These pages chronicle the work and ruminations of Carolyn Collins Petersen, also known as TheSpacewriter.

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I am CEO of Loch Ness Productions. I am also a producer for Astrocast.TV, an online magazine about astronomy and space science.

For the past few years, I've also been a voice actor, appearing in a variety of productions. You can see and hear samples of my work by clicking on the "Voice-Overs, Videos and 'Casts tab.

My blog, TheSpacewriter's Ramblings, is about astronomy, space science, and other sciences.

Ideas and opinions expressed here do not represent those of my employer or of any other organization to which I am affiliated. They're mine.

Visit my main site at: TheSpacewriter.com.

**I encourage comments and discussion; please keep it polite and respectful. I do moderate them to weed out spam, but I also refuse to post any messages that contain harassing, demeaning, rude, or profane language. I run a respectable establishment here.

Contact me for writing and voice-over projects at: cc(dot)petersen(at)gmail(dot)com

I Twitter as Spacewriter

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Like space music?

Check out my favorite space music artist: Geodesium at Geodesium.com

The People Have Spoken

March 31, 2010 at 18:49 pm | 1 Comment

And This is what They Wanted To See on Mars

If you ask people what they want to see on Mars and let ‘em vote on their favorite places to image, you get some gorgeous places on one of the most fascinating worlds of the solar system. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter’s HiRiSE camera snapped a collection of images and released the first eight today that were suggested by the public through a program called HiWish. What impresses me is how savvy folks can be about the Red Planet. It’s tough to pick out MY favorite of the first eight, but this one of ice layers at the Martian North Pole is both intriguing AND easy on the eyes! You can see the other seven at the link above.

The Martian north polar layered deposits are an ice sheet much like the Greenland ice sheet on the Earth. Just as with the ice sheet in Greenland, this Martian ice sheet contains many layers that record variations in the Martian climate. Courtesy MRO/HiRiSE/Univ. Arizona/JPL-Caltech

The cool thing about the HiWISH program is that it’s an ongoing project, so if you haven’t suggested a place for the HiRiSE camera to point its viewfinder, skedaddle on over to the HiWish site and make your Martian wishes known!

P.S. Many thanks to the folks who sent good wishes the past week or two. I returned from an astronomy lecture trip with a broken arm (who knew lecturing could be so dangerous?) and until a few days ago, typing was very difficult. I’m still a bit sore, but some physical therapy and exercise will bring it back in shape soon!

While I Was Out…

March 19, 2010 at 11:32 am | Leave a Comment

Teaching Astronomy on the High Seas

My latest episode of The Astronomer’s Universe went up at AstroCast.TV on March 1. It’s Part 2 of my coverage of the January 2010 American Astronomical Society winter meeting. There’s an interview focusing on the James Webb Space Telescope and another with Noreen Grice of You Can Do Astronomy, LLC, a unique company that provides astronomy materials for blind and low-vision people. Check it out!

If you are an observatory or planetarium, why not consider embedding these and other episodes from Astrocast.TV on your institution’s website? It’s free and easy to do. Contact me at cc dot petersen @ astrocast dot TV for more details.

Enjoy!!

Back From The South Seas

March 18, 2010 at 11:23 am | Leave a Comment

Sharing Astronomy

Sunset over New Caledonia, copyright C.C. Petersen

I’ve been scarce here the past month because I’ve been out teaching astronomy on the high seas. Specifically, on the South Pacific, with its gorgeous Southern Hemisphere skies.

However, I broke my left arm while hiking on Fiji, and between that and working on a project for JPL, I didn’t get any blogging done.

I’d like to give a shout out to the folks onboard the Pacific Princess (pax and crew) who made the trip so much fun! It was my pleasure to share astronomy with everyone.

As soon as I get my arm back, I’ll be posting more often. In the meantime, enjoy the sunset over New Caledonia.

This blog a wholly pwnd subsidiary of Carolyn Collins Petersen, a.k.a. TheSpacewriter.
Copyright 2013, Carolyn Collins Petersen
Inama Nushif!
Image of Horsehead Nebula: T.A.Rector (NOAO/AURA/NSF) and Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA/NASA)

“It is by Coffee alone I set my day in motion. It is by the juice of bean that coffee acquires depth, the tongue acquires taste, the taste awakens the body. It is by Coffee alone I set my day in motion.”

TheSpacewriter