Astrophysics and Astronomy Commons^™

Distance Calculations Of Faint Dwarf Galaxies Through Surface Brightness Fluctuations, Blake A. Richesin, Guinevere Herron, Burçin Mutlu-Pakdil

Wetterhahn Science Symposium Posters

This study aims to test the effectiveness of the surface brightness fluctuations (SBF) technique in determining the distance to three distinct galaxy targets. The targets were dwarf galaxies Tucana B, Kamino, and Hedgehog. The technique used image masking, Sérsic profiles, and convolving with point spread functions (PSF). The study showed that redder, quenched galaxies are prime candidates for the SBF technique, while bluer, star-forming galaxies are more difficult to constrain the distance of.

Measuring The Flux Of Cosmic Ray Muons With A Coincidence Telescope, Carlos C. Sifuentes

Posters - 2026

❖ Cosmic Ray Muons are short-lived fundamental particles formed in the upper atmosphere, and have a half-life of 2.2 microseconds.[3] They travel down to surface level due to relativistic effects.

❖ Cosmic Watch Muon detectors were placed in coincidence. [1]

❖ Varied the angle from zenith using a 3D printed telescope designed in AutoCad.

❖ Varied the distance of the detectors and viewed changes in flux

Preliminary Observations From The Relativistic Electron Atmospheric Loss (Real) Satellite Mission, Evzen Selvon, Robyn Millan

Wetterhahn Science Symposium Posters

The Relativistic Electron Atmospheric Loss (REAL) spacecraft (launched in July 2025) is a 3U cubesat designed to measure the precise energies (1 keV – 2MeV) and pitch angles of electrons entering the Earth’s ionosphere. The mission involves Dartmouth, BU, JHUAPL, MSU, and NASA. REAL carries three particle sensors measuring low, medium, and high energies. This work is focused on the ElectroStatic Analyzer (ESA) instrument, designed to measure lower energy electrons (1-40 keV) in the directions parallel and perpendicular to the Earth’s magnetic field. This research aims to identify notable events observed by the REAL spacecraft for future analysis.

The Heart Of The Crab: Analyzing The Vhe Emission From The Crab Pulsar, Adi Empie, Thao Nguyen, Avery Archer

Annual Student Research Poster Session

The Crab Nebula is one of the most studied astrophysical objects at very-high-energies (VHE) and is one of the brightest sources of VHE gamma-rays. The Crab Nebula is a pulsar wind nebula with the Crab pulsar providing the energy and particles to power the nebula. The gamma-ray emission from the nebula and pulsar are understood to come from relativistic particles but the processes that are responsible for accelerating these particles is not well understood. Studying the highest energy emission from the Crab Nebula can provide valuable insight into the underlying emission mechanisms at work. This project was intended to examine …

The Search For Slow Particles And Magnetic Monopoles With Nova, John Clark

Poster Presentations

Singular magnetic poles, north or south, have been theorized to exist for hundreds of years. In the modern day, the elusive singular magnetic pole still remains undiscovered. The appearance of this particle would help confirm many Grand Unified Theories, GUTs, and revolutionize our understanding of some of the fundamental forces of the universe. Fermilab's NOvA collaboration is working on ways to screen and detect magnetic monopoles and other slow-moving particles coming from outer space alongside their main mission to study neutrinos. The aim of this work is to determine and improve the Far Detector’s efficiency at identifying slow moving particles. …

Effects Of The Gravity Gradient On The Path Of 1i/‘Oumuamua, Hannah R. Richardson

Poster Presentations

In October 2017, the asteroid 1I/’Oumuamua first passed into viewing range [1]. The asteroid is notable for being the first interstellar object to enter the solar system. 1I/’Oumuamua was also unusual in its geometry; it is thought to have an aspect ratio of 6:1 and a length of approximately 400 m [2] [3]. The asteroid was observed to experience a non-Keplerian acceleration estimated to be on the order of 1×10−6 m s-2 Several theories have been proposed for the cause of this acceleration, all of which are non-gravitational in nature: volatile outgassing, photon pressure, and solar winds [1][4]. However, none …

Boy Whose Head Was Filled With Stars: A Life Of Edwin Hubble (2021) By Isabelle Marinov, Maughn Rollins Gregory

Picture Books

Barely a hundred years ago, Edwin Hubble changed the way we understand the universe and our place in it more dramatically than almost anyone else has ever done. As this picture book biography shows, his mind-boggling discoveries can be traced back to childhood questions. The discovery that the world is bigger than we had imagined happens in many ways, and learning that we have some choices in deciding how new facts, new experiences, and new perspectives can matter to us is a necessary part of education.

Potential Cell Preservation In Mars-Relevant Clay Minerals, Hanford Gerille Gonzales, Leena M. Cycil, Elisabeth Hausrath

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

This study investigates the potential of Fe-nontronite, a clay mineral found on Mars, to preserve biological cells and retain biosignatures such as trace metals. The research explores the preservation potential of nontronite by reacting it with cells under the following conditions: 1) reacting cells with nontronite precursors at low temperature and 2) reacting cells with the already synthesized nontronite made at high temperature. Microbial species Shewanella oneidensis and Geobacter metallireducens, known for their relevance to iron-rich environments, were introduced in intact and lysed forms to assess their interactions with each condition of nontronite. Preliminary results from scanning electron microscopy (SEM) …

An Introduction To The Veritas Observatory, Alexander Bittle, Ian Kuhl, Jingze (Justin) Zhou, Avery Archer

Annual Student Research Poster Session

Located at the base of Mount Hopkins, Arizona, at an elevation of approximately 4200 feet, the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS) is a ground-based gamma ray observatory containing four Cherenkov telescopes designed to detect very high energy gamma rays with energies ranging from 100GeV to 10TeV using the Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Technique. In April 2007, VERITAS began successful operations with all four telescopes. As of today, over 15 years of data has been taken by the VERITAS array, stored in an archive of data, and used for a wide variety of research, publications, PhD theses, and conventions …

Analysis Of The Crab Nebula And Pulsar, Alexander Bittle, Ian Kuhl, Jingze (Justin) Zhou, Avery Archer

Annual Student Research Poster Session

Although the Crab Nebula is well understood, the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS) still regularly observes the Crab's highest energy emissions. These emissions are used to calibrate the telescopes, further, document the system, and investigate the validity of physical models. Our research this summer is geared to analyze data from 2018-2022 to add to an ongoing research project investigating the long term variability of the Crab Nebula’s emission.

Lesson Plans In Astronomy, Ecology And Biology, Admin Stem For Success

STEM for Success Showcase

This document contains various lesson plan ideas for concepts within the fields of biology, ecology, astronomy, and geology.

3-D Visualizations Of Terrestial Exoplanet Interiors Generated With Magrathea In Blender, Tristan Benally, David Rice

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

There has been significant progress in simulating exoplanet interiors in the past decade. With the discovery of the TRAPPIST-1 system in the last few years, there have been many publications presenting models to best characterize specific aspects of exoplanets in study. However, with more parameters and considerations for different characteristics of an exoplanet there will be a need to represent many findings into a comprehensive model in the future. We extend the capabilities of MAGRATHEA from a planet interior solver to start incorporating multi-faceted functions starting with generating 3-D terrestrial planetary visualizations using a 3-D open-source computer graphic software called …

The Analysis Of Radio And X-Ray Energetics Of Fast Radio Bursts, Emily Huerta

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

Here, we analyze the graphs and figures presented in Laha et al. (2022) and compare their slopes to our figures. Laha et al. (2022) includes two graphs, one that shows a comparison between radio fluence vs. x-ray fluence and radio energy vs. x-ray energy. In these graphs, the slopes are anywhere from 3.3e-14 to 2e-5, which are much less than unity. Our figures are consistent with these values, also providing slopes anywhere between the same range. Strong limits on this ratio between radio and x-ray energetics can either support the magnetar progenitor model, or completely dismiss it. Since we found …

Extended Duration Studies Of Energetic Particles In The Stratosphere, Ian Kuhl, Ashna Coondiah, Howard L. Brooks

Annual Student Research Poster Session

The Balloon Assisted Stratospheric Experiments (BASE) program aims to measure atmospheric muon concentration at the Pfotzer Maximum with Geiger Counters carried by weather balloons. The most intense radiation is found at the Pfotzer Maximum 18 - 22 km (11 - 13 mi) above ground level. During this summer, seven flights were conducted to attain maximum time in the Pfotzer Maximum using different strategies like underfilling and multiple balloon systems.

Using Neural Network To Search For Isolated Hα Clouds In The Virgo Cluster, Audra Carver

Summer Community of Scholars Posters (RCEU and HCR Combined Programs)

No abstract provided.

Exploring The Interaction Between Black Hole Feedback And Cold Fronts In Galaxy Clusters, Isabelle Wingate

Summer Community of Scholars Posters (RCEU and HCR Combined Programs)

No abstract provided.

Mining The Data Cubes In Sub-Mm And Optical Astronomy, Nathanael Pichette

Summer Community of Scholars Posters (RCEU and HCR Combined Programs)

No abstract provided.

Introduction To Classical Field Theory, Charles G. Torre

All Complete Monographs

This is an introduction to classical field theory. Topics treated include: Klein-Gordon field, electromagnetic field, scalar electrodynamics, Dirac field, Yang-Mills field, gravitational field, Noether theorems relating symmetries and conservation laws, spontaneous symmetry breaking, Lagrangian and Hamiltonian formalisms.

Expanding The Library Of Planet Building Materials In Magrathea, Rosalie Chaleunsouck, Tristan Benally

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

Exoplanets are often modeled with fully-differentiated layers of iron, silicates, water, and gas. The large pressure and temperature ranges within each layer results in changes of phase and mineral equilibrium. MAGRATHEA is an open-course planet interior structure code with a large library of equations of state for planet building materials. This allows for the user to build detailed planet models and test differing measurements of the equation of state. We extend MAGRATHEA's library to include upper-mantle materials and various phases of iron cores. We show the impact of these materials on the characterization of rocky planet interiors.

Microbial Life In Deep-Subsurface Environments: The Role Of High Pressure In Biogeochemical Cycles, Cheyenne Brokaw

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

Ocean World: An ocean world is considered any planet or moon currently with a liquid ocean. While the deepest part of the Ocean (Mariana Trench, 11,000 mbsl, 110 Mpa) and the lithosphere host microbial life, it begs the question, How?

The North Dakota Dual Aurora Camera (Noddac), A Student-Led Citizen Science Project: One-Year Retrospective, Future Developments, And Scientific Potential, Vincent Ledvina, Elizabeth Macdonald, Steven Collins, Michael Mccormack, Timothy Young, Wayne Barkhouse

Arts & Sciences Undergraduate Showcase

The North Dakota Dual Aurora Camera (NoDDAC) is a student-led project operated in conjunction with the University of North Dakota (UND), the LiveAuroraNetwork, and Aurorasaurus citizen science. Aurora cameras are valuable tools for aurora chasers, and scientists, providing ground-truth visual data to gauge auroral activity, yet at midlatitudes, these facilities are few in number. Deploying aurora cameras in these areas provides a valuable resource for aurora-chasing communities, but also demonstrates scientific merit as the analysis of rare phenomena, such as STEVEs, benefit from multiple geographic observations. What makes this project unique is the student initiative being based at a university …

Hunting For Isolated Warm Gas Clouds In The Virgo Cluster Of Galaxies, Nichelle Grabowski

Summer Community of Scholars Posters (RCEU and HCR Combined Programs)

No abstract provided.

Studying The Properties Of Massive Elliptical Galaxy Ngc 5044, Huan Le

Summer Community of Scholars Posters (RCEU and HCR Combined Programs)

No abstract provided.

Supernovae Distributions And Their Relationships To Classes Of Stars, Sydney Menne

Arts & Sciences Undergraduate Showcase

Aims. Data from astronomical catalogs are plotted as spatial distributions of stars and supernovae throughout the Milky Way galaxy and the universe. I examined correlations seen between the luminosity classes of stars, types of supernovae, and selection effects observed in the data.

Methods. Data was gathered from three catalogs; the Gliese Catalog of Nearby Stars, the Tycho-2 Catalog, and the Open Supernova Catalog. Graphs and diagrams were created to visualize the distributions of the stellar luminosity classes and supernova types at different radial distances from the Sun. Trendlines were fit through the data to examine extrapolated predictions.

Results/Conclusions. Documenting stars …

Very High Energy Studies Of The Crab Nebula, Madeline Claus, Ashna Coondiah, Omer Sajid

Annual Student Research Poster Session

The Crab Nebula is the remnant of a powerful stellar explosion first observed in 1054 AD and is the most studied object outside of our solar system. Our three-pronged research is focused on understanding the emission mechanisms responsible for energy range 100 MeV – 10 TeV. Our project consisted of 1) making light curves of Crab Nebula from Fermi-LAT’s data, 2) extending and investigating the pre-existing VERITAS light curve, and 3) phaseograms of the Crab Pulsar using VERITAS’s data.

Supervisor: Prof. Avery Archer, PhD

This research is supported by grants from the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science, the …

Relativity Lite: A Pictorial Translation Of Einstein’S Theories Of Motion And Gravity, Jack C. Straton

PDXOpen: Open Educational Resources

Relativity Lite is designed for the General Astronomy sequence (PH 361-2U, SCI 315-6U) whose primary book glosses over Special Relativity and General Relativity while trying to explain the Cosmology that is based on those subjects. Relativity Lite translates the mathematical equations conventional relativity texts rely upon into pictures that are readily understood and contain within them the mathematical essentials. This book provides the comprehensive coverage needed to understand, in sufficient depth, these three linked areas of our reality.

Readers seeking this knowledge on their own, and those in other courses for nonscientists, may also find it helpful.

Adopt/Adapt
If you …

Optics Observatory Conversion From Solar To Stellar, Nicholas Schragal, Logan Curtis, Astronomy Club

Research Horizons Day Posters

No abstract provided.

Hunting For Ultra Diffuse Galaxies In The Hubble Space Telescope Data Archive, Nicholas Schragal

Summer Community of Scholars Posters (RCEU and HCR Combined Programs)

No abstract provided.

Identification Of Fragmented Brightest Cluster Galaxies, Andrew Guillory

Summer Community of Scholars Posters (RCEU and HCR Combined Programs)

No abstract provided.

The Best Studied Crab In Astronomy: Searching For Variability In Vhe Emission From The Crab Nebula, Christina Bourantas, Kate Cowger, Avery Archer

Annual Student Research Poster Session

The Crab Nebula is the remnant of a powerful stellar explosion first observed in 1054 AD and has been extremely well studied for decades. previous very high energy (VHE); GeV) studies have observed no variability in the nebula flux making the Crab a standard reference tool for gamma-ray telescopes. As part of the VERITAS (Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System) collaboration, we continue monitoring the nebula’s flux to understand the VERITAS telescopes and physical processes occurring within the nebula. We are analyzing over 80 hours of data from 2017 and 2018 from VERITAS Collaboration, developing and adding to a …