• 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

  • This experience changed the way I thought about astronomy. I assumed there would be a wealth of data easily accessible to everyone. I had not considered that there would be gaps in coverage and that there are real limitations to real equipment used to gather the data.
  • [student:] I wish my classes were taught with more focus on understanding and retention than just throwing spaghetti at students’ brains and hoping it sticks. With NITARP, I enjoyed the focus on retention and understanding taught through practical application as opposed to the pasta-flinging method familiar in school classrooms.
  • [...]one of the greatest lessons I think I learned about professional scientists… they are drowning in challenges but keep smiling, keep questioning, and keep persisting. Building in the necessity of that kind of resiliency can’t be faked.
  • [student:] The first time getting to use the IRSA Viewer software along with DS9 really opened my eyes to the professional realm of astronomy. Having understood and interacted with such advanced programs blew away my expectations. As a student I am conditioned to always expect a modified version of data or curriculum fitted to accommodate a learning situation, but the NITARP program gave me that taste of what it all leads to at the end of my educational career.
  • [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.

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.