Projects
I am most interested in a project oriented around modeling and identifying star-spots within the young T-Tauri stars. If we can accurately identify the spots, we should be able to create physical models to replicate the visible data and determine the size and strength of the identified spots.
I would also be quite interested in a project that involves the IMF of the cluster. I don’t know very much about the physics of star formation and have not studied the IMF in any class setting, so I would be interested in learning more about the underlying science of the cluster through this proposal and project.
Finally, I am interested in examining the Q and M plots for different light curves and exploring the changes in those plots over time. It would be interesting to compare an individual or a handful of stars from the Cody paper with the ones we are observing now to see if there have been any major changes in their periodicity.
I am most interested in the first project, as it involves the use of simulations which are a side of CS-based astronomy. I am also interested in learning more about the physics that cause starspots and how their initial conditions influence the manner in which they behave.
T11 Telescope
The T11 Telescope is a remote controlled telescope open for general use through ITelescope. Relevent specs of the specific T11 instrument are given below.
Observatory: New Mexico Skies at Mayhill, New Mexico – MPC H06; Telescope: 0.50-m f/6.8 reflector + CCD + f/4.5 focal reducer; Timezone: UTC Minus 7:00. Daylight savings time is observed; Minimum Target Elevation: Approx 20 Degrees
Pixel Size: 9um Square; Resolution: 0.81 arc-secs/pixel; Array: 4008 by 2672 (10.7 Megapixels); FOV: 36.2 x 54.3 arc-mins; Filters: AstroDon – Luminance, Red, Green, Blue. 3nm Ha3_50R, Sii3_50R, Oiii_50R. U, B, V, R, I
Data Reduction Game Plan
I will need to calibrate, using Flats, Biases, and Darks, the science images we are currently taking of cluster NGC 2264. I will also want to use data from the Cody paper from 2014. For this process, I will rely on the module and pipeline I built in 337, along with some more generalized reduction code, if I can find some.
I will then write a new pipeline to extract light curves from the repeated data points we have. The pipeline will allow me to generate a large number of light curves to eventually sort through. Once I have the reduced light curves, I will want to identify with a high statistical certainty, the presence of one or more starspots within our data.
Following the identification and isolation of the sunspots, I will want to use a simulation software to model the starspots with varying input parameters. From the models we generate, I will want to reduce and fit the models to the selected light curves, better informing us about the nature of the starspots we have observed.
I spoke to Connor briefly about simulation software to generate the starspot models, so I am confident such a program exists. I hope to learn more about it over the following week so that I can examine which input parameters are necessary, and how best I can compare the data to the final light curves we produce.
Data Files
I will want raw science images from our current observing run, as well as calibration images — biases, darks, and flat fields — so that we can reduce them and obtain photometry. I will also want standard images to determine the absolute brightnesses for our eventual light curves, along with the calibration images for our standard.
In addition, I will want similar data from the Cody paper, including biases, darks, and flats. I will want a standard for that data as well, and hope to be able to recover a similar quality of photometry. I am not sure how many stars I will want to end up focusing on, but I believe the amount of raw data should be approximately the same regardless of the final number.
General Thoughts
I’m not sure if I was supposed to do this blog on the Astro WordPress website. If I was then I’ll copy it over — it shouldn’t be much of a hassle at all. I just thought it would be fun to host it myself, so I can get pretty creative over the next few weeks. I also am experimenting with the length. I know we weren’t supposed to write a ton, so I tried to keep this to the point and not very fluffy. That also might change with time 🙂
Either way I’m excited for this class and can’t wait to get started on our proposal and our project. I feel like I have a lot to learn (and maybe like I’m in way over my head) but I think that’s probably to be expected starting out in a class like this. Looking forward to a good semester!
cheers,
alex