Chelen Johnson
The Dust Mights team will be searching for Galactic sources in the Spitzer Enhanced Imaging Products catalog which have an excess amount of infrared light and whose distances are known from Gaia observations.
By far, the most interesting part of my entire NITARP experience is the scientific method applied to the discovery process.
I discovered that meaningful astronomical research does not require access to meter-class observatories or a Beowulf cluster. Given the right professional to collaborate with, it is something that I'm able to do while still working at the planetarium.
[...]It seems that becoming empowered in the language and the nature of inquiry and investigation was also life changing for our teacher participants.