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Full-Text Articles in Physics
Telescope Assembly Alignment Simulator Performance Optimization, Joshua G. Thompson, Brian Eney, Zaheer Ali, Bob Thompson
Telescope Assembly Alignment Simulator Performance Optimization, Joshua G. Thompson, Brian Eney, Zaheer Ali, Bob Thompson
STAR Program Research Presentations
The Telescope Assembly Alignment Simulator (TAAS) calibrates scientific instruments (SI’s) that are installed on the Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA). An SI’s accuracy is directly dependent on the consistent performance of the TAAS, which has never been fully characterized. After designing various thermal and optical experiments to identify the current unknowns of TAAS, we now have a far better grasp on how the equipment behaves.
Leds And Astronomy, Britny N. Delp, Stephen M. Pompea
Leds And Astronomy, Britny N. Delp, Stephen M. Pompea
STAR Program Research Presentations
Using a Czerny-Turner spectrometer, 45 different types of outdoor lights were categorized. These spectra were used to determine how useful the light is to human eyes and how dark skies friendly these lights are. Dark skies friendly lighting means that little to no light shines above a right angle to the light, and should emit as little as possible below 500nm (green) wavelengths. The short wavelengths present a problem to astronomers in the form of Rayleigh scattering. The following criterion were used in selecting the best source for urban and rural lighting: color rendition measured by color rendering index (CRI), …
Constraining The Parameters Of Six Known Transiting Exoplanets, Mackenzie Lee Jones
Constraining The Parameters Of Six Known Transiting Exoplanets, Mackenzie Lee Jones
Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection
We present two new transits of GJ~1214b, five of TrES-lb, two of XO~2b, and one each of TrES~3b)WASP-16b and WASP- 36b. These observations were made with multiple observatories including IRTF-MORIS, Butler University's Holcomb Observatory, SARA-KPNO, and SARA-eTIO. Due to poor conditions and a lack of good comparison stars within the field of view, the parameter values for the radius ratio, inclination, and orbital distance, found for GJ-1214b are not reliable. The timing values, while still suspect, suggest consistency with the current ephemeris. After further analysis, the radius ratio we found for TrES-1b in Sloan r' is 0.0.13501±0.0001l, which differs by …