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Lowell Observatory Issue 96 Winter 2013

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Lowell Observatory Issue 96 Winter 2013 1 THE THE LOWELL OBSERVER | Winter 2013 LOWELL EXPANDING OUR UNIVERSE OBSERVER The quarterly newsletter of Lowell Observatory Issue 96 Winter 2013 This infrared image was taken at 1.6 Pointing microns with the Keck 2 telescope on Mauna Kea. The star is seen the Way for here behind a partly transparent coronagraph mask to help bring Exoplanet out faint companions. The mask attenuates the light from the primary by roughly a factor of 1000. The Search young brown-dwarf companion by Tom Vitron in this image has a mass of about 32 Jupiter masses. The physical separation here is about 120 AU. Though the search for exoplanets, Also, the primary star was identified or planets around other stars, is as a young star for the first time by Dr. Shkolnik. Image Credit: showing researchers that planets are B. Bowler/IFA abundant in our galaxy, it helps a great For more information about this deal to have directions when searching research, visit our blog at for as-of-yet undiscovered exoplanets. www.lowell.edu/news/ Lowell astronomer Evgenya Shkolnik and her collaborators have collaborators were able to carefully most planets probably reside in these written such a set of directions, if you examine the age of each star. Since environments,” says Mr. Bowler. “Finding will. low-mass stars are small and dim, young versions of these stars to search for In their paper, recently published they are good candidates for directly planets is fundamental to understanding in The Astrophysical Journal, the imaging planets around them. And the galactic census of exoplanets.” researchers examined new and young stars make it even easier since “These young stars help point the way. existing data from stars and brown the young planet is still hot and bright. And if the Jupiter-mass planets are there, dwarfs (often called “failed stars”) Plus, knowing the planetary system’s we will find them,” notes Dr. Shkolnik. that are less than 300 million years age allows for the characterization In this search, planet hunters are happy old, as determined from strong X-ray of the planet itself beyond the initial to have directions but they know the emission readings. In all, the authors detection. landscape of our understanding is subject identified 144 young targets for The authors sifted through to change. exoplanet searches, with 20 very strong data of about 8,700 stars within candidates, according to Dr. Shkolnik. 100 light years of the Sun to find IN THIS ISSUE This candidate list is being searched for these candidates. The spectra planets with Gemini’s NICI Planet- were collected using two Hawaiian 1 Exoplanet Search Finding Campaign and the Planets Mauna Kea telescopes (Keck and the 2 Director’s Update Around Low-Mass Stars survey, led by Canada-France-Hawaii telescopes), 3 Cool Stars 18 astronomer Michael Liu and graduate and distances to the stars were 3 LMI Sees First Light student Brendan Bowler, respectively, measured by Guillem Anglada-Escude 4 End-of-Year Appeal both at the Institute for Astronomy, (Universität Göttingen) using the du 5 Archiving the Baum Collection University of Hawai‘i. Pont Telescope in Chile, operated by 6 Chandler Solar System Walk By looking for markers in the Carnegie Institution for Science. 7 In Memoriam spectroscopic data and measuring the “Since low-mass stars are the most motions of the stars, Shkolnik and her common type of star in our galaxy, 8 Upcoming Events 2 THE LOWELL OBSERVER | Winter 2013 our colleagues from doors of the Steele Visitor but one would hardly Boston University and the Center this year — a very expect otherwise for a place University of Maryland. strong showing in a time undergoing our kind of We celebrated first light of cautious discretionary growth. On behalf of all with a gala masterminded spending. Thanks to Tom of us, I’d like to extend an by Chuck Wendt, and for Vitron, the publication end-of-year thank-you to our very good reason, people you’re holding is looking Friends, Advisory Board, are still raving about better than ever. Our foray benefactors, and all those in Director’s it. It was a magnificent into summer camps for the community and beyond Update evening. We could not kids set a gold standard who have supported our have known at the time for that kind of program mission. Best wishes to all by Jeffrey Hall that the riveting speech in Flagstaff. Antoinette of you over the holidays given by Neil Armstrong Beiser is spearheading the and in the new year, and we Well, just like that we’ve would be his last public fundraising for the new look forward to keeping you arrived at the end of 2012. The appearance, but we now feel Collections Center and is up to date on all the good deputy directors and I have especially honored by Mr. well past $2 million in cash things in store for 2013. spent the past several weeks Armstrong’s participation, and pledges. The Science looking ahead to the 2013 and I hope that giving him Endowment Fund — which budget and operations plan — a chance to look through I view as a vital part of our as well as farther downstream the DCT the day after the future research support, to prepare for the operational Gala was as fun for him as ultimately intended to challenges the newly-completed it was for us. lessen somewhat the soft Discovery Channel Telescope In the face of increasing money exposure and (DCT) will present, but it’s also pressure on federal support burden on the scientific a good time to look back and of research, our astronomers staff — now has $8 million see how we’ve done over the have maintained a steady in pledged testamentary past 12 months. Thanks to our stream of grants and have gifts, a sum for which I am excellent and dedicated staff, we won new ones, as well as very grateful. have much to be proud of. winning selection of Lowell Underpinning all this First on the list is of course and Flagstaff to host a major activity is a campus that first light for the Discovery and prestigious conference works well. Cash flow Channel Telescope. Bill on stellar astronomy has continued to proceed DeGroff and the engineering in June 2014. A large steadily and efficiently DCT TOURS TO crew, Ted Dunham and the grant won by Northern thanks to Kay McConagha BEGIN instrument group, and Stephen Arizona University (NAU) and her staff, and Dave Levine went full bore to meet astronomer David Trilling Shuck and Jim Gorney Monthly public visits to the mid-year first light deadline, will provide access to have kept the campus the Discovery Channel and they got there with NAU at our currently looking nice — as does Telescope (DCT) will flying colors. Subsequently, dormant 24” telescope our Trustee Bill Putnam, begin in January. the instrument group has at Anderson Mesa, whose stone walls provide Features include a van completed the National Science increasing the interaction a dose of Yankee charm ride to the site, a box Foundation-funded Large and collaboration between here in the high desert, lunch, an hour tour Monolithic Imager (LMI), and Lowell and our local and whose new memorial of the facility with an the DCT commissioning team university. We’ve also grove overlooking Flagstaff expert educator, and a (along with LMI Principal hosted some excellent is a lovely place to unwind. souvenir photo of you Investigator Phil Massey) has conferences, tirelessly And Bill’s dog Lena next to the DCT. For already obtained spectacular coordinated by remains as faithful as ever more information about images from the new camera. Deidre Hunter. in guarding the cars in the reservations, contact We are also very pleased to Kevin Schindler and parking lot. Leslie Wells at welcome the University of our outreach team have Not bad for one year, [email protected] or Toledo as a formal, long-term welcomed more than I’d say. It wasn’t without (928) 233-3278. partner in the DCT, joining 80,000 people through the its bumps and stresses, THE LOWELL OBSERVER | Winter 2013 3 Cool Stars 18 Dr. Jeffrey Hall. “From modest Athens, GA; Barcelona, Spain; Boulder, beginnings, Cool Stars has grown to CO (2 times); Cambridge, MA (4 by Tom Vitron become one of the more substantial times); Florence, Italy; Hamburg, astronomical conferences, with Germany; Pasadena, CA; Santa Fe, NM; Artist’s impression international renown that attracts the Seattle, WA (2 times); St. Andrews, of a young low-mass star, world’s top researchers in the field. Scotland; Tenerife, Spain; and Tucson, AZ. that is undergoing We’re delighted to have them here for Cool Stars 17 (CS17) was held this contraction and a week sharing all the latest discoveries year in Barcelona, Spain. Dr. Mercedes accretion as it evolves towards and enjoying everything Flagstaff and López-Morales, the chairwoman of becoming a northern Arizona have to offer.” CS17, noted, “The selection committee middle-aged main Cool Stars gathers worldwide in Barcelona was thrilled by Lowell’s sequence star. experts in low-mass stars, solar physics proposal to organize Cool Stars 18 in (Source: coolstars17.net) and exoplanets, creating a stimulating Flagstaff. The combination of science cross-disciplinary exchange environment and location were just perfect.” in these fields. Cool Star meetings have One of the largest and most a long tradition of presenting cutting- prestigious astronomy conferences is edge science, as shown by outstanding V.M. Slipher Podcast coming to Flagstaff in 2014. results such as the discovery of the Lowell Observatory and its hometown, first extrasolar planet, or exoplanet, Reporter Diane Hope produced a 21-minute podcast during Flagstaff, Arizona, were recently selected and the first confirmed brown dwarf, the “Origins of the Expanding to host the next “Cambridge Workshop which were both announced at Cool Universe: 1912-1932” conference on Cool Stars, Stellar Systems, and the Stars 9 in Florence, Italy in 1995.
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