08:15 My alarm pulls me back into a cold, harsh world of sleep deprivation–I only barely avoid falling asleep in the restroom. I somehow make it to morning lecture.
09:00 An enthusiastic Dr Hannawald starts wrapping up Method of Gauss for us. We learn how to generate an ephemeris from orbital elements, something that JPL Horizons usually does for us. It feels great to take apart and understand something that we usually just treat as a black box.
12:00 My family’s sent a good supply of snacks and I have some leftovers from the weekend, which saves me from Chase dining for at least one day. I patch together a tasty meal from various supplies, then rush off to get in 20 minutes of piano practice.
13:30 The days and nights are starting to blur together. Our star seems unnatural lighting up the sky at this hour–it mocks me as I try to gaze at its otherworldly glare with my bleary eyes. I know that I will truly wake up while trying to untangle the endless problem sets by night. During afternoon lecture, Dr Zorrilla explains the way we’ll submit our data to the Minor Planet Center, the international organization responsible for collecting data on minor planets, including asteroids. I’m reminded that though our project may seem small compared to other scientific research, we’re still contributing to the total human knowledge of our Universe–a refreshing thought! Later in the afternoon block, an engaging UNC admissions representative tells us more about the university hosting us, as well as helping us with general college application tips.
16:30 We’re released for afternoon break, and I manage to sleep a little.
17:45 We meet for dinner as usual. The Chase food is relatively ok–enough to keep us going for a long night of programming and problem sets!
19:45 We start computer lab at Phillips hall again. My team and I calibrated and platesolved the images from a previous observation. I mostly work on my orbit determination, running into many problems on the way. My friends help me, and the professors are really patient in reviewing lecture material and helping me through the programming.
01:00 After a long night of work, we finally head back to Old West to catch some sleep. While I’m happy to lose consciousness for a few hours, I can’t wait for another day of pushing my brain beyond its breaking point and spending time with friends who are as crazy about learning as I am.
-Lara
