Instrumentation and Facilities Research Students have access to rooftop instructional optical and radio telescopes in the Judson B. The Department of Astronomy, through its affiliated research units (the CSP, the IAR, and CISM), has a robust and thriving research program. Research areas in the Department include observational and Coit Observatory. Through the B.U.-Lowell Observatory partnership we have guaranteed time theoretical studies in a variety of fields. To learn about the research programs of individual faculty-led groups, go to www.bu.edu/astronomy/research. A few of the current research projects at BU are: on the 1.8m Perkins telescope and the 4.3m DCT near Flagstaff, AZ. We are frequently guest investigators at national and international facilities in Puerto Rico, Chile, Hawaii, Massachusetts, The Hubble Space Telescope Arizona, New Mexico, West Virginia, and Australia. Members of the Department also use Aurora Campaign space-based facilities, such as NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope; the Fermi Gamma-ray Space The aurora on Jupiter and Saturn Telescope; the Cluster suite of four satellites; the Chandra X-Ray Observatory; and Spitzer, have been studied with increasing Herschel, and Swift satellites. sensitivity and resolution in a series of HST Guest Observer programs of UV imaging and spectroscopy. These have revolutionized our understanding of the auroral phenomenona on both planets, and the auroral emissions provide the only remote method to study the magnetospheres of these giant planets. Discovery Channel Telescope (DCT) Boston University has recently partnered with Lowell Observatory in the Discovery Channel Telescope (DCT). The BU Astronomy Department will have guaranteed observing time on the 4.3 meter telescope, located on a site called “Happy Jack” about 40 miles from Flagstaff, AZ. Science Hermean Atmosphere operations at the DCT will begin in 2013. BU will continue to have access to other Lowell facilities Top: Image of Mercury’s escaping sodium atmosphere taken with a wide-field coronagraph at the BU including the 1.8 meter Perkins telescope. station at the McDonald Observatory in Ft Davis Texas. Solar radiation pressure causes the sodium atoms to be blown into a long comet like tail. Bottom: A computer generated simulation of this effect. 1 x 1024 atoms are launched from the surface each second by small meteorites vaporizing the soil. GPIPS The Galactic Plane Infrared Polarization Survey (GPIPS) includes a direct test of the radiative torque model for magnetic alignment of dust grains, a first 3-D map of the galactic magnetic field using data for star clusters, examination of magnetic fields inside and outside bubbles and shells, and tests for the nature of the Mechanical Engineer Paul Jung and graduate students Brian Hicks and Chris Mendillo magnetic field connecting between molecular aligning the PICTURE telescope. clouds. GPIPS is being conducted on the Perkins telescope, using the Mimir infrared instrument built at BU. *Cover photo taken by David Jones, BA ‘10; MA ‘11 Life at BU Astronomy About the Astronomy Department The cohesive environment in the Department allows astronomy graduate students to lead Located only a few blocks from Fenway Park, and situated next to the Charles River, B.U. is nationally enjoyable, diverse lives while ensuring that they gain the skills and exposure to lead successful and internationally renowned for space physics and astrophysics research. Consisting of 19 full-time future careers. faculty, including 15 teaching faculty, the Astronomy Department is associated with three research Here’s what some students say about the Department: units, the Center for Space Physics (CSP), the Institute of Astrophysical Research (IAR), and the Center for Integrated Space Weather Modeling (CISM). At the graduate level, the department offers PhD and Graduate Studies in Astronomy MA degrees in Astronomy. BU is a great place to do graduate work in astronomy because you have the at Boston University opportunity to explore both the astrophysics side of astronomy as well as the space physics side before deciding on research topics. It’s also a small enough department to not feel like “you’re getting lost in the system, and large enough that you actually have a variety of options in what research area you choose to explore.” One of the aspects of the department that impressed me when I visited (and definitely influenced my “decision) was the effort [it] make[s] to bring grad students, staff, and faculty together, and provide opportunities to meet/get to know each other in non-academic, or non-classroom settings…this, combined with just being in Boston, allows people to balance homework and research with other interests or activities, which I think is essential to having a healthy and enjoyable graduate experience.” Our Faculty Applying to the Program Thomas Bania, Professor Kenneth Janes, Professor Emeritus and Additional Information Elizabeth Blanton, Assistant Professor John Lyon, Research Professor To request application materials or Tereasa Brainerd, Associate Professor Alan Marscher, Professor inquire about financial aid details, Kenneth Brecher, Professor Carlos Martinis, Assistant Research Professor please contact: John Clarke, Professor Michael Mendillo, Professor Dan Clemens, Professor Merav Opher, Assistant Professor Astronomy Department Timothy Cook, Assoc. Research Professor Meers Oppenheim, Associate Professor Boston University Nancy Crooker, Research Professor Jack Quinn, Adjunct Research Professor 725 Commonwealth Avenue Theodore Fritz, Professor George Siscoe, Professor Emeritus Boston, MA 02215 W. Jeffrey Hughes, Professor Andrew West, Assistant Professor (617) 353-2625 James Jackson, Professor Paul Withers, Assistant Professor www.bu.edu/astronomy.