Second day of SSP was fantastic. We had the luxury of having enough sleep time, so at 7:30 we headed out for a hearty breakfast. By 9 we were in Phillips Hall ready to learn with Dr. Kundu about the celestial sphere and coordinate system. As always, he proposes the various “food for thought” that keeps us thinking even after class. We took a 1-hour lunch break at noon(super big selection of food 🙂 ) and came back to welcome guest speaker and former SSP alumni Jay Zou. That afternoon was spent learning the basics of python in a fun and interactive way.
For homework, we were left with our second problem set of the program and some cool extensions to try. We had approximately an hour and a half before dinner, time where we spent relaxing in our rooms or completing yesterday’s problems set. Though some of us participated in a small skirmish of Spikeball (which I of course won) and planned for a bigger future event. For dinner, we suited up for a professional setting and talked to our colleagues while enjoying a delectable meal.
It’s 8:45, so we head back to work on our problem sets. Problems 4 and 5 of set 1 were quite difficult and we obtained the answer after a lot of thinking and collaboration. We were also blessed with a clear, starry sky so 5 groups left for observations on their respective asteroids. Day 2 concluded for most at 1:00 AM the next day.
-Kevin