“I…put on for my town, trust me. On my I-N-D-E-P-E-N-D-E-N-T, hustlin’, chasing dreams since I was 14…like the ceiling can’t hold us.” (Can’t Hold Us – Macklemore, Ryan Lewis, ft. Ray Dalton) 

After an exciting and exhausting first week at SSP, I am settled and ready to take on a new week. Crushing problem sets, locating asteroids, and absolutely balling out. After a day of working on problem sets, we have an ultimate ping pong tournament and finish the night by watching Penguins of Madagascar. 

Monday, July 1: Hike to TMO 

“Follow, follow the sun, and which way the wind blows, when this day is done. Breath, breath in the air, set your intentions, dream with care. Tomorrow is a new day for everyone.” (Follow The Sun – Xavier Rudd) 

With a very early start to my morning, we set off at 6:45 am to the trailhead at Tortugas Mountain. We had to leave early to beat the heat, eating our breakfast burritos on the bus, and began our hike up to Tortugas Mountain Observatory. We explored the observatory and took in the breathtaking views of Las Cruces to the west and the Organ Mountains to the East. 

Tuesday, July 2: Heat 

“You say you like the wind blowin’ through your hair. Come on, roll with me ‘til the sun goes down. Texas sun.” (Texas Sun – Khruangbin, Leon Bridges) 

Las Cruces is hot. We had a math lecture in the morning, then our first guest lecture from Dr. Holtzmann who also led our hike to TMO. My team and I, The Humpty Dumpties, had our first observing session with LCO, and were later able to locate our asteroid with this data! 

Wednesday, July 3: Baseball and Build-a-Bears 

“Oh beautiful, for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain, for purple mountains majesties, above the fruited plain.” (America the Beautiful – Ray Charles…inspired by The Sandlot) 

After a morning lecture, we headed to the Cielo Vista Mall in El Paso, Texas. We did some shopping and built a bear named Mort before leaving for the Chihuahua vs. Isotope baseball game at Southwest University Park. The Chihuahuas took the win and we watched the 4^th of July fireworks after the game.

Thursday, July 4: 4^th of July 

“You just gotta ignite the light, and let it shine. Just own the night, like the 4^th of July.” (Firework – Katy Perry) 

After a day of physics and astronomy lectures, we ate dinner and went to the July 4^th celebration on campus. We listened to live music, ate shaved ice, and watched the fireworks. Of course, we finished the night working on problem sets.

Friday, July 5: Run and Late Observing Shift 

“All the stars are closer. This may be the night that my dreams might let me know, all the stars are closer.” (All the Stars – Kendrick Lamar, ft. SZA) 

We had a physics lecture in the morning and an exciting guest lecture in the afternoon from Dr. Sverdrup. After dinner, I went for a night run and took a nap to prepare for our first late observing session at TMO from 1-3 am. We were finally able to get images from TMO!

Saturday, July 6: Karaoke Night 

“Dancing in the moonlight. Everybody’s feelin’ warm and bright. It’s such a fine and natural sight. Everybody’s dancing in the moonlight.” (Dancing in the Moonlight – Toploader) 

We had a physics lecture in the morning and had the rest of the day off. After a very chill day of recovery from my late observing shift at TMO, we stayed up late in the dorm lobby singing and dancing to music.

I’m Maddie and I am a rising senior from Santa Clarita, CA and go to The Thacher School in Ojai, CA. I love playing sports, playing and listening to music, taking photos, beekeeping, and much more. I have really enjoyed meeting new people while learning astro and gaining experience using the observatory!

The post Week Two of SSP: Playlist Edition. first appeared on SSP International.

After a delicious meal I can’t remember, Charlie and I went to practice our instruments for the first time in two weeks in the sweltering second floor game room (AC never got fixed). Our TA Kathryn set up her keyboard and I brought out my back-up flute. It had to be around 110 degrees in there so I moved outside to practice in the 105 degree heat instead. I was a little worried that I’d forgotten how to make sound in the two weeks away from my flute, but to my relief I was loud enough to wake the whole dormitory. 

I played some snippets of the first movement of the Reinecke Concerto so that my flute teacher (hi Bonnie) won’t fire me when I get back, then sight read some duets by myself (if you play flute hmu…Charlie refused to sight read with me). After around an hour, we meandered back to Dominici to bug our favorite Dostoevsky fanboy: Shreyas Avula. 

As soon as we got back, we realized we had more work to do. We crunched through our observing log for TMO the next evening, then decided to head back for karaoke. As usual, we were one of the last teams to leave Dominici — which is more a measure of how well we distract each other than a testament to our indefatigable work ethic. I walked with Rachel and we spotted a few skunks on the way.

When Tutlalee said karaoke, I thought she meant passing a mic back and forth in a circle. I walk in, instead, on some sort of mosh pit with about half the Astro 1 program. Shreyas and I stay up with them until around 1:30, and then I drag myself upstairs to bed.

I’m Claire, a rising senior from the Seattle area. I enjoy STEM, reading, and nordicnews.net.

The post Karaoke and Practice Session first appeared on SSP International.