Weekly Space Hangout - Volcanism on Venus & Ice on Mars with PSI’s Megan Russell

https://youtu.be/96apOh4FuSQ Host: Fraser Cain ( @fcain )Special Guest: This week we are very pleased to welcome Megan Russell ( @meguh78 ) from the Planetary Science Institute to the WSH.   Since starting at the Planetary Science Institute in March, Megan has gone from exploring volcanism on Venus to assisting in the search for ice on Mars. She is currently a Science Team Member and on the operations team for the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) Shallow Radar (SHARAD) experiment, and a System Analyst with the Colorado Shallow Radar Processing System (CO-SHARPS) team. Megan is also working on a Mars Subsurface Water Ice Mapping project.   After completing her BSc in Space Science at York University, Megan moved to Vancouver to work at PhotoSat, an Earth remote sensing company, as a Project Manager/Satellite and GIS Data Consultant. She then completed her MSc in Geophysics/Planetary Science at UBC with Dr. Catherine L. Johnson and worked as a teaching assistant and research associate in the department.   Megan's past research experience has involved delving into the world of volcanism on the planet Venus via geophysical investigations. She used observations collected from orbit during the Magellan mission (1990-1994) to help determine characteristics about the surface and subsurface, and tie this into the planet's evolution. To accomplish this, she used radar surface images, radar altimetry and high-resolution elevation maps created from stereo radar photos.   You can learn more about Megan and her research by visiting her PSI website:  https://https://www.psi.edu/about/staffpage/mrussell Regular Guests: Dr. Nick Castle ( @PlanetaryGeoDoc ) C.C. Petersen ( http://thespacewriter.com/wp/ & @AstroUniverse & @SpaceWriter ) This week's stories: - Mars is coming out of conjunction. - More information on Perseverance. - Water rules on Europa. - William Shatner flies to space. - LUCY launches! - Exoplanets discovered by their auroras! Yay LOFAR!   We've added a new way to donate to 365 Days of Astronomy to support editing, hosting, and production costs.  Just visit: https://www.patreon.com/365DaysOfAstronomy and donate as much as you can! Share the podcast with your friends and send the Patreon link to them too!  Every bit helps! Thank you! ------------------------------------ Do go visit http://www.redbubble.com/people/CosmoQuestX/shop for cool Astronomy Cast and CosmoQuest t-shirts, coffee mugs and other awesomeness! http://cosmoquest.org/Donate This show is made possible through your donations.  Thank you! (Haven't donated? It's not too late! Just click!) ------------------------------------ The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Planetary Science Institute. http://www.psi.edu Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at [email protected].