Question One: I am very interested in Astrophysics. What subjects should I focus on that will be useful for me to pursue a career as an Astrophysicist?

Jill Tarter

So you want to be an astrophysicist? Great. The American Astronomical Society--AAS is a major professional organization for astronomy and astrophysics. Another important organization is the International Astronomical Union-IAU. Both are interested in future scientists, and provide opportunities to learn about undergraduate and graduate school at their conferences and websites.

The AAS offers good information on their website: "A New Universe to Explore: Careers in Astronomy Brochure" . There is good information on preparing for a career in astronomy, starting at the high school level, through graduate education.

There's also an informative discussion of where astronomers/astrophysicists pursue their careers. Other pages of Education Services are also fun to explore for answers to basic astronomy questions and opportunities.

Natalie Batalha

Three subjects: math, math, and math. Computer programming and statistics are also very important and often overlooked. The sooner you learn how to write computer programs, the sooner you can do astronomy-related internships that will introduce you to the scientific method.

Jason Kalirai

Astrophysics is all about applying physics to understand the formation and evolution of the Universe. Therefore, a core understanding of physics is essential. As you progress through various astronomy and physics courses, you will also find that mathematics lies at the heart of most things we do. So, I would suggest supplementing the core physics and science courses with a strong math program, especially calculus. Finally, as an astrophysicist, we spend a lot of our time writing reports, proposals and publications, and presenting research results to the broader community. So, being able to write concisely, and to present results in the form of talks, is helpful.

Question Two: Why are there so many myths associated with astronomical phenomena?

Jill Tarter

Astronomy started as a naked eye science - we could see things on the sky before we understood the physics behind the phenomena that explains them. Since the earliest epochs with darker skies and time to stare at the cosmos, we hav always been impressed by, and wanted to understand our place in, the universe.

The celestial sky gave us our first calendars and the very practical abilities to predict seasonal and agricultural cycles. This power could be used by individuals for ligitimate or self-affrandizing purposes. Unfortuantely, today we still enable people to make a good living by selling others, who are insufficiently skeptical, bogus ideas about the influences the cosmos has on their lives.

The fabulous astronomical instruments we enjoy today extend the wavelengths at which we can study the universe far beyond the meager range of our eyes - the more we discover, the more we are impressed, and the more questions we pose and answer. Some answers are hard to grasp, leaving ample room for those who wish to sell easy, feel good alternative myths.

Natalie Batalha

I'm not sure there is any one simple answer to your question. There are myths that describe the creation of the world, myths that explain catastrophic natural events, myths that lay out a moral code, and myths that help travelers navigate the skies and farmers harvest their bounty. We have an innate curiosity about the world around us -- a deep need to understand and explain what we observe. We seek meaning in our lives. And we are great story tellers. That's all I can say with certainty.

Jason Kalirai

The night sky is very complicated and has intrigued humans ever since it was first gazed upon. Five hundred years ago, the Earth was at the center of our Solar System, and less than one hundred years ago, our galaxy represented the entire Universe. Scientists are driven to try and comprehend everything, but sometimes our knowledge comes about slowly. In the meantime, this opens the door for alternate explanations that may be appealing, but scientifically incorrect. However, it shoes that astronomical phenomena pique the interest of many people.

Would you personally want to travel to Mars? Why or why not?

Jill Tarter

Yes, in a heartbeat! I'd love to explore that planet myself, but only after we've done a thorough exploration with our robotic surrogates to discover whether any indigenous martian biology exists and if so, devised a plan for humans to be on mars without contaminating or destroying such life. What better way to understand the biology of life-as-we-know-it then to study an independtly evolved life form. Or maybe we will learn that any live on mars and life on earth are connected, with a common origin and presence on two planetary bodies as the result of the exchange of material during the period of heavy bombardment early in the process of the formation of the solar system.

Natalie Batalha

There was a time that I thought I'd apply to be an astronaut. Then I had my first baby and realized that I couldn't stand to leave him for even a second, let alone days at a time. Life took me in other directions from there, and I never looked back. If someone asked me today if I'd like to go to Mars, I'd ask for a raincheck for a time when my youngest child is a little older. And when that day comes, I will not hesitate to take advantage of an opportunity to look at the universe in such a dramatically different way. It would be a life-changing experience well worth the risk.

Jason Kalirai

Yes, absolutely. It takes over half a year just to get to Mars and its not clear whether we have the technology to come back today. But, NASA has tested human space flight over and over again and have a versatile program. When the time is right to safely go to Mars, I'm sure it will draw the interest of many people. It would clearly be an amazing voyage and the reward of standing on another planet gazing at a point like object (i.e., the Earth) would be priceless. That said, it would be extremely difficult to leave my family for such a trip, and I don't think they would actually let me go!

What is the most important thing we can learn about Earth by >studying other planets?

Jill Tarter

Planets change; They evolve over geologic time under biological and abiotic pressures. Life has played an intimate part in that change on our planet - radically altering its atmosphere to produce 20% oxygen billions of years ago, and is doing as again with human-produced greenhouse gases, and perhaps technological remediation.

Natalie Batalha

Is Earth special? Why are we here? To answer these questions, we need to know the Earth's full history -- how she came to be and what might become of her in the future. In developing theories to explain the formation of earth-like planets, it is helpful to have many varied examples. The scientific method is based on systematic observations used to test an hypothesis. Today we have only one data point -- the Earth. Exploration of our galaxy will unveil many more and rid us of our myopia.

Jason Kalirai

When we look at objects in space, we are sampling snapshots of their evolution over time. Another planet may be much younger or older than ours, and therefore hold clues about our own past and eventual fate. The Earth is precious and we may easily lose sight of its delicate nature by viewing it as we do every day, instead of as a potentially unique planet floating in our Solar System. I think we should care for our planet and protect its valuable resources.