kind of along san andreas fault

463
00:16:43,350 --> 00:16:41,279
and start moving towards alaska

464
00:16:50,230 --> 00:16:43,360
so california may get smaller but that's

465
00:16:54,870 --> 00:16:52,870
are the teachers who train astronauts

466
00:16:57,110 --> 00:16:54,880
actual astronauts themselves or are they

467
00:17:01,189 --> 00:16:57,120
just people who use information

468
00:17:04,470 --> 00:17:03,430
that that's a that's a good question

469
00:17:07,029 --> 00:17:04,480
i'm actually one of the people who

470
00:17:08,789 --> 00:17:07,039
trains astronauts uh through the crew of

471
00:17:10,069 --> 00:17:08,799
thobs project here

472
00:17:12,710 --> 00:17:10,079
astronauts

473
00:17:14,949 --> 00:17:12,720
they do train each other in some aspects

474
00:17:16,789 --> 00:17:14,959
but for science training

475
00:17:18,069 --> 00:17:16,799
they're trained by people like me and

476
00:17:20,309 --> 00:17:18,079
others of my colleagues other earth

477
00:17:22,150 --> 00:17:20,319
scientists atmospheric scientists

478
00:17:24,309 --> 00:17:22,160
and for other technical issues like for

479
00:17:26,150 --> 00:17:24,319
taking photographs from the iss they're

480
00:17:28,230 --> 00:17:26,160
trained by another group that is

481
00:17:29,110 --> 00:17:28,240
composed of expert photographers

482
00:17:30,230 --> 00:17:29,120
so

483
00:17:31,830 --> 00:17:30,240
i guess the answer to your question is

484
00:17:33,270 --> 00:17:31,840
yes or no for some things the astronauts

485
00:17:35,909 --> 00:17:33,280
do train themselves but for other things

486
00:17:37,590 --> 00:17:35,919
they rely on outside experts

487
00:17:39,750 --> 00:17:37,600
very good question i think we actually

488
00:17:41,909 --> 00:17:39,760
have a a website maybe we can get that

489
00:17:43,669 --> 00:17:41,919
for you for you guys going up here um

490
00:17:45,350 --> 00:17:43,679
just where you can actually go and look

491
00:17:47,190 --> 00:17:45,360
at a lot of those photographs that are

492
00:17:49,029 --> 00:17:47,200
taking photos yeah absolutely uh yeah

493
00:17:50,870 --> 00:17:49,039
it's if you if you do a google search on

494
00:17:51,909 --> 00:17:50,880
astronaut photography of earth it'll

495
00:17:54,150 --> 00:17:51,919
take you to the website yeah and there

496
00:17:58,150 --> 00:17:54,160
it is yeah

497
00:18:00,549 --> 00:17:58,160
does the upper s uh aspheric uh research

498
00:18:01,430 --> 00:18:00,559
satellite really have pieces falling on

499
00:18:06,230 --> 00:18:01,440
earth

500
00:18:09,270 --> 00:18:07,669
that uh

501
00:18:11,510 --> 00:18:09,280
your that's actually a question to ask

502
00:18:13,590 --> 00:18:11,520
because as kind of i said earlier

503
00:18:14,870 --> 00:18:13,600
there's orbital debris and meteors

504
00:18:17,590 --> 00:18:14,880
falling

505
00:18:19,430 --> 00:18:17,600
on the earth all the time every day most

506
00:18:20,710 --> 00:18:19,440
of that stuff is so small that it does

507
00:18:22,150 --> 00:18:20,720
burn up in the atmosphere and it never

508
00:18:24,390 --> 00:18:22,160
hits the surface

509
00:18:25,750 --> 00:18:24,400
for the you are satellite

510
00:18:28,789 --> 00:18:25,760
that was a little different case that

511
00:18:30,870 --> 00:18:28,799
thing was the size of a bus and when it

512
00:18:32,789 --> 00:18:30,880
entered the atmosphere most of it did

513
00:18:34,789 --> 00:18:32,799
indeed burn up but it was so big that

514
00:18:36,549 --> 00:18:34,799
some pieces did survive

515
00:18:38,630 --> 00:18:36,559
to go through the atmosphere

516
00:18:40,390 --> 00:18:38,640
now most of those pieces

517
00:18:42,390 --> 00:18:40,400
fell into the ocean because the ocean

518
00:18:43,750 --> 00:18:42,400
covers 70 percent of the earth's surface

519
00:18:45,590 --> 00:18:43,760
and this happens to most stuff that

520
00:18:47,350 --> 00:18:45,600
actually makes it through the atmosphere

521
00:18:48,230 --> 00:18:47,360
to hit the to hit the surface of the

522
00:18:50,150 --> 00:18:48,240
earth

523
00:18:52,230 --> 00:18:50,160
there's been no reports that i know of

524
00:18:53,669 --> 00:18:52,240
at least of anyone being hit by any kind

525
00:18:55,909 --> 00:18:53,679
of debris

526
00:19:02,390 --> 00:18:55,919
from space and certainly nothing from

527
00:19:05,990 --> 00:19:04,150
how long does it take for information to

528
00:19:09,669 --> 00:19:06,000
be received from the satellite is there

529
00:19:12,150 --> 00:19:09,679
any delay or does it happen in real time

530
00:19:14,470 --> 00:19:12,160
that's an excellent question

531
00:19:16,789 --> 00:19:14,480
for most satellites there is a slight

532
00:19:18,710 --> 00:19:16,799
delay time uh like i said earlier some

533
00:19:20,710 --> 00:19:18,720
if you have a receiving station

534
00:19:22,870 --> 00:19:20,720
you can collect data from the satellite

535
00:19:25,350 --> 00:19:22,880
as soon as it passes overhead but

536
00:19:27,190 --> 00:19:25,360
typically that data is what we call raw

537
00:19:28,710 --> 00:19:27,200
it's raw form it needs to be processed

538
00:19:31,430 --> 00:19:28,720
before it can be usable

539
00:19:33,669 --> 00:19:31,440
by a scientist or a member of the public

540
00:19:35,669 --> 00:19:33,679
so there typically is a delay time of a

541
00:19:37,029 --> 00:19:35,679
few hours before you get data from the

542
00:19:39,830 --> 00:19:37,039
satellite to the point where it can be

543
00:19:42,630 --> 00:19:39,840
distributed for use by other people

544
00:19:44,630 --> 00:19:42,640
there are some other kinds of sensors

545
00:19:45,909 --> 00:19:44,640
like on the iss there are there are

546
00:19:48,470 --> 00:19:45,919
video cameras

547
00:19:49,510 --> 00:19:48,480
that if there's line of sight to the

548
00:19:51,990 --> 00:19:49,520
ground

549
00:19:54,150 --> 00:19:52,000
you can transmit that information down

550
00:19:56,070 --> 00:19:54,160
in more or less real time

551
00:19:59,350 --> 00:19:56,080
and there's new sensors going up on the

552
00:20:01,430 --> 00:19:59,360
iss high definition external cameras

553
00:20:02,710 --> 00:20:01,440
that will that's the the intent the

554
00:20:04,470 --> 00:20:02,720
intent is to actually have it in real

555
00:20:06,310 --> 00:20:04,480
time so you can view exactly what is

556
00:20:08,310 --> 00:20:06,320
being seen from the space station from

557
00:20:09,430 --> 00:20:08,320
the ground that's excellent

558
00:20:10,950 --> 00:20:09,440
do you have any

559
00:20:15,190 --> 00:20:10,960
more questions i think we have just a

560
00:20:21,430 --> 00:20:18,310
let's say a ship passes over a sea floor

561
00:20:23,430 --> 00:20:21,440
that has a reverse magnetic polarization

562
00:20:25,830 --> 00:20:23,440
how would this affect the magnetic field

563
00:20:30,149 --> 00:20:28,310
for that question uh and the great

564
00:20:32,070 --> 00:20:30,159
question

565
00:20:33,590 --> 00:20:32,080
the ship's compass

566
00:20:34,789 --> 00:20:33,600
wouldn't see any effect it would just

567
00:20:36,470 --> 00:20:34,799
see the uh

568
00:20:38,310 --> 00:20:36,480
the regular you know the current earth's

569
00:20:40,470 --> 00:20:38,320
magnetic field and that's mainly because

570
00:20:42,390 --> 00:20:40,480
the ship is so far away it's far enough

571
00:20:43,750 --> 00:20:42,400
above the sea floor so that you won't

572
00:20:45,110 --> 00:20:43,760
get any effect from remnant

573
00:20:46,789 --> 00:20:45,120
magnetization

574
00:20:49,590 --> 00:20:46,799
uh the way that was originally

575
00:20:51,750 --> 00:20:49,600
discovered was by towing sensitive

576
00:20:53,830 --> 00:20:51,760
sensors behind ships so they were pretty

577
00:20:55,750 --> 00:20:53,840
much right over the sea floor and when

578
00:20:57,350 --> 00:20:55,760
you do that you can see the difference

579
00:20:59,190 --> 00:20:57,360
in the magnetic field orientation from

580
00:21:01,029 --> 00:20:59,200
the minerals that were frozen into the

581
00:21:02,870 --> 00:21:01,039
sea floor when it crystallized

582
00:21:04,390 --> 00:21:02,880
but from a ship on the surface

583
00:21:11,430 --> 00:21:04,400
no you you wouldn't see any effect from

584
00:21:18,310 --> 00:21:13,270
if you see dangerous weather coming to a

585
00:21:22,549 --> 00:21:20,149
okay i think i think you mean are you

586
00:21:26,230 --> 00:21:22,559
asking if you see dangerous weather from

587
00:21:28,310 --> 00:21:26,240
orbit or on the ground yeah

588
00:21:29,750 --> 00:21:28,320
um on the ground

589
00:21:30,950 --> 00:21:29,760
okay well if you see if you see if you

590
00:21:32,549 --> 00:21:30,960
see dangerous weather coming on the

591
00:21:33,350 --> 00:21:32,559
ground like a tornado or something like

592
00:21:35,190 --> 00:21:33,360
that

593
00:21:37,190 --> 00:21:35,200
uh well the first thing i would do is

594
00:21:39,029 --> 00:21:37,200
attend to your own safety first you'll

595
00:21:40,789 --> 00:21:39,039
find somewhere that's out of the path

596
00:21:43,830 --> 00:21:40,799
but then you might you would consider

597
00:21:46,070 --> 00:21:43,840
calling your parents or the local police

598
00:21:47,029 --> 00:21:46,080
department fire department uh typically

599
00:21:49,029 --> 00:21:47,039
though

600
00:21:50,950 --> 00:21:49,039
for most of these this is an exam an

601
00:21:52,630 --> 00:21:50,960
advantage of the weather satellites for

602
00:21:54,870 --> 00:21:52,640
a lot of the big storm systems even for

603
00:21:56,310 --> 00:21:54,880
tornadoes we're improving our ability to

604
00:21:59,510 --> 00:21:56,320
be able to detect where those might

605
00:22:01,110 --> 00:21:59,520
occur from orbit so we're trying to

606
00:22:03,190 --> 00:22:01,120
improve the ability to warn people in

607
00:22:11,350 --> 00:22:03,200
the path of say tornadoes that keep on

608
00:22:17,510 --> 00:22:13,510
how accurate can you measure the speed

609
00:22:21,430 --> 00:22:18,789
well we have a lot of fans of plate

610
00:22:24,549 --> 00:22:21,440
tectonics in the audience today

611
00:22:26,070 --> 00:22:24,559
the with gps satellite measurements you

612
00:22:28,310 --> 00:22:26,080
can actually measure the speed of the

613
00:22:30,470 --> 00:22:28,320
continents down to

614
00:22:32,310 --> 00:22:30,480
millimeters per year

615
00:22:34,630 --> 00:22:32,320
but typically geologists we tend to

616
00:22:36,549 --> 00:22:34,640
measure the rate in centimeters per year

617
00:22:38,230 --> 00:22:36,559
and on average the continents are moving

618
00:22:40,470 --> 00:22:38,240
between about two and ten centimeters

619
00:22:53,029 --> 00:22:40,480
per year and that's about the same rate

620
00:22:53,039 --> 00:22:56,310
do we have any others

621
00:23:03,029 --> 00:22:58,549
this is really exciting i'm enjoying

622
00:23:07,990 --> 00:23:04,470
can you tell us a little bit about your

623
00:23:11,510 --> 00:23:09,270
oh i didn't know i was going to talk

624
00:23:12,870 --> 00:23:11,520
about myself here

625
00:23:15,590 --> 00:23:12,880
i'm a geologist

626
00:23:17,510 --> 00:23:15,600
and most of my research is done using

627
00:23:19,990 --> 00:23:17,520
data from satellites to look at the

628
00:23:22,950 --> 00:23:20,000
earth's surface and in particular i do a

629
00:23:24,230 --> 00:23:22,960
lot of work in mapping where

630
00:23:26,470 --> 00:23:24,240
different minerals are different rocks

631
00:23:28,070 --> 00:23:26,480
and minerals so geological mapping also

632
00:23:28,950 --> 00:23:28,080
i do a lot of work

633
00:23:32,950 --> 00:23:28,960
in

634
00:23:34,390 --> 00:23:32,960
urban heat islands where

635
00:23:36,549 --> 00:23:34,400
where cities get hotter than their

636
00:23:38,870 --> 00:23:36,559
surrounding environments and in

637
00:23:42,310 --> 00:23:38,880
particular where people in those cities

638
00:23:44,390 --> 00:23:42,320
are most at risk from high heat events

639
00:23:46,310 --> 00:23:44,400
so uh my thing is basically like

640
00:23:49,029 --> 00:23:46,320
geologic hazards in general but

641
00:23:50,950 --> 00:23:49,039
particularly looking at geologic hazards

642
00:23:52,390 --> 00:23:50,960
around cities so that's what i spend

643
00:23:54,070 --> 00:23:52,400
most of my time doing that's why those

644
00:23:57,430 --> 00:23:54,080
good geology questions were really great

645
00:23:57,440 --> 00:24:09,669
do we have any others

646
00:24:25,990 --> 00:24:21,190
okay

647
00:24:27,430 --> 00:24:26,000
guys we really really appreciate those

648
00:24:29,750 --> 00:24:27,440
questions they're really great questions

649
00:24:32,070 --> 00:24:29,760
thank you again will for coming out and

650
00:24:33,669 --> 00:24:32,080
talking with the students i hope you all

651
00:24:35,909 --> 00:24:33,679
you're very welcome

652
00:24:38,470 --> 00:24:35,919
learn something new i know i did go back

653
00:24:41,029 --> 00:24:38,480
to to working there and uh

654
00:24:42,630 --> 00:24:41,039
studying hard and making your way to