This morning we were treated to a talk about his work on the Sloan Digital Sky Survey by Professor Don York. Starting out easy, the professor explained how a basic telescope works. He then told us how the SDSS collected its data. Put simply, it was very different from a "basic" telescope. It was an interesting discussion of how the SDSS revolutionized astronomy by collecting massive data samples, enabling scientists to make conclusions they could reasonably back up. I was especially grateful for Professor York's devotion of the last portion of class to answering our astronomical questions.
The discussion also geared us up for tomorrow's lecture, which we were told would also feature some "not-so-basic" telescopes.

- Anton Ulyanov