Marla Geha works at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.
In addition to teaching astronomy, Geha studies the formation, evolution, and destruction of dwarf galaxies. Dwarf galaxies are the most abundant type of galaxy in the universe, but they’re difficult to detect because they’re not very bright and are—as the name suggests— small in size. Maybe you wouldn’t think someone needs to use the world’s largest telescopes to study the universe’s smallest galaxies, but that’s exactly what she does.
WHAT GOT YOU INTERESTED IN ASTRONOMY?
I liked math and physics when I was in school, but I also wanted to travel. Since I am an astronomer, I get to do both. Many of the telescopes I use to do research are located atop mountains in truly beautiful and remote places, such as Chile and Hawaii.
SOUNDS EXOTIC AND FUN. WHAT OTHER INVENTIONS, BESIDES TELESCOPES, HAVE HELPED ASTRONOMERS LIKE YOU MAKE ADVANCES IN THIS FIELD?
By far the most important invention in my field, besides telescopes, has been camera phones. We astronomers use the same technology that is in personal camera phones to take pictures of planets, stars, and galaxies. Taking digital images of the sky has completely changed the questions we ask about the universe.
Denne historien er fra July/August 2017-utgaven av Muse Science Magazine for Kids.
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Denne historien er fra July/August 2017-utgaven av Muse Science Magazine for Kids.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Who's Your Cousin?
The great apes are among the most popular animals in most zoos. Their actions, facial expressions, and family life remind us so much of ourselves. Have you ever wondered, though, how we might look to them?
Is it possible to die of boredom?
To figure out if we can die of boredom, we first have to understand what boredom is. For help, we called James Danckert, a psychologist who studies boredom at the University of Waterloo in Canada.
THE PROBLEM WITH PALM OIL
Palm oil is all around you. It’s in sugary snacks like cookies and candy bars. It’s in lipstick and shampoo and pet food.
SERGE WICH
Serge Wich’s favorite days at work are spent out in the forest, studying orangutans in Sumatra and Borneo or chimpanzees in Tanzania.
ELODIE FREYMANN
When you’re feeling sick, it probably doesn’t occur to you to try eating tree bark.
Guardians of the Forest
EARLY, MAKESHIFT WILDLIFE DRONES HELPED TO DETECT AND PROTECT ORANGUTANS.
APE ANTICS
The Whirling World of primate play
Dr. Ape Will See You Now
HUMANS AREN’T THE ONLY PRIMATES THAT USE MEDICATION.
THE LEFT OVERS
A lot has happened for modern humans to get to this point. We lost most of our hair, learned how to make tools, established civilizations, sent a person to the Moon, and invented artificial intelligence. Whew! With all of these changes, our bodies have changed, too. It’s only taken us about six million years.
SO, WHAT IS A PRIMATE?
What do you have in common with the aye-aye, sifaka, siamang, and potto? If you said your collarbone, you re probably a primatologist—a person who studies primates. If you’re not, read on.
