• NASA
  • IPAC

AAS - 2021

The Winter American Astronomical Society (AAS) meeting is the largest meeting of professional astronomers in the world. NITARP educators attend an AAS first to meet their team, then they go home and work remotely for much of the year, and then attend an AAS to present their results.  This year, the pandemic forced the Jan 2021 meeting online, and meant that we didn't select a new class for 2021, so only one class is attending the online AAS. 

The 2020 NITARP teams attended the 2021 January AAS. We sent about 30 people to the AAS. All of the posters we presented are here:

2020 Teams:

Also see video "turbo talks" from ORMA team : science and education.

 

Quotes

  • The whole year was as much, and more, than I could have expected… the story arc of a real research project means that we faced off with unforeseen forces, confusing data, limits in our knowledge, and other demands on our time. And, as real as it gets, we had to step up, step in, and take all of these on in order to move the work forward.
  • [student:] There are always [...] summer classes you can take or a special class in robotics, but NITARP has shown me that these things aren’t as unique as doing actual research. Nothing beats making an actual contribution to human knowledge, no matter how small it is, and this contribution cannot occur in a classroom.
  • [student:] I didn’t realize how math-involved astronomers are! Not only are they collecting data and observing, but they also analyze, sort, and interpret it.
  • [student:] I think the value of NITARP comes from experiencing a new way of learning those things. Actual research just isn’t something students can do in school. Sure, I’ve gone through labs before, but it just doesn’t compare to a long, arduous project that is finding something we actually don’t know. There’s a whole new level of value to be gained from feeling like you’re contributing something to the scientific community.
  • This experience definitely gave me a better understanding for what goes into Astronomical research. It opened my eyes to all of the different areas of study, the level of research and amount of collaboration that goes into it. It also helped me understand the sheer quantity of astronomical tools that are used.

Related Teams

A NITARP pause: we are not expecting to be able to support a NITARP 2026 class as a result of the current funding uncertainty. We hope to resume in 2027.