Mmmm, science
Dec. 20th, 2007 04:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
astra_nomerI came into work today wondering if I was getting sick of the science game and it was time bail, or if it was just the lack of sunlight getting to me.
Then at lunch, I was discussing an astrophysical problem with a friend of mine who told me that she had at some point taken the data to measure what I wanted to know, but hadn't gotten around to analyzing it. I mentioned that I'd seen a paper with X-ray data on the same source that I wasn't able to make heads or tails of. The guy sitting next to us joined in the conversation with useful insights on possible interpretations of the X-ray data. The X-ray group is in a completely different building from us, so it was pure luck that he was there. The three of us talked pretty intensely over lunch, reconvened in someone's office, pulled up some papers, stared at the various spectra, speculated more about interpretations, and all got pretty excited about what it all might mean.
Then we all looked at each other and said, "gee, if only we had a student to work on this for us" because we all are busy working on other projects and don't really have time to spare on this.
Anyway, I think the project is still very interesting. There are a couple of opportunities to apply for funding, and a possible source of students at Nearby U. Or, if any of you knows of a grad student in the Washington area interested in working with some HST and XMM data and a confused theorist, point her or him my way. :)
The world suddenly seems a whole lot brighter.
Then at lunch, I was discussing an astrophysical problem with a friend of mine who told me that she had at some point taken the data to measure what I wanted to know, but hadn't gotten around to analyzing it. I mentioned that I'd seen a paper with X-ray data on the same source that I wasn't able to make heads or tails of. The guy sitting next to us joined in the conversation with useful insights on possible interpretations of the X-ray data. The X-ray group is in a completely different building from us, so it was pure luck that he was there. The three of us talked pretty intensely over lunch, reconvened in someone's office, pulled up some papers, stared at the various spectra, speculated more about interpretations, and all got pretty excited about what it all might mean.
Then we all looked at each other and said, "gee, if only we had a student to work on this for us" because we all are busy working on other projects and don't really have time to spare on this.
Anyway, I think the project is still very interesting. There are a couple of opportunities to apply for funding, and a possible source of students at Nearby U. Or, if any of you knows of a grad student in the Washington area interested in working with some HST and XMM data and a confused theorist, point her or him my way. :)
The world suddenly seems a whole lot brighter.
