What kind of outreach activities do you do ?
Anything from speaking at local schools and libraries , keynoting at star parties or adult group societies ( Lifelong Learners , etc .) to having a mini radio show on local NPR about cool stuff in our solar system . The most rewarding part in doing outreach is reaching out to all levels of society and seeing a sense of curiosity for science in the community !
COURTESY OF Caitlin Ahrens
Ahrens ’ passion for planetary science began during an internship with the U . S . Geological Survey conducting astrogeology research . “ They specifically wanted someone to look at dunes on Mars . It may not sound exciting – they ’ re big piles of sand on Mars ,” Ahrens said of the experience . “ At first , I was like , ‘ Ah man , I wonder how this is going to pan out – large piles of sand .’ But no , it ’ s quite entertaining because if you ’ re looking at a sand pile , it could move and then you have to start over . Sand moves everywhere on Mars . That was a very entertaining process , and we also discovered a dune on Mars , so I was on the team to name a dune on Mars .” Here , Ahrens poses with a poster concerning the USGS research on Mars dunes .
What do people seem to find most exciting at outreach events ?
The fun part about studying space geology is to study Earth geology . I think showing people how our own beautiful planet is giving us hints to what is going on on other planets is quite extraordinary . Bringing it ( literally ) down to Earth is fascinating !
What does the future hold for you as an astronomer ?
More outreach ! More research ! There is still so much we don ’ t know about our solar system . Planning more missions and getting researchers together to collaborate would be my goal !