The Star Field

What do Apollo astronaut Neil Armstrong, storyteller extraordinaire Neil Gaimen, and many undergrads (and beyond) have in common? Doubting yourself and your place in comparison to others can be difficult to overcome, especially when such feelings rise up in areas of your interests and passions. In this episode, we talk to Dr. Medeiros about black hole simulations, find out why Dr. Impey has a pair of baby shoes (never worn) in his office, and think about how to stave off the worst parts of impostor syndrome.  

Dr. Medeiros' website:

Spacefest website:

Neil Gaimen's Neil anecdote:

Our website:

What drives us to reach for the stars, both literally and figuratively? In this episode, we explore why the selection pool of astronaut applicants is enormous despite the small number of positions, how challenge and learning go hand in hand when it comes to expanding our knowledge about ourselves and our universe, and what the Spanish Inquisition has to do with all of that.

In the fourth of The Star Field's live session episodes, Dr. Chris Impey takes questions from listeners.

What is an undergraduate's best line of defense against the scholarly challenges they'll face?  Fellow students, online help, and office hours can all aid in the battle. In this episode, we talk to Dr. Ziurys about astrochemistry, learn about the strange leg in Dr. Impey's office, and speak on mentorship and seeking academic help in the field of astronomy.

Dr. Ziurys' webpage: https://cbc.arizona.edu/faculty/lucy-m-ziurys 

Astrobites: https://astrobites.org/ 

AAS Student Resources: https://aas.org/learn/student-resources 

MIT OpenCourseWare: https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/find-by-topic/ 

Teach Astronomy Website: https://www.teachastronomy.com/

Teach Astronomy Class Playlists:  https://www.youtube.com/user/astropedia/playlists  

Our Website: http://activegalacticvideos.com/  

In the third of The Star Field's live session episodes, Dr. Chris Impey takes questions from listeners.

What is one of the most essential tools for an astronomer? It's not math or physics, but something less intuitive. In this episode, we talk to Dr. Beth Willman about the importance of being a strong communicator, learn about the Vatican Observatory, and hear the sounds of the Voyager Golden Record.

 http://activegalacticvideos.com/ 

 https://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/golden-record/whats-on-the-record/ 

 https://www.as.arizona.edu/people/faculty/beth-willman 

 In the second of The Star Field's live session episodes, Dr. Chris Impey takes questions from listeners.

What can change the course of an astronomer's career? This episode, we talk to Dr. Zabludoff, discuss NASA's budget, and talk about the next generation of Mars explorers. 

More information about Dr. Zabludoff can be found here:  https://azabludoff.wixsite.com/home 

In this episode, we interview Dr. Kaitlin Kratter about why she became an astronomer, discuss recent news, and talk about the alien in Dr. Chris Impey's office. 

More information about Dr. Kratter can be found here:

More information on our news stories can be found here:

Dr. Chris Impey tells the story of how he met astrophysicist Dr. Brian May, also known as the lead guitarist for Queen and opener for this year's Academy Awards.