• NASA
  • IPAC

NASA/IPAC Teacher
Archive Research Program

How it works

I've been involved in many professional development activities and this is by far the best one I've ever done

Chelen Johnson

SHIPs/Ali

SHIPs/Ali

The goal of SHIPs (Searching Herschel Images for Protostars) is to find and identify stars in the earliest phases of formation in NGC 281, a.k.a. "the pac-man nebula".  These stars will help us understand the history of the star formation process in that region.

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Our Participants Talk About NITARP

  • Doyle

    I was somewhat intimated at the prospect of working with Caltech scientists... however I found my first experience one that eased all my trepidations and instilled excitement for the work I will be doing.

  • Todd

    I already have more energy in the classroom and feel the need to pinch myself constantly.

  • Black

    I already had a pretty good idea of how astronomers do science, but NITARP helped me see more exactly how data is collected, processed, and analyzed. It helped me also see that I can do astronomy myself, and can make a contribution beyond my own classroom. Not only can I analyze astronomical data to find scientifically useful results, but I can publish my work as a poster and be part of this community. I did not feel like a stranger or usurper or even out of place – it felt like I belonged.