I am Michelle Thaller, astronomer, NASA Scientist, and (most recently) podcast host. Ask me Anything!

Hello reddit and thanks for having me!

I'm Dr. Michelle Thaller, the Deputy Director of Science Communcation at NASA. I'm a research scientist who studies binary stars and the life cycles of stars. In my off-hours, I often put on about 30 lbs of Elizabethan garb and perform intricate Renaissance dances.

I recently launched a new podcast from PRX called Orbital Path, which takes a look at the big questions of the cosmos and what the answers can reveal about life here on Earth. Space, stars, the universe, and us—for space lovers or just the curious. The debut episode features the infamous Phil Plait of Slate's Bad Astronomy, and we talk about why aliens get the credit for almost everything unexplainable. I'd love for you all to take a listen- and stay tuned for the second episode launching on Jan 15th, and one episode per month after that.

/u/publicradioexchange is helping me with my AMA, but feel free to reach out, but expect to see responses from me at /u/Mthaller.

My proof: https://twitter.com/mlthaller/status/676471671809642496