StarFormMapper: a diary


My name is Helena García. During this summer I had the great opportunity to do a traineeship at Quasar SR. Quasar is collaborating in the StarFormMapper Project, a European H2020 RIA proyect, which was, by the time I joined , in the final phase of the software development. I had to continue with the work which the other trainees that were in my position before me had started. My work basically consisted of two main tasks:

The first one was testing the software that the Quasar team had developed, as a user, and suggesting the improvements that came to my mind. I also checked, by creating my own algorithm, that the DEAVI (Dynamic Added Value Interface) worked properly with an algorithm that any scientist could create. Mine consisted on plotting the positions of the stars in a star cluster and using arrows to represent the proper motion of each star. The starting point of each arrow is the star itself, the direction and the modules are the ones of the proper motion of each individual star.

 

Star cluster proper motions

The other task I was expected to do was the diffusion of the SFM projec in Spanish. In order to accomplish this job, I created a twitter page (https://twitter.com/sfm_es) where I often published some astrophysics news related to the proyect. Moreover, I finished the Spanish SFM website (https://starformmapper.es) where a more detailed explanation of the proyect and some of the physics behind can be found.

 


Spanish version of the StarFormMapper web site

It has been an incredible experience in so many different ways working at Quasar. I have had the chance to see what is like collaborating on a project at a European level. Furthermore, I have been able to visit the ESA facilities at ESAC, ESA’s centre for space science, in Villafranca del Castillo, and also to attend to SEA national meeting in the city of Salamanca. Learning from all of these opportunities would have been impossible to imagine otherwise during my degree. I have to thank all the Quasar Team for making me feel very comfortable while I was working with them, the environment they have cannot be more welcoming and stimulating without dismissing the professionalism of all the team. I will never forget it!

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