[Above] The Loki eruption (top) was captured in the Io discovery picture (see website logo) as a bright spot on the boundary between day and night called the terminator, on Io. The discovery picture also features the Pele eruption found by Linda off the limb of Io, the first volcanic eruption seen beyond Earth. The Pillars of creation (bottom) captured by the Hubble Space Telescope, where new stars and potentially, planetary systems are being born. Courtesy: NASA Logo Design: David Meyer
Linda Morabito began her undergraduate work in Astronomy at the University of Southern California, with an emphasis on extragalactic astronomy and cosmology. She joined Jet Propulsion Laboratory in 1973 as a temporary summer employee and then again in 1974 after securing her undergraduate degree in Astronomy. Linda worked as a senior engineer in the Outer Planet and Navigation Section at Jet Propulsion Laboratory from 1974 to 1981. She was a member of NASA's Viking Flight Team and was a guest investigator on the Viking Extended Mission to Mars. In 1979, she discovered the currently active extraterrestrial volcanism on Jupiter's moon Io. She has served on several state-of-the-art planetary and extragalactic education programs for student researchers in association with NASA spacecraft missions. She is currently an Associate Professor of Astronomy at Victor Valley College in Victorville, CA where she is conducting research on a new cosmological model of an accretion universe.
"Hundreds of beautiful photos, from Io to galaxies to a rabbit a portrait of Ray Bradbury, and Linda's chatty blog notes, rambling enthusiastically from Mars rovers to speculations about religion and the nature of the universe. Ideal for electronic media, where the photos just glow."
Bill Hartmann
Senior Scientist Planetary Science Institute Tucson, Arizona
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"The serial survey of NASA space probes is clear and lucid. One rarely finds such a comprehensive review of our full presence in space."
Neil deGrasse Tyson
American Museum of Natural History
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"With this book, Morabito has brought us along on an engaging, thought-provoking journey from Terra Firma to the furthest reaches of the Cosmos, along the way answering our questions and those we didn't even think to ask. For long-time fans of her Facebook Space Place and those unfamiliar with her work, it's a chance to revisit some of the most bizarre and interesting places in the Universe, as well as learning more about the amazing feats and discoveries of our favorite missions of exploration."
Linda Morabito: Author, Astronomer, Discoverer, Researcher, Professor, and Speaker
Linda Morabito is the former NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory engineer and astronomer who made the discovery of the active volcanism on Jupiter's moon Io on March 9, 1979.This discovery has been heralded by some scientists as the largest discovery of the planetary exploration program.Linda has received many top honors and awards for her work in science. She has recently completed her new Astronomy book, "A Journey, Science Essays on the Leading Edge of Discovery," and has previously authored her memoir, "Parallel Universes, AMemoir fromthe Edges of Space and Time." As college students will tell you, Linda is a renowned speaker about the scientific wonders of the universe and with the publication of her memoir will become perhaps one of the foremost inspirational speakers in the nation.
Linda, I really don't remember when I found your "Space Place" but you have shared with me and the online community the knowledge of the Universe in a way I have never thought possible. The words you write down are so poetic! It get us to feel like we are actually walking next to Opportunity on Mars, Floating next to a Black Hole, watching Stars form in our distant Galaxy. I want to thank you so much for opening all our eyes and minds to the wonderful Universe. I will be reading for as long as you can write! Michael Uberty
Thank you for doing this, You are amazing. The stuff you post is so varied and well layed out that I can catch up in those 6 seconds a day that life leaves me alone. Thank you for keeping the fire lit and keeping our eyes open. People such as you will help us weather the storm of this dessert we are entering in our space exploration
thanks be to God linda I found you and your space place
I heard Linda speak at the LWML event in Ridgecrest on Oct. 2nd and you could hear a pin drop in that sanctuary as she so eloquently and movingly told her story. She is truly inspirational. I would be interested in obtaining her book when it is available.
