In 2013 there was a big train crash in Spain, Syrian children died of nerve gas and the Philippines got hit by a major typhoon, while Edward Snowden dramatically demonstrated the relativity of privacy. The Boston marathon got startled by a bombing, a Nairobi shopping mall got invaded by terrorists. Belgium changed Kings from Albert to Filip, the Vatican traded Benedictus for Franciscus. 

In Thirteen, Europe didn't fall apart and the recovery from crisis times has really begun. May Europe really overcome its internal struggles in 2014 and may European solidarity regain its true meaning. May Ryanair fly you to pretty European cities! May new generations of European students become the continent's ambassadors, educated in different countries through Erasmus exchanges. From Belgium to Denmark, Germany through Greece, in Romania or Spain, places are beautiful and people are pretty. May you discover the continent, great in diversity! A Europe which can unify and aid where necessary and preserve all the unique cultures, is a wonderful project which deserves your optimism and encouragement! For the people from Belgium, I wish for us to be a bit more conscious and proud of the great things our little but beautiful country possesses, and of course that we may be victorious at the World Cup in Brasil!

A year ago, I wrote here about my New Year's resolutions for the past year. I announced I would start to play the piano again, as well as to learn the Danish language and speak it fluently. I did buy myself an electric piano and have played it a bit, albeit not nearly regularly enough to really improve on my (very basic) skill level. I have spent most of the year in Danish class at LaerDansk, where I unfortunately missed the exam of the final module 5, as I was in the US in November. However, people will now have a hard time gossiping about me in my presence, and I can watch Borgen without subtitles. 

So perhaps there is still a little bit of room for improvement for both - does anyone know a nice piano teacher in Aarhus? And for my Danish colleagues, så snakker vi kun på Dansk! Jeg kan godt forstå det, du må bare hjælpe mig lidt! - but largely, mission accomplished! The biggest personal achievements during the year Thirteen have really been job related. I published a paper in Summer and had another one accepted for publication. I talked about this last one - of which I am especially proud and in which we discovered a new interesting exoplanet! - at MIT and at Harvard and presented it on a poster at the NASA Kepler conference. I've been to the US three times in the past year, I operated a telescope for the very first time in La Palma, I had a great summer school at the beautiful Onsala in Sweden. I've been teaching students about exoplanets, during a course which only two years ago was my own very first introduction to the research field. 

'13 for me has also meant really settling down in Aarhus. Many nice new friends have made me feel at home. While an international environment inevitably means no one stays forever - sadly, Sandra, one of the nicest people who was there from day one of my Erasmus experience, went back to Spain a few weeks ago - I have high hopes for there to be some lasting friendships nevertheless. Finding a lovely apartment in the middle of town and an even greater roommate Catalina has also played a big role in calling Aarhus home!

As publicly announcing resolutions appears to be beneficial for their chances of success, here it is again. In 2014 I intend to explain more astronomy to everyone. Many scientists do really great research, largely funded by tax payer's money. Unfortunately is often complex and difficult to bring to a broad audience. I will make my own little contribution by attempting to explain some of the universe's most interesting mysteries to anyone that may be interested. I will be happy to talk about extra-solar planets which may be quite like or unlike our Earth and some of which may have life. No matter your scientific background, as long as you are interested or intrigued. Secondly, I want to find the time in 2014 to travel for longer than two weeks and discover a country I haven't seen before.

What I finally wish for everyone for 2014 is spelled out in the Holstee Manifesto at the bottom of this page. This is your life. Do what you love, and do it often. Life is short. Live your dream. Wear your passion. Hello 2014! Happy New Year!

Vincent

On 15:59 | 0 reacties

November 2013 was the third time I met with the United States this year, and this time we saw each other for more than a few days. The first destination: San Francisco, or more precisely, Mountain View. The headquarters of NASA Ames is located there, and they were hosting the second Kepler science conference. Despite a worthy try by the American politicians to interfere with the conference by shutting down the government only weeks before, the science meeting took place as scheduled and we spent a week discussing results using the Kepler satelite's data, and their implications on exoplanet research.

Being together with a few hundred colleagues from all over the world to discuss science always has something inspirational to it. The conference's public lecture was given by prof. Frank Drake, known to astronomers and non-astronomers alike as the person behind the Drake equation. This equation, which he failed to mention at any point during his talk, predicts the chance of having life on another planet by multiplying factors such as the amount of stars, the amount of planets and the amount of planets which can support life. I share a sense of optimism with most exoplanet researchers that there is likely life somewhere out there, and that we might be able to detect it in the not too distant future. Or to paraphrase Frank Drake, perhaps we will soon connect to the intergalactic internet.

As with any conference, you need something remarkable to happen to make it worth remembering. This time the price went to my advisor, whose rental car turned out to be a white Mustang (with remarkably little space in the back seats).

On 19:20 | 0 reacties

Astronomers do astronomy, and while that involves computer work more often than most people would expect, we do have telescopes. I went on a trip to La Palma, to observe at the Nordic Optical Telescope (NOT) for two nights. In the traditional scientific division of tasks, there is the theory and the observations (in other sciences, the experiment). While I would never call myself an observer, seeing a magnificent night sky and an amazing milky way, doing hands-on astronomy moving a telescope around to find that star to take spectra of... It serves as a nice remember of why astronomy is so fascinating. 

La Palma, one of the Canary Islands, has its Roque de los Muchachos filled with telescopes from all over Europe, as I posted last week (in Dutch) on Scilogs. While preparations for a night of observations typically start in the afternoon, and you can only go to sleep after having closed down the telescope dome at sunrise, I was lucky enough to have two observing nights on Thursday and Monday, nicely separated by a weekend off. I was also fortunate enough to be there with Jens, a fellow PhD student who has worked at the NOT for a year. He knew both nice people and places on the island.

Most definitely worth mentioning - and highly recommended to anyone who happens to visit Santa Cruz on La Palma - is Restaurant Enriciai. With our group of eight people, we took up half of the restaurant, quite literally, as there was only one other table (for six people). A menu does not exist, but the lady of the house tells you what is on the menu that day, in Spanish, while addressing everyone as 'mi amore'. She's one of a kind, and some kind of strange combination between an overly friendly mother and an ex-girlfriend who is happy to finally see you again. It all adds to the wonderful atmosphere, to which the Mediterranean climate - which allows for a night out in nothing more than a T-shirt - also has a valuable contribution. And I should probably mention - or perhaps I shouldn't - that bottles of home-made alcohol appeared on our table after I had finished my baked tuna. This kind of dining experience, you just can't get in Denmark. 

There was the beach, including a little sun burn, and a game of paintball. And some amazing views, in between the telescopes on the Roque de los Muchachos, but also when climbing another volcanic mountain. And apart from observing at the NOT, we also got a tour at the Isaac Newton and William Herschel telescopes, at the Swedish Solar Telescope and at the KU Leuven telescope Mercator. After all, I am an astromer.

On 22:49 | 0 reacties

About five months after the start of my PhD in Denmark, I got out of the country for my first university travel. And not just any travel, because we were headed for Boston, United States.

Together with some colleagues from Aarhus, I was attending a two-day workshop at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The aim was to exchange knowledge about exoplanet atmospheres and set up future collaborations. Naturally, the research group at MIT was a very strong one, so I was excited and a little nervous about the trip. It all worked out really well, and I had some very interesting discussions with a number of people.

The head of the group, Sara Seager, is the author of a book that was my first introduction to the field of exoplanets. It was great to meet her in person. Actually, we already 'met' her on the airplane to Boston: one of the in-flight entertainment videos was titled "Alien Worlds", and guess which scientist was interviewed for it? Exactly.

As we arrived on Saturday night (local time), we had a full Sunday to see a bit of the city. Boston turned out to be a quite enjoyable, and a long walk along the Freedom Trail took us for some sightseeing. After having been in Denmark for a while, the American friendliness takes a bit of getting used to, and our hotel had a fully automatic pancake machine (!), but other than that, the city seemed somewhat European. I certainly wouldn't mind to return here for a while!

But first, on the plane to Belgium! Another workshop awaits me there, but so do my parents and friends. I'm coming home!

Groetjes, kusjes en liefde,

Vincent

On 18:44 | 0 reacties

Stay hungry. Stay foolish.

On 03:02 | 0 reacties