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Otago Daily Times
2 days ago
- Science
- Otago Daily Times
Our timeless companion: Michelle Thaller's starry eyed gaze
Astrophysicist Dr Michelle Thaller has spent a lifetime with her head in the stars, she tells Paul Gorman. In a world where terrible things are happening, a reminder we are inconsequential motes on the scale of the universe can be somewhat comforting. ''For you are dust, and to dust you shall return'', the sage words from The Book of Genesis say. The same message is coming from one of Nasa's top scientists, astrophysicist Dr Michelle Thaller, who arrived in Dunedin at Matariki to be the special guest at this week's New Zealand International Science Festival. ''I've been wanting to spend a good amount of time in New Zealand for decades,'' she says. ''When it comes to celebrating Matariki, the idea that we come from the stars and we will go back to the stars, this is literally true.'' Recently retired after 27 years at Nasa, she will be sharing her knowledge of space and the universe at several festival events. Thaller has specialised in the evolution of binary-star systems and is one of the world's top science communicators. She sees the universe as a wondrous place, not something to fear because its stupendous vastness makes it cold and frightening. ''For me it's a bit more of a thrill than a fear. You know, the reason you get on a roller coaster is that sort of pleasant type of fear - you can play with the emotions: 'I'm afraid of this, but it's going to be OK'. ''But the interesting thing for me is that, and I don't know why, but the night sky has always seemed like an old friend, and I've met people all over the world who feel that way.'' While the universe has no emotional state to it, she says astronomy is not the study of ''something far away and dark and uncaring''. It is where we come from. ''There's nothing that makes the atoms of our bodies other than the stars - carbon and calcium and all of that - and the only place you have natural nuclear fusion is inside the core of a star, and you build up the atoms into bigger and bigger atoms. ''Then there's some of the things that our body needs, like iodine. Our bodies would not work without some of those trace elements, and the only time we've ever seen those trace elements made is with pulsars, these neutron stars, in unimaginably huge explosions.'' Thaller's Nasa career began at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California as a senior scientist after graduating with her doctorate from Georgia State University and carrying out postdoctoral research at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). In 2009, she moved to the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland and ultimately became the assistant director of science there. She also did a three-year stint at Nasa headquarters in Washington DC. While at JPL she became interested in science communication and was heavily involved in live Nasa broadcasts and also as a spokesperson on television programmes including How The Universe Works , and on news stories. Her resume lists two Webby awards highlighting Nasa's social media programme among her achievements, as well as this year's accolade of Nasa's Exceptional Achievement Medal, which has previously been won by late astronomer Carl Sagan and the Apollo mission astronauts. She is an adjunct professor at the University of Wisconsin and also works with the Smithsonian Institution on adult education and travel programmes. Hailing from Waukesha, Wisconsin, Thaller says her love of astronomy began before she can even remember, about the age of 2. ''Mum said it was as soon as I could walk. She was like, 'kid, why do you care about the little lights in the sky?'. It became kind of a running joke. ''I've tried to get her interested in astronomy. She'd ask, 'well what causes the Moon phases', and as a little kid I'd get flashlights out and balls, and she's just like, 'I don't really care, I'm sorry'. ''But I just loved the stars. I was fascinated by them.'' She went to Harvard University to take her undergraduate degree in astrophysics, but found it challenging and initially intimidating. ''I was the first person in my town ever to go to Harvard. I'm from a small, rural community. That was a surprise to everybody, including me, that I got in. Harvard made it possible for me to come, with a combination of loans and scholarships and work-study programmes. ''In high school I was still doing pretty well in science classes, but then when I hit college, I was just struggling the whole time. I felt very lost, very confused. ''The professors meant well, but at that time, back in the late '80s-early '90s, you brought your notebook to class and literally wrote down what the professor was doing on the blackboard. And that was all you did. Then you went home to your dorm room. ''People have different ways of learning. And science in the past was taught, I think, in a very linear, kind of intimidating way. You know, like 'Do you have what it takes to study astrophysics?'. ''You know, if you can study anything, you can study astrophysics. It's like any other topic - I mean, how do you study enough to become a lawyer or a doctor?'' Through ''pure pig-headedness'' she stuck it out. ''I just loved astronomy, so I stayed there and suffered through it. About midway through my college career, I started to do research projects with the professors as part of my coursework and then things just lit up, because it was the practical application of these things. ''Say we want to observe these monsters called neutron stars. What sort of data do we need to take? How do we analyse the data? All of a sudden, it's your own exploration and your own questions, and working with other people.'' That carried on when she worked on her doctorate. ''A lot of people are worried that if they want to do a doctorate they have to come up with a brilliant idea all on their own. But no, you start working with a team of astronomers; you usually have one adviser, that's a professor, and they get you started on something. ''They might say, 'hey, look at this data that I have. Why don't you just start with that, and we'll talk about what you're seeing', and so you became part of a wonderful team.'' Had she ever wanted to be an astronaut? ''When I was young, yes. I went to space camp, which was run by the US Space and Rocket Centre, and I loved it. I loved astronaut training, and I had pictures of astronauts on my wall as a kid. ''And I got interested in the science behind the stars a little bit more than the actual going-to-space part of it. But I have a lot of astronaut friends, and some of the astronauts hopefully on the next Artemis missions, they're friends of mine. ''To put it kind of honestly, you know, as I got into college and grad school, I developed a fear of flying. So, you know, probably not the best thing for an astronaut to be afraid of. ''I still fly everywhere, I fly all over the world, but I'm getting better, but I'm not real comfortable in a plane. It gives me fear, especially turbulence where we bounce around. I understand everything about it, I mean turbulence isn't dangerous, but I'm getting much more calmed down about it.'' Thaller carried out much of her doctoral research on massive binary stars at the Mount Stromlo Observatory in Australia. ''These stars that are orbiting each other are sometimes 30 to 50 times the mass of the Sun. There's more of them in the southern sky than there are in the northern sky, because the centre of the galaxy appears higher in the sky in the southern sky than it does in the north, so there are actually more stars in the southern sky. ''These stars are not necessarily physically all that much bigger than the Sun, but the big thing is their mass. They have a very strong wind of particles coming off them, like winds of hot hydrogen gas, so they actually slam together a lot of molecules. ''The stars produce all of the atoms that we know but then, in these shock waves, in the winds of stars, you can get things like water molecules produced. In one of the systems I was studying, the shock wave of the winds between the stars produced enough water to fill Earth's oceans 60 times a day. ''It's making very hot, very gaseous, water, very diffuse gas, and that gets fed into the dust between the stars as we travel around the galaxy at about 700,000kmh. In the course of Earth's history, we've been around the whole galaxy about 20 times.'' Astronomers now have a sample of Asteroid Bennu, which shows how water reacted with the minerals, she says. ''It must have been part of a dwarf planet that got broken up at some point. But there was liquid water around, dissolving the minerals, which is amazing.'' Pulsars, the dead cores of stars that spin fast and emit regular bursts of electromagnetic radiation, also fascinate Thaller. ''There are some that spin a couple of hundred times a second. These are only about 30km across but with the mass of twice the Sun. That actually turns out to be twice the density of an atomic nucleus - it's the densest matter that we know of. So, pulsars are incredible monsters. ''There was an event in 2008 where there was a burst of high-energy radiation and a noticeable amount of atmosphere got blown up into space. And our magnetic field was ringing like a bell. And we were like, 'OK, what just happened?'. ''We traced it back to a little glitch - one of the pulsars had a tiny, tiny little change in the rate it was rotating. That pulsar was 50,000 light years away - a light year being about 10 trillion kilometres. We think there was a tiny shift in the crust of the pulsar, maybe about 1cm or less, and in a millisecond that produced more energy than the Sun puts out in a quarter billion years. ''We got a glancing blow of high-energy radiation from that thing. Some people wonder if such events might actually limit the lifetimes of civilisations. I mean, there are thousands, millions of pulsars all around us. ''One little bad day on a pulsar, and it takes out planets for light years.'' That potential threat to our existence is larger than from an asteroid, she says. ''The huge asteroid that took out the dinosaurs, it may have caused a huge shift in our climate but life survived that. But if you get a direct hit by one of these gamma-ray bursts, it can just strafe the atmosphere off.'' We're back to the returning-to-the-stars narrative. On a brighter note, Thaller says she has had a great visit so far. Her Ōtepoti experience kicked off with a train trip through the Taieri Gorge on a Stargazer journey operated by Dunedin Railways, Tūhura Otago Museum and the Dunedin Astronomical Society. The events allow passengers to alight at Hindon and view the universe through up-to-date telescopes in a streetlight-free area. ''I've never done anything like it,'' she says. ''This was such a unique astronomy experience. A lovely historic train took off from the station, we were served a good meal on board, and in about an hour we got to a site that had telescopes and other activities set up. The young people running the show were just wonderful - full of knowledge and energy. ''We lucked out - there were patchy clouds around, but the holes were big enough to get good views of star clusters. Mulled wine and hot chocolate on the way back, and I answered astronomy questions over the train intercom.'' For an astronomer, that sounds like a heavenly cocktail. The festival Expect the usual eclectic mixture of workshops, talks, tours and shows over the week, as more than 100 organised events are held across Dunedin until the festival closes next Sunday. A random dive into the festival programme reveals events including: ''An Introvert's Guide to Extroverts'', ''A Flying Photon'', ''Atomically Correct'' (a quantum comedy), ''Coastal Parasites: The good, the bad and the ugly'', ''Death in the Distillery: A Forensic Mystery'', ''Exploring Dunedin's Extinct Volcano'', ''Heart Science for Kids'', ''Jean Stevens and 'Blooming Impossible', ''Living Alongside Pakake'', ''The Science Behind Everyday Appliances'', ''Te Tahu-Nui-ā-Rangi (Aurora) clay tile making'', and ''Fight Like a Physicist''. • Check out the full listings at
Buzz Feed
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
BuzzFeed's The Land Of Boggs Wins 2025 Webby People's Voice Award
New York, NY – April 22, 2025 – Today, BuzzFeed Animation Lab's The Land of Boggs channel won the People's Voice Award in the Video/Film Animation category for Series & Channels at the 29th Annual Webby Awards. The Webby Awards is the leading international awards organization honoring excellence on the Internet, including Websites and Mobile Sites; Video; Advertising; Media & PR; Apps & Software; Social; Podcasts; Games and AI, Metaverse & Virtual. Selected for the People's Voice Award by the Webby online voters around the world, The Land of Boggs is an animated web series created by Brent Sievers and Lizz Hickey about two best buds learning to embrace the wondrous chaos that comes with growing up. The show follows the comical friendship of Boggo, an introvert with debilitating anxiety, and Boe, an extrovert who is allergic to responsibility, as they weave in and out of trouble. Whether it's public speaking, embarrassing yourself in front of your crush, or simply trying to keep your plants alive, the Boggs team is here to reassure you aren't alone. Masters of the short form content space, the Boggs' concise, charming stories resonate with audiences and add a playful sense of shared humor to experiences we can all find a little uncomfortable, awkward, or confusing. In addition to the People's Voice Award, several brands across BuzzFeed, Inc. were recognized for their great work and selected as Webby Honorees this year: About BuzzFeed, Inc.
Washington Post
22-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Washington Post
The Washington Post Wins Three Webby Awards
We are excited to announce The Washington Post won three Webby awards in this year's international competition for 'Best of the Internet.' The Universe team won two Webby awards, including for Best Overall Social Presence in the Social, News & Politics category. Universe also won for News & Politics in the Video & Film category. The Instagram team won in the Social, News & Politics category. The winners will be celebrated in New York on May 12. Congratulations as well to the numerous nominees and honorees from The Post:
Chicago Tribune
11-04-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Naperville News Digest: Naperville Park District to host golf event for kids, teens; forest preserve district offering bridge challenge
Naperville Park District to host golf event for kids, teens Naperville Park District's Golfapalooza, an educational event for golfers ages 5 to 17, will be held Saturday, April 19, at Springbrook Golf Course, 2220 83rd St. Junior golfers can register for one of three hour-long sessions being held at 10 a.m., 11:15 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Registration starts Saturday, April 12, for residents and Tuesday, April 15, for nonresidents. Participants can be new or experienced golfers who will receive instruction from PGA golf professionals on full swing, chipping and putting, a news release said. They can also test out the latest golf equipment, and complimentary hot dogs and beverages will be served. Register at Will County Forest Preserve District offering bridge challenge The Forest Preserve District of Will County has launched a new challenge in which residents are invited to check out five unique bridges located throughout the county. Bridges of Will County, running through June 30, asks participants to visit each of the selected bridges, a news release said. Anyone who complete the challenge will receive a forest preserve tote bag. The five bridges were picked for their beauty, history and significance in connecting communities, the release said. They are the DuPage River Bridge at Hidden Lakes Trout Farm in Bolingbrook, the Swing Bridge at Centennial Trail in Romeoville, the I&M Canal Bridge at Lake Chaminwood Preserve in Channahon, the Big Bridge at Goodenow Grove Nature Preserve in Crete Township; and the Kankakee River Bridge along the Wauponsee Glacial Trail in Custer Park. In addition to completing the challenge, the district is asking participants to offer their feedback on their experiences. To participate, download the free Goosechase smartphone app and search for the program by name or use join code CLF9CZ. Naperville North alum's YouTube channel nominated for a Webby Zac Morris, a graduate of Naperville North High School, has been nominated for a Webby Award for his horror-centric YouTube channel that explores the deeper meaning behind the most iconic and unsettling stories in film and folklore. Morris is the creator and host of CZsWorld, which has more than 1.6 million subscribers. The channel analyzes everything from modern horror icons to obscure legends of the genre, the news release said. CZsWorld was nominated in the 'Creators – Individual Creator: Art, Culture and Music' category at the 29th annual Webby Awards, presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences and honoring excellence on the Internet. 'One of my goals with the channel is to see horror — and the incredible fans who support it — recognized in the art and culture space,' Morris said in the release. 'It's great to be acknowledged, especially in light of the genre being neglected by other award shows recently.' Winners will be announced April 22, and the awards show held May 12. Ellman hosting scam prevention seminar at 95th Street Library Experts will talk about how to identify and avoid falling victim to scams in an upcoming seminar being held from noon to 1:30 p.m. Thursday, April 24, at the 95th Street Library, 3015 Cedar Glade Drive, Naperville. Sponsored by state Sen. Laura Ellman, D-Naperville, the presentation will be led by experts and crime prevention specialists from the Illinois Division of Banking, Division of Financial Institutions from the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, and the Naperville Police Department, an announcement from Ellman's office said.
Associated Press
01-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
Kendrick Lamar, Gracie Abrams and Zoe Saldaña earn Webby Award nominations, along with Nutter Butter
NEW YORK (AP) — Kendrick Lamar, Gracie Abrams, Zoe Saldaña and Nutter Butter are among the nominees for this year's Webby Awards, recognizing the best internet content and creators. The International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences will announce the nominees on Tuesday, the result of nearly 13,000 entries from over 70 countries. The Associated Press got an early look. A mullet-filled song about jorts performed by Will Ferrell, Nick Jonas and Jimmy Fallon was nominated for best general music video and film, and it will next face off against Abrams' 20-minute behind-the-music 'The Secret of Us.' The Generation Alpha phenomenon known as Skibidi Toilet got a nod for the fan multiverse by studio Invisible Narratives, while Donald Duck celebrated his 90th birthday by appearing on 'Hot Ones' and earned a nomination for eating spicy chicken wings while steam came out of his mouth. The category for top video or film comedy pits Jim Gaffigan, The Onion, the makeover series 'Very Important People' and humor from Kai Cenat, Kevin Hart and Druski. They face stiff competition from Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman cracking on each other in a 'Tonight' show skit. 'New Heights with Jason & Travis Kelce,' which won two Webby awards last year — including People's Voice Award for best co-hosts — is back, nominated this time for best podcast video series. Saldaña's appearance on the Netflix podcast 'Skip Intro' to discuss her role in the film 'Emilia Pérez' earned her a Webby nod for best individual podcast interview. In beauty, Selena Gomez's Rare Beauty line faces off against Alexis Bittar's 'The Bittarverse,' Byrdie, Retrofête and theSkimm. The language-learning app Duolingo's parody of 'The Bear' with its murderous mascot, Duo, got a nod, too. Cynthia Erivo was nominated for an episode of the video series 'Celebrity Substitute,' in which she visited a New York City public school to teach elementary students the importance of storytelling. She and Ariana Grande also got nods for their viral 'holding space' interview for 'Wicked.' The awards are selected by the academy, while The Webby People's Voice Award is voted on by fans around the world. Voting for that award is open now until April 17. Winners for all awards will be announced April 22 and will be invited to a ceremony May 12 hosted by Ilana Glazer. Media companies earning the highest number of nominations are NBCUniversal with 24, MTV Entertainment Studios with 18, CNN and National Geographic with 16 each, and tied with 14 are PBS, The Walt Disney Company and The Washington Post. Matthew McConaughey's Super Bowl ad for Uber Eats that uncovered a conspiracy between football and food made the cut in two categories. Kelley Heyer's often-copied 'Apple' dance to the song by Charlie xcx, and Ogilvy's unhinged commercial for CeraVe with Michael Cera both became elligible for a Webby. Music video nominations were handed out to Dua Lipa's 'Illusion,' Megan Thee Stallion's 'Mamushi,' Charli xcx's 'Von Dutch and Lady Gaga's 'Abracadabra.' They'll all face off against Lamar's monster hit 'Not Like Us.' Keke Palmer got two nods — one as the host of her own podcast 'Baby, This is Keke Palmer' and another for appearing on 'Paging Dr. Chanda.' Oprah Winfrey did the same, netting one for 'The Oprah Podcast' and the other for appearing on 'The Jamie Kern Lima Show.' The 56-year-old cookie brand Nutter Butter went viral in 2024 for hard-to-explain images on TikTok — one looks like a peanut butter crime scene — and landed two Webby nominations. And the popular 'SmartLess' podcast earned nominations for best comedy podcast and best co-hosts for Will Arnett, Jason Bateman and Sean Hayes. Podcasts going up against 'SmartLess' in the comedy section include 'Office Ladies,' 'Lovett or Leave It,' 'Office Hours Live with Tim Heidecker' and the reigning champ 'Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang,' which on Monday won a comedy Ambie, an award handed out by The Podcast Academy. 'Pod Save America' is nominated beside 'Next Question with Katie Couric' in the best politics podcasts, while 'The Pink House with Sam Smith' earned one in the diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging category.
