Welcome to

Kelli's Galactic Page!

The class on the bus to Haystack Observatory

 

Me after a day of cliff diving looking emotional (we were lost)(I have a towel on my head)
Me asleep on the Chart House floor.

Once upon a time, there was a summer program called ASP. I decided to join the "chosen ones" to study the universe. Not only did I learn how to polar align a telescope, image process, and focus, but I also learned how to eat a package of Oreos in under two minutes, star spin up to a minute, and cliff dive with the best of them.

My name is Kelli Kant. I attended the Astronomy course at ASP. During the normal school term, I attend Trinity High School in Manchester. Before I went to ASP, I had considered aerospace engineering for a potentical major in college. For one, I enjoyed math and science. And...space is cool! That was pretty much the only reason why I chose to join the astro crew. I was curious about what was out there.

It turned out that taking Astronomy was one of the best decisions I have ever made. The hours are a bit intimidating if you LIKE sleep. Most clear nights, observing begins at 10PM and go until 4 or 5 IN THE MORNING. Dont Worry! There is plenty of time between pictures to take a little catnap on the blow-up mattresses in the Chart House. Also, if you are one who enjoys a midnight snack (literally), food is available at all times in the Chart House. I know what you are thinking... a Chart House with mattresses and food? That is quite right folks. This Chart House comes with blow-up mattresses, a craft center, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a computer center. I love the Chart House!

 
Thats me in the Puma jacket with my model of Saturn on the Planet Walk!!
That's me and Fred doing the Parallax Lab out in the field!
Moon Lab with Emma on the steps of Mememorial Hall

In addition to the Chart House, the domes are well-equiped for a night of observations. I was a member of Dome 3, or commonly known as Doc's Dome. It has the double-barrel shotgun. This means that the dome has two telescopes along side one another. When our group was taking pictures of the Moon on one telescope, we could look through the other telescope with a higher magnifying lens to see the CRATERS! It was one of the most amazing sights I have ever seen.

When pictures are being taken, the domes empty out and everyone joins in on games of star spinning. This game is pretty idiotic, but when you drink half a gallon of lemonade (aka sugar rush), and had only slept 5 hours the night before, anything is funny.

Besides the crazy nights, AstroKids also have class during the day. Doc will assign a lab. I don't want to give too much away about the labs because you really must experience them for yourself. Doc also will assign homework. Usually homework will be reading, designing PowerPoints, making planet models or research for your final project. Personally, I designed a PowerPoint presentation and model (which was later featured on our planet walk) on Saturn - click on the picture of Saturn below to see it. In addition, I made a PowerPoint on the Long Baseline Array and the Very Large Array, which are radio telescopes - click on the radio telescope array below to see it. The last PowerPoint is our final project. Each student is assigned a different topic, which is still under scientific investigation. I did mine on the Classification of Galaxies - click on the Grand Design galaxy, M74, below to see it.

 

 

Overall, ASP Astronomy was tons o'fun! I would gladly give-up another summer to hang out with the Astro Crew.

P.S. I would like to thank Doc., Brendan and Macy for helping me with everything.

P.P.S. I would like to thank all the Astro Crew for a great summer!!

Check out the rest of the Astro Crew's Pages