033 - #IncludeHer

The Skyentists

In this special episode of The Skyentists astronomers Ángel López-Sánchez and Kirsten Banks celebrate the "International Day of Women and Girls in Science". They provide their own thoughts about why having women in Science is important and why society (particularly girls) needs role models for this. Prominent women in Science, like Marie Curie, Henrietta Leavitt, Cecilia Payne, Emmy Noether, Rosalind Franklin, Margaret Hamilton, Jocelyn Bell, or Vera Rubin should be included in textbooks, something that is still not happening in many cases. Astrophysics PhD candidate Kat Ross joins them to share why she wants to make change in the NSW Physics curriculum to #IncludeHer, asking us to sign the petition "STEM courses must teach more about contributions of women in the field" here https://www.change.org/p/stem-courses-must-teach-more-about-contributions-of-women-in-the-field . For "Space News" Kirsten talks about a very peculiar and fast-rotating star and Ángel describes the SkyMapper survey telescope and its new Data Release. For "What's Up!" they briefly talk about the Crab Nebula. And, Ángel can't help it, they also provide an update of the situation of Betelgeuse. A bit of feedback is also answered, but we are eager to get more from you!