What is Shadow the Scientists?
Based at the University of California, Santa Cruz, StS offers immersive virtual learning experiences each month for students of all ages, sparking interest in STEAM careers and building the foundational skills needed to thrive in those fields. We also host sessions open to the public to foster broader awareness and appreciation for the vital research happening across STEAM disciplines. StS is funded by a generous grant from the Heising-Simons Foundation.
Born during the era of “pajama-mode” astronomy in 2020, StS began when Professor Raja GuhaThakurta at UC Santa Cruz invited students and educators to quietly “sit in” on their remote observing nights. Participants watched live as astronomers worked on the Keck twin 10-m telescopes, the Subaru 8-m telescope, and the Lick Observatory Shane 3-m telescope. The sessions were completely unscripted, offering a rare, unfiltered look at how scientific discovery actually happens
During each StS session, participants engage in real-time with scientists as they conduct research and related activites. They witness real problem-solving, teamwork, technical challenges, and the thrill of new data coming in. They also meet the people behind the research, learn about their academic and career paths, and explore the instruments that make these discoveries possible.
Check out our YouTube channel to explore previous sessions.
Upcoming Sessions
The Milky Way flows across the southern hemisphere’s night sky highlight the large and small Magellanic Clouds above the Gemini South Telescope, one half of the International Gemini Observatory.
Image Credit: International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/P. Horálek (Institute of Physics in Opava)
A Close Encounter with an Interstellar Visitor from Gemini South
August 27th | 12:30 PM Hawaii Standard Time | 3:30 PM Pacific
6:30 PM Chilean Standard Time | 10:30 PM UT
Less than two months ago, astronomers using telescopes in Chile, Hawai‘i, and worldwide spotted only the third known interstellar object to pass through our solar system. This visitor, known originally as 3I/ATLAS, is a comet that is likely 100s of yards/meters in diameter, and is currently traveling through the solar system at more than 100,000 miles/kilometers per hour.
Participants will get an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at astronomical research during a live observing virtual session with the Gemini South telescope, located on the summit of Cerro Pachon in Chile. In this special session, Gemini South astronomers will be attempting to take some of the last observations of 3I/ATLAS before it disappears behind the sun as it makes its closest approach to our parent star.
The observing team hopes to detect the chemical signatures of gas being emitted by the comet, which will help to determine its properties and composition. The Gemini South observing team will be joined by Gemini North staff, outreach staff, and University of Hawai’i Mānoa Professor Karen Meech, a world expert in comets and interstellar visitors.
Participants can shadow the observations in-person from the Visitor Information Station on Maunakea or virtually via Zoom. In addition to shadowing live nighttime observing, they will also have plenty of time to interact with experts and ask questions about science, the observatory, or anything else! Staff will also be providing lessons and activities related to 3I/ATLAS and other interstellar objects.
Don’t miss this chance to get the closest look yet of this enigmatic interstellar visitor!