Summer Visit - 2023 - AGNatha

Quotes

• This has really illuminated for me the "nebulous"ness of research, as in we really didn't know what we would find in the data until we dug in, and what we found then began guiding and shaping the new questions we wanted to answer.
• Real astronomy is developing a question, getting data to help answer that question, adjusting the question based on the data, getting more data, and eventually summarizing your findings in a paper, poster, talk, etc. And acknowledging that there is still probably more to learn about your question. Everything we did felt like part of real astronomy; working as a team, starting with background stuff (what we know about this idea already), using the archive to sift through loads of data, digging really deep into one thing then zooming out to make sure we haven't lost sight of the original question, making mistakes (and luckily catching them before too much time had passed).
• It was really challenging work to do myself, not to mention helping my 2 students learn how to do the work as well. We really needed time to work together in person, especially when using topcat. We needed time and space to discuss the project and really deeply understand what our goal was. I also feel like we really bonded through this process - both teachers and students.
• I was surprised how quickly the group sort of meshed together and got to work. Not to say all the students were best friends by the end of the week, but I was surprised how quickly they were willing to work together and share ideas and contribute to the project. I honestly expected it to be more of the teachers teaching the students and then hopefully when we left everyone would feel confident to continue the work. I think we all picked a great group of students who hit the ground running and understood they were there to work and everyone was as well versed as they could be on the project on day one.
• [I was surprised by] The extent to which we have collected so much information that discoveries can be made just through analysis of information that we have had for years. In many cases, [this] is not how I would normally think of research, but this appears to be key in astronomy and other areas of science where the data is there but it takes the right effort to find the connection. This is not how discovery is presented in popular media and in stereotypical representations of science.

Related Teams

• AGNatha/Gorjian