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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Optimizing The Telescope Assembly Alignment Simulator For Sofia, Zoe E. Sharp, Alex Quyenvo, Jennifer Briggs, Brian Eney
Optimizing The Telescope Assembly Alignment Simulator For Sofia, Zoe E. Sharp, Alex Quyenvo, Jennifer Briggs, Brian Eney
STAR Program Research Presentations
The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) conducts research on a modified Boeing 747sp aircraft. By using a variety of infrared science instruments mounted on a 2.7 meter telescope, researchers can make discoveries about the galactic center, star formation, and various topics associated with a deeper understanding of our universe. To efficiently collect data through the SOFIA instruments, the instruments must be tested and prepared prior to being placed on the aircraft. Therefore, with the use of the Telescope Assembly Alignment Simulator (TAAS), researchers can design and construct improvements needed for these instruments to efficiently perform while in flight. The …
Measurement And Modeling Of Cosmic Ray Exposure For Supercdms Dark Matter Detectors., Kameron Mccall, John Orrell, Jared Yamaoka
Measurement And Modeling Of Cosmic Ray Exposure For Supercdms Dark Matter Detectors., Kameron Mccall, John Orrell, Jared Yamaoka
STAR Program Research Presentations
Dark matter is an unknown type of matter that composes roughly 27% of the observable universe and, as cosmological structure models suggest, the earth should be passing through a “dark halo” of this unknown matter present in the Milky Way galaxy. As we pass through this halo, the Super Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (SuperCDMS) experiment aims to directly detect dark -matter particles. Though many dark matter particle candidates exist, SuperCDMS focuses on the detection of particles called WIMPS (weakly interacting massive particles) as predicted by super-symmetric theories beyond the standard model. Due to the high-sensitivity of the germanium detectors employed, …
Characterizing Exoplanet Host Star Atmospheres Using Spectroscopy, Kristen Fahy
Characterizing Exoplanet Host Star Atmospheres Using Spectroscopy, Kristen Fahy
STAR Program Research Presentations
Exoplanet discovery is an exponentially growing field which is allowing scientists to discover new worlds beyond our own solar system. The aim for this research project was to specifically look at the stellar activity of host stars to determine if it is affecting the output data of target exoplanets. Previously, astronomers understood that stellar activity could influence the detection of new planets, but until now nobody has studied how it may specifically affect the planetary transit spectrum. By analyzing transit spectroscopy plots, I was able to match specific wavelengths corresponding to chemical signatures of the host star to determine if …
Development And Curation Of The Sample Data Library For The Astrobiogeochemistry Laboratory, Meika R. Nwaomah, Lorenia Jimenez, Michael Tuite
Development And Curation Of The Sample Data Library For The Astrobiogeochemistry Laboratory, Meika R. Nwaomah, Lorenia Jimenez, Michael Tuite
STAR Program Research Presentations
In 2011, the National Science Foundation (NSF) initiated EarthCube, an integrated cyber infrastructure initiative, to tackle challenges within geoscience research. EarthCube’s goal is to improve public access and collaboration within the geoscience community. During the summer of 2015, the Astrobiogeochemistry Laboratory (abcLab) joined the collective efforts of EarthCube by developing the Sample Data Library (SDL) for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). The main focus of the SDL concentrates on effectively curating the samples collected by researchers within the Planetary Chemistry and Astrobiology section at JPL. The goal of this summer internship was to assimilate field notes, images, and from data …
Hubble's Law Implies Benford's Law For Distances To Galaxies, Theodore P. Hill, Ronald F. Fox
Hubble's Law Implies Benford's Law For Distances To Galaxies, Theodore P. Hill, Ronald F. Fox
Research Scholars in Residence
A recent article by Alexopoulos and Leontsinis presented empirical evidence that the first digits of the distances from the Earth to galaxies are a reasonably good fit to the probabilities predicted by Benford’s law, the well known logarithmic statistical distribution of significant digits. The purpose of the present article is to give a theoretical explanation, based on Hubble’s law and mathematical properties of Benford’s law, why galaxy distances might be expected to follow Benford’s law. The new galaxy-distance law derived here, which is robust with respect to change of scale and base, to additive and multiplicative computational or observational errors, …