SSP 59 - About the Summer Science Program

The Summer Science Program is a six-week long summer program in which students learn the basics of astronomy and calculus, which they later use for calculating orbits of major asteroids. Although the materials covered can get difficult (spherical trigonometry, vector calculus, celestial mechanics and others) they are presented clearly by the staff. The teaching assistants also provide lots of help in doing the homework and the actual orbit determinations. At the same time the students have lots of fun:

the recreational field trips (Remember when the LA Dodgers played in the LA Coliseum? We went there and saw the Dodgers lose to the Cubs.),
taking field trips to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory,
taking field trips to Hughes Aircraft facilities in Fullerton and Culver City,
visiting the Mt. Wilson Observatory (both the 100" main telescope and the solar telescope),
visiting the Navy Pacific Missile Range at Pt. Mugu to see their IBM 610 mainframe computer (anyone remember mercury delay line main memory?) and, on a subsequent trip, taking a ride on the guided missile cruiser USS Norton Sound,
the daring capture of a rattlesnake on the grounds (and the subsequent preparation of it for dinner by the outstanding Thachers School cooking staff),
staying up late at night (often) and star gazing (well, some of the time).

A feature of the program was (and continues to be) using an astrographic camera to photograph an asteroid. After taking a series of photos a few days apart, we began the laborious task of computing the orbital coefficients for the asteroid. Today, it isn't really a big deal. But in the first class, back in 1959, we had no computers (or even electronic calculators that are common to today's calculus students). All calculations were carried out using Monroe or Marchant electro-(meaning they had electric motors) mechanical calculators. To successfully carry out the computations required a team of five or so pounding away on the calculators for over 24 hours. (The din from the 20-odd machines in the calculator room, even into the wee hours of the morning, still rings in my ears.)

One of the greatest things about the program is the sense of community that develops. Everyone, including the staff and the TAs are always willing to help. The homework, and especially the Orbit Determination, is next to impossible to do by yourself, thus you develop many close friends, which you keep contact with long after SSP officially ends. On many of the evenings we had visiting scientists, educators, and others who would dine with us and later share their first hand experiences with us or provide valuable insights into the college life we would be facing in little more than a year.

In other words, an unforgettable experience. If you are a high school junior with an interest in space and astronomy, and want to have an exceptional summer, APPLY!

If you have comments or info for this page, send mail to: [email protected].

This page updated on Sept. 2000.

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