During the first week of final exams Oliver and I had the wonderful opportunity of getting to accompany Beth on her trip to the annual STScI (Space Telescope Science Institute) symposium. This year’s theme was “Stellar Populations in the Cosmological Context.” Here’s a picture of us:
This was both of our first times attending a Large, Real, grown-up science conference. (Oliver went to last years KNAC conference– but that was all undergrads.) We were definitely the only undergraduates there, which was an incredbile privilege as well as a large challenge. Because we are years away from being on the same professional level of most of the attendees, some of the talks were harder to grasp than others. However, the exposure to this type of conference was extremely interesting. By seeing how scientific information is researched, presented, and received, we got a taste of what may be to come in our potential Astronomical careers.
Essentially, the conference was devoted to stellar astronomy and what information we can glean about the universe from studying stars. Since it was hosted by the Space Telescope Science Institute, the Hubble Space Telescope was responsible for most of the images and data that were presented. Talks ranged from constraints on stellar initial mass functions to dwarf galaxies and dark matter satellites. After each talk there was a Q&A session, which was by far our favorite part. Seeing astronomers debating ideas and theories was incredbily interesting. A few talks generated some lively discussions, which we didn’t expect initially.
Some Silly highlights:
– Astronaut John Grunsfeld gave a talk called “Hugging Hubble” about his experiences going up to repair the Hubble Space Craft in 2009. The next night, we saw the Hubble 3D IMAX film at the Baltimore Science Center. Maya teared up a little. Good thing we were wearing 3D glasses… Afterwords, Maya and Beth sneaked in to a photo with Mr. Grunsfeld himself! Some real proof exists that we met a real-life Astronaut! (Photo to be posted?)
– Our very own Beth Willman unfortunately got struck with laryngitis almost immediately after getting to Baltimore. We then had to communicate via notepads, sign language, smoke signals, carrier pigeons, etc. (Oliver points out that this wasn’t a “highlight,” per se, but it did have an influence on our trip.)
– A trip to Andy Nelson’s BBQ with Beth’s friend and colleague Jay Strader. Delicious…
Overall, it was a great trip. Not without its challenges, but generally very rewarding and exciting. It was fascinating to see how professional astronomers use the images from Hubble to “make science”– i.e. interpret meaningful results. It was also refreshing to see information that we learn in class and though our research brought to life in a very real and prevelent context.
Tons of thanks to Beth and to Sherman Fairchild Fellowships for allowing this awesome experience!