Astronomer's perspective on space debris, sci-fi and the drake equation

Those Space People

Jonathan Mcdowell is an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian center of astrophysics. He studies black holes, quasars and X-ray sources in galaxies and also happens to be one of the few astronomers who takes an active interest in tracking satellites and recording rocket launches.

Jonathan takes us through his work at the Smithsonian and talks about different kinds of astronomers and their research. He apparently feels like Forrest Gump (but I say way smarter!) having witnessed so many incredible breakthroughs made in astronomy during the last three decades. He is an avid reader of space sci-fi and loves to show everyone the incredible night sky through a telescope. Jonathan has an interesting take on solving the space traffic management problem and shares his perspectives on the drake equation.