Astrophotography with Astronaut Don Pettit

Can the physics you learned in High School take you to the stars? Who is behind many of your favorite pictures of space? What is it actually like to live and work in space? You might be surprised to know how much of it comes down to the physics you probably learned in class and thought to yourself, “When will this ever be useful?”

To answer those questions and more, Dr. Charles Liu and co-host Allen Liu welcome Dr. Don Pettit –NASA astronaut, astrophotographer, chemical engineer, and genuinely one of the most interesting people alive, who was also a science consultant for the movie Project Hail Mary. As you’ll see, the complex physics of space could be critical to your future endeavors in the world of tech, space, and astrophysics.

As always, though, we start off with the day’s joyfully cool cosmic thing, which was the famous DART mission (Double Asteroid Redirection Test). It’s a mission where NASA crashed a spacecraft into a small asteroid (Dimorphos) to see if they could literally change the orbit of an asteroid in space. This mission was successful, changing the asteroid’s orbit by nearly 30 mins. This is certainly joyfully cool, as it shows we can take planetary defense measures to change the path of an impending asteroid.

Throughout the episode, Don, Chuck, and Allen ping pong back and forth with the following topics:

• Why he chose chemical engineering (and how that led to becoming an astronaut by consistently choosing passion and innovation over money)
• Whether being an astronaut is even worth it financially
• How cities look different from orbit over time (yes, you can literally see lighting technology evolve)
• The physics behind astrophotography from space (and why those images look so insane)
• How astronauts drink coffee in zero gravity!

Just wait, there is even more that we dive into: from lunar bases, to Antarctica meteorite hunts, to a casual mention of driving a lunar rover simulator like it’s nothing.

There’s a lot here that feels huge and abstract, but also weirdly human, like choosing passion over money, or just wanting your morning espresso in space. While Don always had a love for chemistry, he ultimately pursued chemical engineering because he thought he wouldn't be able to get a good job without higher ed (relatable or what?). Then he got a PhD anyway, following his passion.

Don also discusses the coffee cup he invented, which is widely used in space and lets you drink espresso like normal. He designed a cup that lets astronauts drink normally in zero gravity using fluid physics.

Toward the end of the episode, he talks about going to Antarctica to collect meteorites and what that tells us about the chemistry of space.

During this episode, Don’s intrinsic love for creation and scientific innovation shines through. If you like physics, space, or just hearing someone explain complicated things in a way that actually makes sense, you’ll absolutely love this.

If you want to know more about Dr. Don Pettit, you can find him on NASA’s website. For the latest updates on his many projects and dazzling astrophotography, check out his Instagram @astro_pettit. (We’ve included some of those photos in the episode - just another reason to watch on YouTube!)

We hope you enjoy this episode of The LIUniverse, and, if you do, please support us on Patreon.

Credits for Images Used in this Episode:

• Photo of asteroids Didymos and Dimorphus, NASA’s DART mission target. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL
• Lunar map depicting craters on the south pole of the Moon. Credit: USGS
• Don Pettit taking photos on the International Space Station. Credit: NASA
• Chicago as seen from the ISS. Credit: NASA/Don Pettit
• Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, as seen from the ISS. Credit: NASA/Don Pettit
• Sao Paulo, Brazil, at Night, April 12, 2003 as seen from the ISS. Credit: NASA/Don Pettit
• Star trail time exposure, taken for approximately 30 minutes during orbital night, assembled from multiple 30 second exposures. Credit: NASA/Don Pettit/Babak Tafreshi
• The first prototype of Don Pettit’s capillary cup. Credit :NASA
• Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti drinking from Don Pettit’s cup on the ISS. Credit: NASA
• ANSMET meteorite hunters in Antarctica. Credit: NASA
• Cross-section of a carbonaceous chondrite, the 4.5-billion-year-old Allende meteorite formed along with the solar system. Credit: AMNH/Creative Commons
• Spaceborne - Don Pettit’s photography book. Credit: Don Pettit / Press Syndication Group

Special thanks to Eleanor Adams for writing this episode description.

CHAPTERS

0:00 - Introduction of Astronaut Don Pettit

3:19 - Asteroid Defense Explained (DART Mission & Saving Earth)

10:49 - Don Pettit’s Early Life

14:50 - How Much Does It Pay to Be an Astronaut?

17:11 - What It’s Really Like Living in Space for Months

19:49 - Physics Behind Astrophotography: LEDs and Light Pollution

30:00 - Space Coffee Cup Invention

41:00 - Astrochemistry and Antarctica