Just like me, this past week has been a bit of a hot mess. We had a run in with a power tripping gate guard. My mentor was embarrassed but I assured him that the guard was just being one of “those types.” It was actually somewhat amusing. For anyone going to NOAA, be sure to use the lane farthest to the right if you have more than one person in the vehicle, just FYI. Otherwise, he might tell another police officer that he told you to turn around (which he most certainly did not) and then send the troops into the office after you and get you feeling like you’re a real outlaw. Second week on the job, already causing trouble. Feeling a bit like Bon Jovi, what a stud. Anyway, that all got sorted. My mentor was out again for a good portion of the week, but we managed to cover a decent amount and go over what exactly my project will consist of. I’ve been learning some very fascinating things about space weather and solar wind, so much so that I feel like I actually sound like I know something. I went to a meeting Friday about this really advanced solar telescope in Maui. I’ll attach the website in case anyone wants to nerd out with me. They describe that it “represents a collaboration of 22 institutions, reflecting a broad segment of the solar physics community. The construction phase of the project, to build the next generation ground-based solar telescope, is underway now.” Basically, it’ll make it easier for all of us who deal with space physics to understand what is going on with the Sun and its complex structure. I didn’t understand a lot of what they were discussing, but the videos were super neat!
Overall, week 2 at NOAA was quite successful. I set a foundation for my project, made progress with my mentor, and had a run in with the law. Success!
https://dkist.nso.edu/node/1198
