Observing 27 Euterpe the College Park Scholars Academic Showcase May 6, 2016 Shervin Razazi, [email protected], SDU Research Question How can we determine the rotation rate of an asteroid?

Intro Why Research This? My Project group is called Explore the Universe Astronomers use the data in order to find out more and we are a group of mostly SDU scholars specific properties of . For example, an students who conduct research on various asteroid with a of under 2.2 hours is observable astronomical phenomena. My specific generally considered too small to be a self sustaining project was to observe an asteroid and then structure, which means that while in the determine the rotation rate of that asteroid. The they are too small to be held together by themselves asteroid I ended up observing is named 27 This suggests that these smaller bodies were once Euterpe. parts of larger asteroids. The data from all the thousands of asteroids being observe allow us to learn more and more about the solar system and its origins.

Photo C.R. Shervin Razazi

Limitations How This Affected Me Photometry • Weather Doing this project was not my first choice. As a Chemical • Analyze with Astro Image J • Clouds Engineer astronomy is not something I have ever studied or • Calibrate raw images • Humidity thought I would ever be doing. Even though it is not relevant • Align calibrated photos • Wind to my major it did teach me how hard it is to collect accurate • Generate • Position of Asteroid scientific data. After spending time on this project I have • Gives a lot of information about asteroid • Past the horizon learned how to observe space phenomena. This project also • The time difference between peaks is the • Position of nearby stars taught me a lot about responsibility and how to manage my estimated rotation period. • Time time in order to meet project deadlines while balancing • Different asteroid generate different • Asteroid not observable at some times schoolwork at the same time. shaped light curve due to their different of the night shapes. • Hard to go observe at 3 am

Methodology Analysis First step whenever we have to start an The countless amount of hours that astronomers observation is to get the telescope in focus. After spend observing small bodies such as asteroids may that we have to sync the telescope onto a star near seem fruitless, considering that in most telescopes the our target. The next stop is to generate an size of the asteroid is a single pixel. Combined with the ephemeris which lists the coordinates of the inherent dependency on weather for getting quality asteroid on different days and times. From there data astronomy is a long and tedious process. But one we generate star chars which show our asteroid in that is very useful for physicists and scientists the night sky with stars around it. This is in order to worldwide. The data that astronomers get from their locate our asteroid in the images. We then set up a observations allows scientists to form predictions sequence in the software Maxim DL This sequence about how planets are formed, how the effect of light tells our telescope how many pictures to take, at from a nearby star influences the light another space what exposures, and which filters to use. body emits as well.

Photo C.R. Stephens et al

Acknowledgements to Elizabeth Warner, Mentor and the Director of the UMD observatory