Solar Week - Ask a Question

 

 

how did you first know you wanted to become a scietnists who studies the sun?

Hi Megan

When I was a teenager I attended a science forum at the space telescope institute and from then on I knew I wanted to study astronomy in some facet. I just happened to fall into studying the Sun when I was in college and have been addicted to it ever since.

Dawn

Hi Megan,

I knew I wanted to study some aspect of space physics when I was looking at colleges and heard from a scientist that was building rockets and launching them into the Northern Lights.

Deciding to study the Sun more specifically came later when I went to graduate school.

After highschool I first started studying physics. After a few years I decided to switch to astronomy, which overlaps almost completely.
I like the Sun because it's in our backyard and still the only star that you can really see.

Megan,

I was interested in science at a pretty early age (elementary school), but I wasn't sure if I wanted to study astronomy or geology.   Once I  began  high school,  I  was lucky enough to be close to a science center in Atlanta.  I became an observatory assistant and made the decision then to study astronomy in college.  But the Sun has been a fascinating object always, and was even the topic of one of my high school term papers.  However, being offered a position with NASA to study the Sun as a professional, kind of made up my mind to stick with that one particular star. 

Thanks for your question!
Mitzi Adams