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| L to R: Mike, Rob, Christine, Laura, Maggie, Chris |
I talked about how I write stories about the next generation space telescope (the James Webb Space Telescope) and try to come up with clever headlines to get people's attention and interest them in the science and technology. Of course I wore my Superman shirt so that I fit right in!
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| Rob in his Superman Shirt Ready to Speak |
WHO WAS ON THE NASA PANEL:
I was joined by Mike who is an amazing video producer, Laura who manages all of the outreach for the Webb telescope for NASA, arranges interviews, hosts events, and more; Maggie who is the Social Media guru and has an amazing knowledge of astrophysics; Chris who is one of the most amazing photographers, and Christine who does education outreach in so many ways (and she's an actress, too).
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| Laura standing in front of a packed room |
THE EVENT: We all talked about how we do our jobs to bring the excitement of science and technology to the general public, and what the Webb telescope is going to see (as far back as 13.5 billion years, just after the big bang; exoplanets, galaxies forming, atmospheres of planets in other solar systems and so much more).
THE ROOM: The room was actually filled to capacity. It was amazing!
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| NASA's James Webb Space Telescope |
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| Artist Karen Hallion and NASA's Maggie Masetti |
HOW AWESOMECON CAME TO BE:
Ben Penrod and Steve Anderson from Third Eye Comics (Rob's Comic book shop) created the Annapolis Comic-Con, soon followed by the Southern Maryland Comic-Con, both still thriving local shows that cater to comic book lovers like themselves. Ben started planning Awesome Con full-time in 2012, and the first one launched in April 2013. It was an immediate success, and it quickly grew into one of the largest fan conventions on the East Coast.
