Suffolk to the Stars

OurAstronomy class has returned from the Canary Islands where we had our Lab. We arrived home late last night after an intense week on the Island of Tenerife where we were using the Mons Telescope in the Teide Observatory. The students stayed awake all night long in the observatory so that we were able to be astronomers and see the stars. While looking at the night sky you were able to see thousands of stars where in Madrid you are only able to see about one hundred or so. Traveling to this volcanic island was one of the best experiences of my life and I cannot wait until I can take Astronomy again. We were able to work together to compile all of the knowledge that we had learned to accomplish a lot. Our class was able to locate things that no other Suffolk Astronomy class was able to do before. I can’t wait to show you pictures, but we are still processing them so when they are available I will be sure to post them up! Having observed all night long, we would sleep all day…or at least that was the idea…instead of that we once traveled to the volcano where we climbed to the top walking by lava flows, lizards, and hot rocks. Another day we traveled to see some ancient pyramids that were from an ancient culture. Finally when we were not traveling around the island, as well as when we should be catching our sleep, we would go to the beach and relax. We spent most of our sleeping time on the only white sand beach on the island. There were cliffs that were made of volcanic rock that were jetting into the water which was quite interesting for me. The weather on the island tended to change a bit no matter what time it was which was actually nice. Professor de la Fuente Marcos was incredible and I think that we were able to show him that we had learned a lot from the class and how much enthusiasm that we had during the trip really made it easier for us to locate things in the sky and work together being under such pressure to locate things by the time the lab was over. All in all, the trip was incredible and one of the best experiences I have had in my life. I highly recommend the class to EVERYONE and cannot wait until the Fall semester begins so that I can take the second Astronomy class.

¡Hasta Luego!