Expert: Courtney Seligman - 11/18/2008

Question
1. How did you get involved in astronomy?  Do you enjoy this profession?
                                        
2. What are the chances of being able to make a fascinating discovery that no one has ever made before?

3. What advice would you give to someone interested in a career in astronomy?

4. Where did you attend school to become an astronomer?

5. Do astronomers work with other scientists to search for U.F.O's/extra-terrestrial life?


Answer
1. I've been interested in astronomy all my life, but the critical event was my attendance at the Summer Science Program in Ojai in 1960. Aside from enjoying the astronomical activities at the program, I met my (then-future) mentor, George Abell, there. When I entered UCLA a year later, I intended to major in mathematics; but Dr. Abell was the head of the astronomy program, and they had a double major in astronomy and mathematics, so I enrolled in that, so he could be my advisor. I soon discovered that I enjoyed astronomy and physics more than mathematics, so I changed my major again, and that's where I've stayed, ever since.

1(a). I very much enjoy teaching astronomy. I think astronomy is the most interesting of the fields that I've encountered, and always enjoy reading about it; and communicating what I've learned to others is something I've enjoyed for as long as I can remember. Other than the work involved in giving and grading exams (which, as a community college instructor, I have to do myself), I consider teaching more 'fun' than 'work'; and if I didn't want more time to write, would probably continue to teach until they had to carry me out on a stretcher. So although I'll be retiring within a few years, I'll probably continue to teach part-time for a long time, afterwards, and to present public astronomy shows for as long as they'll let me.

2. For any individual, probably fairly low; but there are a lot of things to discover, so it sometimes seems as though someone is doing that almost every day.

3. For any career, I recommend a strong grounding in English, physics, and mathematics. Communication skills are critical for any successful career, and physics and mathematics are the "language" of astronomy, so a thorough knowledge of each is critical for astronomy. (I also found a speech class that I took in high school a valuable lesson in public 'performance', and anyone who has to deal with the public, or present papers to peers, would be well served by such a course.)

4. I took both my bachelors and masters degrees at UCLA, and was working on my doctoral dissertation there when I started teaching at Long Beach City College, and deciding that I preferred teaching to research, abandoned the dissertation. There are many other excellent schools, of course; UCLA just happened to be close to home, and at the time, relatively inexpensive.

5. There are astronomers actively searching for evidence of extra-terrestrial life, in the sense of exoplanets, and conditions suitable for the origin and development of life. Some may even support SETI; but I doubt that many are involved with UFO research, as that is believed to be a problem for psychologists, not astronomers.

I've been deliberately brief, since I have to leave within a few minutes; but if you'd like answers to any other questions, or for me to expand on any of the above, I'll be happy to do so.

Courtney Seligman