If you’re a fan of The Martian , then you’re familiar with the alien landscape of Acidalia Planitia and Arabia Terra . But you may be wondering: Where did these strange names come from? On this week’s podcast we set out to answer that question, in a fun (spoiler-free) romp through fictional astronaut Mark Watney’s Martian neighborhood. Behind every name, there’s a story, and many of them are tied to the history of physics and astronomy down here on Earth. Here’s a taste of what we uncover in the podcast:
brought to you by the American Physical Society