Is this project an undergraduate, graduate, or faculty project?
Undergraduate
Project Type
group
Campus
Daytona Beach
Authors' Class Standing
Ahnika Gee, Junior
Lead Presenter's Name
Ahnika Gee
Lead Presenter's College
DB College of Arts and Sciences
Faculty Mentor Name
Terry Oswalt
Abstract
Gyrochronology, the method of estimating the ages of stars from their rotation rate, relies on precise measurements of minute changes in brightness. In addition, stars with long rotation periods require longer time coverage than is usually provided by single-mission space-based observations. To improve the detectability of rotation periods longer than tens of days, we supplemented data from space-based missions such as NASA’s Kepler, K2 and Transiting Exoplanetary Survey Satellite (TESS), ESA’s Global Astrometric Interferometer for Astrophysics (GAIA) with ground-based data from the Southeastern Association for Research in Astronomy (SARA) telescopes, enhancing accuracy. We used the 0.9 m telescope at the Kitt Peak National Observatory, the 1.0 m Jacobus Kapteyn Telescope at the Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos in the Canary Islands, and the 0.6 m telescope in Cerro Tololo to take data over several nights. AstroImageJ (AIJ) was employed to conduct multi-aperture photometry on the SARA data, to help fill gaps in time coverage provided by space-based missions. In this poster, we outline the reduction procedures applied to the SARA data and present some preliminary results of our efforts to combine ground- and space-based data.
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
Data Reduction from Southeastern Association for Research in Astronomy Telescopes and Analysis with Multiple Surveys for Slow Rotating Stars for Gyrochronology
Gyrochronology, the method of estimating the ages of stars from their rotation rate, relies on precise measurements of minute changes in brightness. In addition, stars with long rotation periods require longer time coverage than is usually provided by single-mission space-based observations. To improve the detectability of rotation periods longer than tens of days, we supplemented data from space-based missions such as NASA’s Kepler, K2 and Transiting Exoplanetary Survey Satellite (TESS), ESA’s Global Astrometric Interferometer for Astrophysics (GAIA) with ground-based data from the Southeastern Association for Research in Astronomy (SARA) telescopes, enhancing accuracy. We used the 0.9 m telescope at the Kitt Peak National Observatory, the 1.0 m Jacobus Kapteyn Telescope at the Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos in the Canary Islands, and the 0.6 m telescope in Cerro Tololo to take data over several nights. AstroImageJ (AIJ) was employed to conduct multi-aperture photometry on the SARA data, to help fill gaps in time coverage provided by space-based missions. In this poster, we outline the reduction procedures applied to the SARA data and present some preliminary results of our efforts to combine ground- and space-based data.