Michelle Thaller
Dr. Michelle Thaller is an astronomer who studies binary stars and the life cycles of stars. She is Assistant Director of Science Communication at NASA. She went to college at Harvard University, completed a post-doctoral research fellowship at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena, Calif. then started working for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's (JPL) Spitzer Space Telescope. After a hugely successful mission, she moved on to NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), in the Washington D.C. area. In her off-hours often puts on about 30lbs of Elizabethan garb and performs intricate Renaissance dances. For more information, visit NASA.
What happened before the Big Bang? A NASA astrophysicist explains
Do compasses work in space?
Are solar storms a threat to humanity?
3 wonders of the universe, explained
Astronomer Michelle Thaller schools us on what atoms really look, the Big Bang theory, and the speed of light.
Ask an astronomer: What makes neutron stars so special?
Astrophysicist Michelle Thaller talks ISS and why NICER is so important.
Ask an astronomer: What was Einstein’s most mind-blowing discovery?
Do space and time really exist? NASA astronomer Michelle Thaller looks at the implications of Einstein's famous equation E=mc2.
Ask an astronomer: How do astronauts deal with isolation?
Being stuck at home is not as intense as being away from Earth, but there are ways to cope in either scenario.
#1: A mind-blowing explanation of the speed of light | Top 10 2019
We have arrived: Big Think's most popular video of 2019 tells us light exists outside of time.
#5: Is the universe a hologram? The strange physics of black holes | Top 10 2019
Next on Big Think's 2019 top 10 countdown, black holes may give us a glimpse of the underlying nature of reality.
Student of the stars: How do you become an astronomer?
NASA astronomer Michelle Thaller explains what astronomers actually do, and how can you become one.
Do aliens exist? If they did, would we know?
We still don't have proof of intelligent life beyond that on Earth.
What proof is there that the universe is evolving?
Stargazing is a form of time travel.
What proof is there that the universe is evolving?
Stargazing is a form of time travel.
Moon mission 2.0: What humanity will learn by going back to the Moon
Going back to the moon will give us fresh insights about the creation of our solar system.
That black hole photo: How event horizons bend time, space, and light
The recent photo of a black hole is something extraordinary. Here's why.
Cosmic death beams: Understanding gamma ray bursts
Gigantic explosions of light are reverberating across the universe.
Where do atoms come from? Billions of years of cosmic fireworks.
The periodic table was a lot simpler at the beginning of the universe.
How fast is Earth moving through space? That depends.
We are hurtling through space. But where are we going?
Is the universe a hologram? The strange physics of black holes.
Black holes may give us a glimpse of the underlying nature of reality.
Always dreamed of flying? On these moons, you can.
There are places in our solar system where you can fly.
This is not what an atom really looks like
Artistic depictions of the atom have deceived us all.
Why are so many objects in space shaped like discs?
It's one of the most consistent patterns in the unviverse. What causes it?
NASA’s zero-gravity plane: How astronauts train for microgravity
A lot goes into being weightless.
The evolution of mathematics, from agriculture to quantum mechanics
Why is math the universal language? NASA's Michelle Thaller solves that one.
The science of expansion: Andromeda, gravity, and the ‘Big Rip’
If the universe is expanding in all directions, why is Andromeda hurtling toward the Milky Way?