List of publications

• Book
• Sky Gazing: a guide to the Moon, Sun, planets, stars, eclipses, constellations. Storey Publishing (North Adams, MA) 2020.
• Magazine articles
• “To an Asteroid and Back.” Ask, May/June 2020, 22-25.
  • profile of the Hayabusa2 sample-return mission to comet Ryugu

• “Seeing Saturn.” Ask, November/December 2019, 12-15.
  • guide to finding Saturn from your backyard

• “Express to Saturn.” Ask, November/December 2019, 18-21.
  • summary of the Cassini spacecraft mission and how our knowledge of Saturn has changed

• “Is There Life on These Moons?” Ask, November/December 2019, 22-25.
  • description of the satellites of Saturn that might harbor life, with a sidebar about the Dragonfly drone mission to Titan and an interview of its director, Dr. Elizabeth “Zibi” Turtle

• “Meet a Saturn Scientist.” Ask, November/December 2019, 26-27.
  • interview with Sarah Hörst, a planetary geologist who studies icy worlds in our solar system

• “Changing Times.” Highlights, December 2018, 25-27.
  • the history of humans’ relationship with time; water clock activity

• “Fool’s Gold.” DIG into History, July/August 2018, 49-51.
  • science and history of pyrite, with a sidebar about alchemy, for DIG‘s “Gold” issue

• “Money…and Change!” Highlights, April 2018, 20-23.
  • timeline of the development of money

• “The Terrible Legend of Kuluch and Olwen.” Cricket, March 2018, 16-22.
  • readers’ theatre-style retelling of the Welsh legend of Culwch and Olwen, with modern attitudes and a complete disregard for the fourth wall

• “Maria Mitchell: Astronomer.” Cobblestone, March 2018, 18-19.
  • biography of Maria Mitchell, America’s first female astronomer

• “Ready, Set, Eclipse!” Muse, July/August 2017, 10-15.
  • guide to the 2017 American Eclipse: where to go, what to see, and how to view it safely

• “Anatomy of a Star.” Muse, July/August 2017, 16-17.
  • infographic showing the structure of the sun

• “Where’s the Water?” Muse, May/June 2017, 24-25.
  • infographic identifying where water can be found in our solar system and beyond

• “Texting through the Ages.” Muse, April 2017, 24-27.
  • the history of the text message, from semaphore to SMS

• “Martian Metropolis.” Muse, July/August 2016, 20-23.
  • how to build a science station on Mars, and what it would be like to live there
  • reprinted in Literature (HMH) 2020, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s Grade 7 literature text, 2018

• “Experiment: Lemon Sent.” Muse, May/June 2016, 21.
  • DIY experiment: make a battery out of a lemon, penny, and aluminum foil

• “Science @Work: Engineer and entrepreneur Limor Fried.” Muse, May/June 2016, 18-20.
  • interview of the founder, owner, and lead engineer of Adafruit Industries

• “Science @Work: Allison O’Neill, MD, pediatric oncologist.” Muse, April 2016, 38-40.
  • interview and explanation of chemotherapy

• “About Relativity.” Muse, November/December 2015, 9-14.
  • introduction to general relativity for MUSE’s special issue celebrating the 100th anniversary of Einstein’s theory

• “Rings, Arcs, Crosses, and Twins: How dark matter distorts space and bends light.” Muse, November/December 2015, 20-23.
  • the physics of gravitational lensing

• Thacher, Meg & Preston, Elizabeth. “Muse News.” Muse, September 2015, 6-8.
  • current events: prehistoric kangaroos, whacky bird camouflage, predicting ER traffic, Hubble’s “Pillars of Creation” in high-def

• Thacher, Meg & Preston, Elizabeth. “Bo’s Page.” Muse, July/August 2015, 4-5.
  • current events: observing a comet from Mars, really loud frogs, remote-controlled subs, health benefits of hugging

• “Yum, Shipwreck!” Ask, July/August 2015, 20-21.
  • infographic showing the progression from shipwreck to reef

• “Dangerous Chemical Alert!” Muse, March 2015, 9.
  • fake ad warning of the dangers of “DHMO” (water)

• “Experiment: Down the Drain.” Muse, March 2015, 45.
  • DIY experiment: Coriolis force

• “Mindset Matters.” Odyssey, March 2015, 26-29.
  • description of fixed versus growth mindset and how they affect learning
  • added to state standardized test bank [state name omitted!]

• “Waste + Water.” Odyssey, November/December 2014, 26-27.
  • how sewage is treated so it can go back into the environment safely

• Thacher, Meg. “The Big Bang: When Everything Explodes.” Odyssey, July/August 2014, 26-29.
  • overview of the three biggest misconceptions about the beginning of our universe

• Thacher, Meg. “Seeing Stars: Astronomy in the Desert Southwest.” Faces, April 2013, 6-11.
  • astronomical observatories in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona

• Thacher, Meg. “Alien Seasons.” Ask, May/June 2013, 18-19.
  • reasons for the seasons on all the planets in our solar system
  • translated for Ask en Español, September/October 2014, 6-11.