Summer "Visit" - 2020 - OIRMA

Quotes

• Real astronomy is DATA. It is having to think outside the box to turn the invisible visible by using multiple sets of information from potentially multiple sources. I expected this would be part of the research project but was surprised by the ability to successfully change methods for data collection during the project.
• [Astronomers need to be] Patient, analytical, flexible and willing to change and being ok with not finding the answers they were hoping for.
• [student:] Through technical and scientific issues, it turns out that astronomers (and scientists as a whole) are team players more than soloists. Their goal is on completion rather than competition. Furthermore, astronomy as a field rewards patience and perseverance rather than serendipity.
• [student:] I was surprised that despite humanity’s extensive mapping of the sky, astronomers still might not have all the resources that they need, and that often they must creatively make do with what they have. To the surprise of everyone, the [...] catalog ended up being insufficient for our needs and we needed to expand our search. But even though the workflow of the project was not progressing in the way we expected, the team did not skip a beat in accepting it and moving forward.
• I was most surprised by the students’ ability to keep up (no offense to them). I really felt that students, instructors, and astronomer were all on the same footing and able to contribute and ask questions freely. I had worried about power dynamics in the group, since only one of us does astronomy research professionally, but I was pleasantly surprised at our ability to form a cohesive team so quickly.

Related Teams

• OIRMA/Gorjian