Is this project an undergraduate, graduate, or faculty project?
Undergraduate
Project Type
group
Campus
Daytona Beach
Authors' Class Standing
Eric Rodarte, Junior Angelina Scalice, Junior Madison Warner, Junior Kevin Numbe, Junior
Lead Presenter's Name
Eric Rodarte
Lead Presenter's College
DB College of Engineering
Faculty Mentor Name
Dr. Sirani Mututhanthrige Perera
Abstract
The Pleiades, also known as the Seven Sisters, is a stunning star cluster located approximately 440 light-years from Earth. This vibrant assemblage of hot blue stars in the Taurus constellation can be admired with the naked eye or through binoculars during early autumn. In this presentation, we utilize spectral theory to measure the reddening in the Pleiades star cluster. To evaluate the impact of interstellar dust on reddening, we employ principal component analysis (PCA) on a matrix representing color indices from various photometric bands linked to the cluster’s photometric data. This dataset was obtained from VIZIER. Our PCA analysis of the photometric band matrix revealed that reddening is notably influenced by the color shift observed predominantly in the BP band. Ultimately, our numerical findings were verified, demonstrating an alignment with the extinction laws utilized by Gaia DR3. This is due to the fact that the PCA-derived reddening vector displayed an angular deviation of only 0.170° from the theoretical reddening vector, resulting in a minimal overall percentage difference of 0.294%.
Did this research project receive funding support (Spark, SURF, Research Abroad, Student Internal Grants, Collaborative, Climbing, or Ignite Grants) from the Office of Undergraduate Research?
No
Included in
Applied Mathematics Commons, Data Science Commons, Stars, Interstellar Medium and the Galaxy Commons
Low-Rank Spectral Analysis for the Reddening of the Seven Sisters Star Cluster
The Pleiades, also known as the Seven Sisters, is a stunning star cluster located approximately 440 light-years from Earth. This vibrant assemblage of hot blue stars in the Taurus constellation can be admired with the naked eye or through binoculars during early autumn. In this presentation, we utilize spectral theory to measure the reddening in the Pleiades star cluster. To evaluate the impact of interstellar dust on reddening, we employ principal component analysis (PCA) on a matrix representing color indices from various photometric bands linked to the cluster’s photometric data. This dataset was obtained from VIZIER. Our PCA analysis of the photometric band matrix revealed that reddening is notably influenced by the color shift observed predominantly in the BP band. Ultimately, our numerical findings were verified, demonstrating an alignment with the extinction laws utilized by Gaia DR3. This is due to the fact that the PCA-derived reddening vector displayed an angular deviation of only 0.170° from the theoretical reddening vector, resulting in a minimal overall percentage difference of 0.294%.