My week researching and learning more about astrophysics had been very eventful. Not only did I have two more amazing interviews with professionals in the field, but I also gained new resources that will help me immensely later on.
One of my interviews was with a professor, and through this, I asked many specific questions about my Original Work idea. Through this, I was able to acquire new knowledge about dark matter, which is what I have been researching. However, even more importantly, I was shown a website called the Archives that has thousands upon thousands of professional articles, and almost one hundred new ones are added each day. These articles are all created by researching scientists, so they provide accurate and specific data that I would need to make my Original Work. I was also introduced to a specific type of article called a review article, and these are very long yet useful summaries of all the different research that's occurring in a specific topic. The professor I interviewed sent me one such review article on dark matter, which is by far the best resource I have available to me at the moment.
Next week, I want to focus on looking at the materials I have attained so far and begin organizing my findings together. This way, I can begin to make tangible progress on my Original Work.