Students Travel to Kitt Peak for Andromeda Research
April 1, 2008
Three seniors check out the 0.9-meter telescope at Kitt Peak, with Dr. Garmany, NOAO astronomer
It's an astronomer's dream come true: using the powerful telescopes of Kitt Peak National Observatory to research sky phenomena. This fall, three avid Exeter seniors traveled to famed Kitt Peak, located in Arizona and part of the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO), to start work on a digital pictorial atlas of the Andromeda Galaxy (called M-31 by astronomers).
Each year the Astronomy Research Based Science Education (RBSE) program reviews research proposals from high schools around the country, and awards time on Kitt Peak's powerful telescopes to the best. Grace du Pont, Kavanaugh McEachern and Michael Carley – all seniors who have taken Astronomy I and II while at Exeter – prepared a proposal entitled "A Multiwavelength Digital Pictorial Atlas of M-31." The proposal starts with this proposition: "We have recognized that a pictorial atlas of M-31 has not been done since the publication of Paul Hodge's Atlas of the Andromeda Galaxy (1981) which utilized the 4-meter Kitt Peak National Observatory telescope in 1974." It continues by carefully laying out the reason a new atlas is needed – new technology makes it possible to capture more precise images that can be stored more effectively – and the impressive amount of work that will be required to complete it. RBSE approved the proposal without a hitch.
The students traveled to Kitt Peak with John Blackwell, astronomy instructor and director of Exeter's observatory, in late November for two nights of data capture using the 0.90-meter telescope.
Learning from Expert Astronomers
NOAO astronomers mentored the students during their research hours. Dr. Katy Garmany, an astronomer and educator, helped the Exonians learn to use the telescope and CCD (Charge-Coupled Device) camera, both run from computers. The students found her knowledge invaluable. "She guided our every step as well as helped us when the weather turned for the worse and we were short of time," says Carley. McEachern adds: "She gave us tips along the way that resulted in higher quality imaging (precise exposure times, averaging of biases and flats prior to imaging)."
"One of the highlights of the trip was meeting Steve Howell, who is a major researcher in the field," explains du Pont. "I don't think I have ever seen anyone so exhilarated and joyful about his job. He showed me that you can actually find a way to combine your passion with your work."
What did the students prize most about their Kitt Peak experience? "Going to Kitt Peak was so far beyond anything that I had ever dreamed about," says du Pont. "Our project combined a subject that fascinates me with unbelievable facilities and a group of people who feel the same passion I do. I have never enjoyed an academic trip so much."
Carley was excited by the sophisticated technology he discovered at Kitt Peak. "Learning how to use IRAF, a program which allows astronomers to capture images and calibrate the telescope, as well as learning how to drive the 0.90-meter telescope were the most intriguing aspects," he says. McEachern was wowed by the technology, and what it felt like to be a serious researcher. "Just being there," he says, "being able to step outside of the dome, look up at a point in the night sky and say, 'We're imaging that, right now'."
Armed with two nights of data, the three students returned to Exeter ready for the next step: data analysis. The three plan to submit a senior project proposal that would allow them to identify globular clusters within the galaxy. They hope to submit this phase of their research to the RBSE Journal for publication. Blackwell estimates that it will take "future generations of students to complete the atlas. This will include mapping of dust lanes, globular clusters, open clusters, stellar associations, etc." Du Pont, Carley and McEachern hope to publish a web-based atlas (with the permission of NOAO) before they graduate. To make the new images most useful, they plan to annotate the originals with labels and astrometric World Coordinate System Information.
"This project definitely has longterm implications," explains Blackwell. "More data in different wavelengths needs to be collected and then parsed by students. I can see the project taking two years for data collection and another three to four years for analysis. Other scientists are interested in the data. An example is Dr. Travis Rector (University of Alaska, Anchorage) who does studies of the M-31 novae. Other scientists will use our data for studies of variability among certain stars and in more precise location determinations of features such as globular clusters."
Inspired by the Stars from Early On
The Kitt Peak experience caps years of interest for the three seniors. "I've always had a keen interest in astronomy," explains Carley. "Ever since I could remember, I've studied Hawking's revolutionary work on cosmology as well as modern and unsolved problems in astrophysics." McEachern's interest was sparked early on by science fiction novels and years of living in Egypt, "where the nighttime desert sky was unimaginable."
For all three, access to the Exeter observatory and astronomy courses turned a hobby into a course of study. "I took my first astronomy course in the spring of my lower year because I have always loved reading books on astrophysics and the universe," explains du Pont. "I would say that what made me want to take Astronomy II was Mr. Blackwell himself. He made everything enjoyable and inspired me to continue in a subject that I already loved." Carley concurs: "Mr. Blackwell has inspired me to take on the challenging world of astrophysics, and thus my impetus to continue astrophysics into college."
Blackwell feels that the project-based approach of astronomy teaching at Exeter has helped students like du Pont, Carley and McEachern take their interest to the next step. "Students observe and do research to solve problems or to learn more about a particular object," he says of the Exeter astronomy program. "The NOAO program at Kitt Peak is an extension of this process, allowing those students with a passion for astronomy to continue research after they have finished the three astronomy course offerings here. The facilities on the mountain at Kitt Peak allow us to see fainter objects in much greater detail than we are able to see here from the Seacoast of New Hampshire."
Du Pont, Carley and McEachern are the second set of seniors to study at Kitt Peak. Last year, Olivia Claudio, Meredith Mead and Sean Leahy traveled to Arizona to study U Pegasi, a pair of stars which orbit each other around a common center of gravity. Their findings were published in the RBSE Journal. Blackwell is proud of the students who have traveled to Kitt Peak for research. "It is unusual to have two groups chosen from the same school in consecutive years. The program offered by the NOAO is highly competitive. They accept only the most interesting projects that have scientific value and only from groups that show a strong knowledge of the subject material."
Travel for the seniors' trip was financed from Exeter's observatory funding. The NOAO covered the costs of telescope time, and room and board at Kitt Peak.
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