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: http://www.liamedeiros.com/ Spacefest website: http://www.spacefest.info/ Neil Gaimen's Neil anecdote: http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2017/05/the-neil-story-with-additional-footnote.html Our website: http://activegalacticvideos.com/

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. More information about Dr. Frye can be found here: https://lavinia.as.arizona.edu/~bfrye/ Our website: https://activegalacticvideos.com/ 

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 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: https://lavinia.as.arizona.edu/~kkratter/ More information on our news stories can be found here: http://www.sci-news.com/astronomy/name-jupiters-moons-06941.html https://www.space.com/mars-mole-insight-heat-probe-begins-science.html

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.