On April 10 2002, ten students and two teachers from Lowell Whiteman High School in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, arrived at Sondrestom. After touring the facility, they listened to many hours of lectures on sun-earth interactions, auroral precipitation, solar cycles, basic incoherent scatter radar theory, and other topics related to our research. Their science teacher had presented them with the basics of auroral physics, and they asked lots of good questions.

   The students then broke into teams and participated in that night's radar run. They helped start the 600 kW generator-set, bring up the transmitter , initiate the data acquisition computers, and then watched the data roll in.   

RADAR OPERATIONS... 1 2

  The first night had no visible auroral activity and their two-hour shifts for aurora watching passed quietly. During their second day, they helped Tommy, the site technician, dig up hundreds of meters of cable from the Dartmouth College HF Imager and troubleshoot bad connectors (either picture 3, 4 or 6.jpg) using a signal generator and oscilloscope back at the facility.

DIGGING FOR CABLE... 1 2 3

  The second night's radar run was much more interesting as there was aurora to watch on the monitors and in person. Judging by the level of shouting and screaming, it seems to have been a success. The third day saw them leave for three weeks of home stay with families in Qeqertarssuaq, and one declaration of intent to become a physicist.