This week we are super excited to welcome Dr. Moiya McTier to the Weekly Space Hangout - this time as our special guest! In 2019, Moiya joined the Weekly Space Hangout as one of our first Early Career Journalists, and in April, 2021, she extended our WSH tradition of producing PhDs. On August 16th, Moiya's "autobiographical" book, The Milky Way, was published, and this week she is here to tell us all about it.

Moiya grew up in the middle of the woods of rural Pennsylvania without running water. From there, she went to Harvard University where she became the first person in the school’s long history to study both astrophysics and folklore & mythology.

On April 7, 2021, Moiya earned her PhD in astronomy at Columbia University in New York City, after her successful thesis defense. Moiya researched how the Milky Way’s structure influences exoplanet populations. Outside of research, Moiya has written a science fiction novel, designed an exhibit for the New York Hall of Science, and given more than 100 talks and performances about science.

You can learn more about Moiya on her website Moiya McTier. Be sure to follow her on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

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