Who has inspired me for my capstone?
Astronaut Chris Hadfield:
Hadfield is a canadian astronaut that is well kniown in pop culture for making a music video on the international space station of David Bowie's "Space Oddidty" where he sings the song while playing the acoustic guitar.
Hadfield was the commander of the International Space Station about a year in a half ago. He has done multiple missions in the space shuttle in trips to the russian space station Mir and to install the Canada Arm2. He was also the Commander of the ISS for about 6 months in space. I would speak with him because he is one of the frontrunners of recent space travel and very knowledgeable in space systems and different kinds of aviation. He has this knowledge from piloting the Space Shuttle missions as well as being a test pilot during his days in the air force. I would like to talk to Hadfield about space exploration and how far away humans are from taking a manned mission to Mars. Another topic that I would like to talk to Commander Hadfield about would be specifically how the body reacts to the long period in space that he endured and how that could affect future space travel to places like Mars.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson:
Tyson is the author of the book I read called Death By Black Hole. He was one of the main leaders in astrophysical knowledge in the world. Tyson is kind of like a patron to making science and astrophysics a more popular subject that the public can get excited about, but he is also a researcher. Tyson has succeeded in that quest including winning over people like myself to become interested in the subject. I would like to talk to Tyson about anything in the cosmos. I would love to just pick his brain about anything because he has an answer to most questions. Specifically, I would love to talk to him about the birth of a star and how that happens. The subject of stellar nurseries in his book that I read is one thing that intrigued me and seemed very interesting, but it was also something that was difficult for me to wrap my head around. Along with that I would like to talk to him about the whole life of the star and how the billions of stars in the cosmos are interconnected in the scheme of the universe. However, I would also like to pick his brain about subjects that have not been totally figured out yet like the possibilities of interstellar and intergalactic travel for human beings, and what his thoughts are on what would happen if we came into contact with an alien race.
Niclaus Copernicus:
Copernicus was a mathematician and astronomer in the 1500's in Europe. The main reason I would want to talk to him is because he is the creator of the heliocentric theory. The fact that the planets revolve around the sun and not the sun and the planets revolving around earth. This is very important because it tested the water of making changes in how people thought causing a revolution of discovering outer space as well as practical thinking. It would be a pleasure to talk to him about living in a society where his work was considered very illegal, and how mentally strong a person has to be as a scientist when people do not agree or dismiss your work as rubbish.
Edwin Hubble:
Edwin Hubble was an astronomer in the 1920's and 1930's. The reason I would talk to him is because he was one of the frontrunners to discover that the universe is expanding. He is also the one to figure out the multi-galactic universe. Before Edwin Hubble it was not understood about the amounts of galaxies there are in the cosmos. The “Deep Galactic Field’ which is a picture taken by the Hubble space telescope shows with an actual image the many galaxies that are in the expanding universe. That is why the Hubble telescope is named after Edwin Hubble. I believe that we would talk about the amazement of how expansive the cosmos is and what that meant to him at the time in understanding what the universe was all about. Also, I would like to discuss with him the formation of galaxies and what they have to do with the expanding universe.
Carl Sagan:
Carl Sagan was an astrophysicist and cosmologist for many universities including Harvard and Cornell. His main research was in the cause to find proof of extraterrestrial life. I would like to have communication and speak with Carl Sagan because we both have interests in extraterrestrial life. That is a subject that has always been interesting to me and to many people who wonder whether we are the only life forms. Before Sagan passed away he sent spacecraft like Pioneer 10 and 11 as well as Voyager 1 and 2 into space. These spacecraft carry instruction and information about the human species including our location, as well as, our culture, activities, and sounds of earth and its inhabitants other than humans. I believe that I would pick his brain about what he would think our reactions and interactions would be with intelligent life if we ever came into contact with any. Also we would discuss the impact that might have on the earth as well as in what ways we would communicate with other extraterrestrial life whether it be through physical contact or radio communication.
Stepehn Hawking:
Stephen Hawking is a cosmologist at Cambridge University and is one of the frontrunners in knowledge of the theory of relativity and black holes. I would like to talk with Hawking because of his vast knowledge on black holes specifically. They are a very interesting piece in the universe and very mysterious. I would love to discuss all the workings of the event horizon as well as Hawkings very own theory that black holes emit radiation. Learning more about what the theory of relativity is and how it can be understood is another thing I would talk to Hawking about. This theory brought to the world by Einstein and worked on over the years and criticized as well as accepted by hundreds of scientists is the main frame for how we understand the universe today. It is a very important piece of work. Hawking would be able to explain and discuss that findings of it with me and help me better advance my knowledge.
Peter Kolanowski:
I began being interested in the subject of astrophysics and finding out the answers to how the universe works since my friend Peter showed me a Neil DeGrasse Tyson video lecture.