MSU Field Trip

5 things I learned at the planetarium yesterday were:

1. The North Star doesn't move in the sky over night while all the other ones do. The North Star's name is Polaris.
2. I learned Jupiter and Venus are both visible at some point in the night right now and by April, the two will appear right next to each other. Through a telescope, you can even see some of Jupiter's moons.
3. I learned where I can find many constellations such as Taurus, Aryan, and the Princess. A lot of constellations are from Greek Mythology.
4. The closest galaxy to the Milky Way is Andromeda. It is 2.5 million light years away from Earth.
5. Depending on how many light years away from Earth a star is, depends on how long its light takes to reach Earth. If a star is 40 million light years away from Earth, the light we see from that star at night is 40 years old. 

3 things I learned about the cyclotron:

1. Well, I learned what a cyclotron even is. It smashes atoms.
2. When the cyclotron is at work, it works 24 hours a day for usually 5 days with constant monitoring.
3. I learned that MSU is top 3 in the world for most powerful cyclotrons. However, by 2017 they expect to be number one. They are starting to build a new one this spring about 30 feet underground.

My 2 favorite things were:

1. Lunch. Villa Pizza has the best food ever. And checking out part of the international center.
2. Zach's lecture was really interesting to me too. I learned more in 40 minutes than I think I have in a whole trimester. I was really interested in MSU's great program and their ideas and plans on improvements. 

If I could change one thing it would be to attend an actual class. I know AP Chem got to but I think it would have been cool for us too. But I had A LOT of fun and I'd like to more trips like this one!