{"id":18765,"date":"2015-01-29T09:37:42","date_gmt":"2015-01-29T14:37:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/?p=18765"},"modified":"2015-01-29T09:37:42","modified_gmt":"2015-01-29T14:37:42","slug":"analyzing-antarctica","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/2015\/01\/29\/analyzing-antarctica\/","title":{"rendered":"Analyzing Antarctica"},"content":{"rendered":"

It turns out that life in Antarctica is quite similar to life in college.<\/p>\n

Just ask Katie Mulrey, a University of Mary Washington alumna studying cosmic rays through NASA\u2019s ANITA collaboration in Antarctica. Now in its third campaign, ANITA is a scientific balloon that detects radio signals from neutrinos and cosmic rays, the highest energy particles in the universe.<\/p>\n

Following her undergraduate degree in physics and mathematics, the 2008 UMW graduate went straight into her Ph.D., studying high energy particle astrophysics at the University of Delaware.\u00a0 During the first year of the program, students choose a research project, and ANITA provided an opportunity for travel.<\/p>\n

\u201cTraveling to remote parts of the world to do science is my cup of tea,\u201d said Mulrey, who is originally from Merrimack, New Hampshire.<\/p>\n

This slideshow requires JavaScript.<\/p>

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The project includes 30 team members representing 10 institutions in the United States and abroad, although Mulrey was one of just 12 who traveled to Antarctica\u2019s U.S. Base at McMurdo Station.<\/p>\n

After spending the summer assembling a practice run of ANITA at a NASA facility in Texas, Mulrey reached McMurdo Station in late October. Upon arrival, Mulrey and her teammates were given special cold weather gear, including the iconic red jackets, to help combat the frigid temperatures.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we first arrived, it was close to zero degrees,\u201d said Mulrey. \u201cEven though the sun never sets, it gets colder in the night hours.\u201d<\/p>\n

And with the exception of occasional penguins and continuous daylight, Mulrey said that life at McMurdo Station is almost like living on a college campus.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou live in dorms, have roommates, eat at a cafeteria and everyone knows each other,\u201d said Mulrey. The U.S. base has about 800 residents and includes a gym, coffeehouse, bars and recreational activities.<\/p>\n

Once assembled on the massive, icy continent, the ANITA collaborators got to work wiring up electronics, building the antenna array and setting up communication equipment in preparation for the balloon launch. All the while, Mulrey documented ANITA\u2019s progress in a series called \u201cNeutrinos on Ice<\/a>\u201d in Scientific American.<\/p>\n

Launched on December 21, the balloon flew 115,000 feet in the air to detect the radio waves that reflect off the continent\u2019s smooth ice surface when high-energy particles enter the Earth\u2019s atmosphere. After a short 22-day flight, the balloon risked moving out over the ocean and was taken down.<\/p>\n

Now back in the U.S., Mulrey and the other researchers wait for the instrument to be recovered so data can be collected and analyzed over the next year.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are very optimistic that we saw a lot of cosmic rays,\u201d said Mulrey. \u201cWhatever we learn from this flight will help us prepare for the next one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Overall, the experience gave Mulrey the chance to meet other physicists and exchange ideas.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s solidified in my mind that I really enjoy this type of experiment,\u201d said Mulrey. \u201cAnd that I’ve chosen the right career for me.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

UMW alum researches cosmic rays.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":18766,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"umw_cb_additional_links":[[]],"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_advisory_expires_time":"","_advisory_meta_include":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[4,81],"tags":[74,6,97],"class_list":{"0":"post-18765","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-show","8":"category-umw-home","9":"tag-alumni2012","10":"tag-mathematics","11":"tag-physics","12":"entry"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAnalyzing Antarctica - Great Minds<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/2015\/01\/29\/analyzing-antarctica\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Erika Bush\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2015\\\/01\\\/29\\\/analyzing-antarctica\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2015\\\/01\\\/29\\\/analyzing-antarctica\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Erika Bush\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cf05e77f0eb1cc4d79b5d18070f58332\"},\"headline\":\"Analyzing Antarctica\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-01-29T14:37:42+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2015\\\/01\\\/29\\\/analyzing-antarctica\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":490,\"commentCount\":2,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2015\\\/01\\\/29\\\/analyzing-antarctica\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/20\\\/2015\\\/01\\\/Antartica_HP.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"alumni2012\",\"mathematics\",\"physics\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Show on Great Minds\",\"UMW Home Page\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2015\\\/01\\\/29\\\/analyzing-antarctica\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2015\\\/01\\\/29\\\/analyzing-antarctica\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2015\\\/01\\\/29\\\/analyzing-antarctica\\\/\",\"name\":\"Analyzing Antarctica - 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