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18-Year-Old Student Discovers Comet Break-Up

Posted by Soulskill on from the patience-and-a-sweet-telescope dept.

astroengine writes "It's an event that any professional astronomer would consider to be a once-in-a-lifetime discovery. But for one 18-year-old British student, witnessing the fragmentation of a comet she was studying became the highlight of a summer work experience program using the Faulkes Telescope Project. However, that was just the icing on the cake; Hannah Blyth of St. Johns College, Cardiff, also assisted in the discovery of over 20 previously unknown asteroids, two of which she discovered herself. It is extremely rare to spot a fragmenting comet, but for an amateur (let alone an 18-year-old student on work experience), this is an incredible achievement."

5 of 68 comments (clear)

  1. GOOD FOR HER! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Good for her! This is what British science used to be about. The quest for knowledge and discovery is what once made the UK a scientific superpower. The neverending thirst for understanding that cannot be quenched. The burning desire to see further and deeper than has been seen before. The uncontainable urge to explore the unknown. The raging curiosity. The screaming need for enlightenment. The arousal of the inquisitive mind. The yearning for greater power of the mind. The want of all know-how. The needling pain of not knowing.

    It is because of these urges that we now know glorious names today, like Francis Bacon, Roger Bacon, Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, James D. Watson, Francis Crick, and Alan Cox.

    1. Re:GOOD FOR HER! by PopeRatzo · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The quest for knowledge and discovery is what once made the UK a scientific superpower.

      Also a healthy respect for the amateur scientist.

      I've been recently writing a paper about the early mathematical work on solitary waves - guys like Laplace, Lagrange, Russell, etc. A surprising number of them were "gentlemen of science" who did it for the love, and because that's what gentlemen of science did. They didn't have research grants or teaching posts. Well, Russell did get all of 300 pounds to study shallow water, and that was a lot at the time, but not when considering that naval power and maritime trade were so important. But a lot of them were just guys who maybe came from wealthy families and were into scientific stuff.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
  2. Re:Very young people and astronomy by JoshuaZ · · Score: 3, Insightful

    That doesn't make any sense. The people in question were the youngest to do what they've done, not the youngest females to do what they've done. There's a clear series of accomplishments here.

  3. Re:Luck by WrongMonkey · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.

  4. Re:lucky person gets lucky by Gordonjcp · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Filling the young people who are just about to set off down their academic path with enthusiasm and excitement for all the Really Cool Things you get to do with science, obviously.

    Their investment paid off.