© 2024 Ideastream Public Media

1375 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44115
(216) 916-6100 | (877) 399-3307

WKSU is a public media service licensed to Kent State University and operated by Ideastream Public Media.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Spot on Science: David Eicher

From here on Earth, the stars just look like little specks of light, but, through a telescope, it’s a whole new word – literally. It’s this spectacular sight that inspired David Eicher to pursue a career galaxy gazing.

[Saturn CLIP]

At this young age, David turned his fascination with the final frontier into his career.

[As a kid CLIP]

Astronomy is a magazine – and a website, and David is an Editor there. That means he gets to read, write, and talk about space all day. Doesn’t sound so bad to me – especially with all the new things we’re learning about the cosmos every day!

[Trappist-1 CLIP]

But “really close” in cosmic distance isn’t actually that close at all! As we’ve mentioned, the Trappist-1 system is about 40 light years away – or roughly 235 trillion miles away! That didn’t stop a lot of you from imagining traveling there when we told you about them a few weeks ago. But Izzy from Ford Intermediate said she’d rather stay here on Earth, writing:  “When I was younger, I would think that gravity would somehow pull me down into a black hole. Even though there isn't gravity in space.”

Well, actually, Izzy, your younger self has a point, according to David.

[Black Hole CLIP]

Luckily, if you want to learn more about space without having to dodge black holes, there are plenty of resources online, like Astronomy.com – and, according to David, another resource is right above us every night!

[Look at sky clip CLIP]


Instructional Links


Website Article: David Eicher, About

Website: StarChild, A Learning Center for Young Astronomers | From NASA, basic astronomy info with classroom resources

Website Article: TeachersFirst, CurriConnects Book List, Solar System and Space | Books about space and space exploration

Online Reference Book: Occupational Outlook Handbook, Writers and Authors

Website Article: Science Kids, Science Careers, Astronomer