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Summer Visit - 2017 - CephC:LABS

The summer visit to Caltech is 4 days long and is the only time during the year of work when all the participants on the team come together in person to work intensively on the data. Generally, each educator may bring up to two students to the summer visit that are paid for by NITARP, and they may raise funds to bring two more. The teams work at Caltech; the summer visit typically includes a half-day tour of JPL, which is a favorite site for group photos. Reload to see a different set of quotes.

The CephC-LABS team came to visit in June 2017. The core team educators attended, plus 5 students.

Quotes

  • [student:] The most important thing I learned was how to accept that I didn't, and wouldn't, understand exactly what I was doing. This was an entirely new experience for me, as I have always been able to grasp some part of a concept I was learning. This was quickly undermined, as I had no idea what I was doing! One of the most interesting things I saw was the complexity of the data we were working with. I LOVED getting to see how the process of genuine science went!
  • [student:] I was expecting the most amount of work I have ever done, and I was a little frightened I wouldn’t be able to keep up at all. The work proved to be intense, but not too much.
  • Real astronomy is looking at data, analyzing data, and drawing conclusions. Real astronomers collaborate with other astronomers to verify their findings. Everything we did on this trip was scientific research; looking at data, analyzing data using different tools, collaboration, and drawing conclusions.
  • [Real astronomy is] Using physical evidence to construct models about the universe. Lots of computer screen time. A back and forth, non-linear process. One of the coolest things one can do with one’s time here on spaceship earth.
  • [student:] I truly enjoyed working with a determined, like-minded team. It made all the difference for this trip.

Related Teams

Summer Visit - 2017 - CephC:LABS