Tabby's Star Essay

The MACHO Project is a collaboration between scientists at the Mt. Stromlo & Siding Spring Observatories, the Center for Particle Astrophysics at the Santa Barbara, San Diego, & Berkeley campuses of the University of California, and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Their primary aim is to test the hypothesis that a significant fraction of the dark matter in the halo of the Milky Way is made up of objects like brown dwarfs or planets: these objects have come to be known as MACHOs, for MAssive Compact Halo Objects. The signature of these objects is the occasional amplification of the light from extragalactic stars by the gravitational lens effect. The amplification can be large, but events are extremely rare: it is necessary to monitor photometrically several million stars for a period of years in order to obtain a useful detection rate. For this purpose they must have built a two-channel system that employs eight CCDs, mounted on the 50 inch telescope at Mt. Stromlo. The high data rate (several GBytes per night) is

The best technology available today for studying the chemical composition of stars and planets is spectroscopy, a scientific tool that dissects light into its component colours (Astronomy mag. P.31). “A planet within 100 light-years of Earth is close enough to provide sufficient light for scientists to dissect light into its component colors” (Ray Villard, Astronomy ). Spectrographs are used by astronomers to observe discrete spectra. Discrete spectra are produced by gases, such as … when specific wavelengths of light are absorbed or emitted by the gases. This causes dark bands to appear on the spectrum where the specific wavelengths of light are absent. A scientist can

Tycho began to gain fame as an astronomer after reporting on a “new star” in 1572. Tycho saw a very bright star in Cassiopeia on November 11th, 1572. He fixed its position with regards to the other stars in the constellation, and continued to observe it. It began to fade in brightness early the next year, and was only as bright as Polaris within six months. He also reported on the color changes, from brilliant white to yellow to red and back to red within that same six months (Hall 274). These careful observations helped springboard his career as an astronomer, and he published his findings on “De Nova Stella” or “the New Star” in 1574.

2) Why are there different brightness of stars and how do we describe their brightness as compared to one another?

Actually observing the sky through the campus Steward Observatory telescope brought perspective to just how lucky we are in Tucson to have such amazing resources to study the sky. The location of the telescope is amazing; right in the middle of our historic campus which allows the general public accessibility to something that might otherwise be reserved for astronomers or scientists. Having a 21” telescope to view the night sky expands the field of view that wouldn’t be as wide-ranging with an ordinary telescope. Having looked through telescopes that were probably 4.5” previously, I wasn’t really sure what to expect looking through a scientific version. Clear weather in late November and having a night sky ordinance in Tucson also allows optimum viewing opportunities year round. “Thanks to a local ordinance that strictly limits artificial-light pollution, Tucson supposedly has the darkest night skies of any city its size in the country.” "Seeing Stars in Tucson 's Brilliant Night Sky." The Washington Post. WP Company, n.d. Web. 05 Dec. 2016. “For a city of 500,000, Tucson is an astonishingly good place for stargazing.” I was already aware that the magnification quality of the telescope influences exactly what is visible through the eyepiece. Knowing a telescope’s optical system captures an image like a camera lens. I realized my eyes had to adjust to the dark. At first I had a difficult time seeing things until I

A stars luminosity is measured by the apparent magnitude and absolute magnitude of the star and the amount of the light that is being emitting from it’s surface.

19. What is the scientific method, and how does it relate to the science of astronomy?

5. On what kind of diagram are stars plotted according to their surface temperature and luminosity?

[27] Scientists can determine what a distant star is made of by looking at ____.

In this paper I will explain how astronomers determine the composition, temperature, speed, and rotation rate of distant objects using various methods. I will explain the properties of stars. I will also summarize the complete lifecycle of the Sun and determine where the Sun is currently in its lifecycle.

7, 1906 at 10:02:06. This star was supposed to be located at 325’85, but was observed at 324’13. In conclusion, there was a +1’72 error. The distance from the sun was 12’04. My second star was observed on April 10, 1906 and had a distance of 10’70 from the sun, a very short distance for a star. The observed location was 178’90 and the actual location was 179’05 making a +0’15 error. The variables would be the distance from the sun and the gravitational force.

By looking at the different wavelengths or the spectrum of light from a celestial object, you can tell many of its properties and features. To do this, the Hubble Telescope is equipped with various scientific instruments. Each instrument used

     Stars are a marvelous wonder to many people, that is why some people spend most of their lives wondering what is “above the world so high” (Gardner 98). These people study and map the little twinkling stars in order to get a better meaning of them; they are astronomers. Great astronomers like Edwin Hubble, Immanuel Kant, and William Huggins, never stopped valuing the beauty of the stars. While they developed great astronomical principals. One astronomer who fits this mold most is, Edwin Powell Hubble. Wondering about what was

The radial velocity method was used to detect the first exoplanet, 51 Pegasi b (51 Peg b) around a main sequence star, 51 Pegasi (51 Peg). The radial velocity method uses the variations in velocity of a star due to the gravitational pull from an exoplanet (Lissauer 2002). Furthermore the velocity isn’t measured in terms of actual speed but in terms of light based on the Doppler effect. The Doppler effect occurs when a star moves. When it moves toward us, its wavelengths of light are shortened and when a star moves away from us, its wavelengths of light are lengthened. Through the continued observation of the Doppler effect on a stars spectrum of light, the velocity of a star is inferred. Any change in a stars velocity is caused by a sufficiently massive companion, an exoplanet (Lissaeur 2002).

I spent as much time as I could observing the stars and constellations for this project, despite the fact that we had several days of bad whether which left us with cloudy, cold skies. There wasn’t any degree of difficulty to this project and I found it rather enjoyable and very informative. I am giving serious consideration towards purchasing a telescope as a result of this project