Today I spent all my research time on details in preparation for Gaia DR2, which happens on Wednesday. Unfortunately, my preparation wasn't exactly research: I was working on building access, catering details, room arrangement, invitations, and encouragement. We have some forty people (not all of them astronomers) converging on Flatiron to work together on the new data.
One thing has become absolutely clear over the last few weeks, in part because of hard things some people have said to me, about themselves and about others and about perceptions: Our goal this week is to have fun. And learn. It isn't to be first on things. It is to learn things we couldn't have known before. The idea is to cooperate, to share, and to support the global Gaia community. I think we have been doing that for years now (I sure hope we have), but it is worth re-stating daily, especially when there is a lot of anticipation and excitement and, frankly, anxiety, about the upcoming data release.
Here's to 1.6 BILLION stars. In less than 36 hours.
Hi David W. Hogg,
ReplyDeleteMy name is Anuj Agarwal. I'm the Founder of Feedspot.
I would like to personally congratulate you as your blog Hogg's Research has been selected by our panelist as one of the Top 20 Cosmology blogs on the web.
https://blog.feedspot.com/cosmology_blogs/
I personally give you a high-five and want to thank you for your contribution to this world. This is the most comprehensive list of Top 20 Cosmology blogs on the internet and I’m honored to have you as part of this!
We'd be grateful if you can help us spread the word by briefly mentioning about the Top 20 Cosmology blogs list in any of your upcoming post.
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Best,
Anuj