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| Light Curve |
Soon, I will begin analyzing the spectrometry images. This is the meat of the data. When I get the wavelengths of light emitted at different points in the period of the star, I will be able to determine many things, such as the mass of each star, how far away it is, and possibly how hot each star is. Actually accomplishing something with my research is something I haven't done before, and I really enjoy it.
If I were to make a career out of research, which is what I fully intend to do, it would mean that I would actually have job satisfaction. I had a job at a grocery store in high school, which was a horribly dull job. That gave me extra incentive to find an interesting career to avoid working a mentally degrading job like that ever again. At this point, I don't really care how much I'll get paid when I get through with education, as long as my job isn't "a long story filled with sighs and regrets" as Scott Pilgrim might say.
I plan to go to graduate school for theoretical physics, so this experience will really help me when I get to graduate school. I also am applying for internships in physics and astronomy, including a theoretical astrophysics internship using a supercomputer to simulate black holes. This course has helped me know, at least in part, what might be in store for me this summer and during graduate school. I really hope that I can achieve my goal to become a theoretical physicist. This is more of a speculative science than what I am doing now, but there is still quite a bit of math involved. Instead of working with graphs and spreadsheets, I might look at some occurrence in the universe and come up with a hypothesis, possibly based on physical laws already developed, to explain that phenomenon. Examples of theoretical physicists in the past are Newton, Einstein, Galileo, and Niels Bohr. Contemplating things we don't know is a passion of mine, so this would probably be my ideal career. If I do reach that goal, I will most likely be working for a college or university as a professor, although, the possibilities are endless. I am excited to see what my future holds for me.
Jake,
ReplyDeleteI am a bit ignorant when it comes to the physics department at Loras College. What type of equipment are you utilizing for this work? Is there anything that would make this research go smoother?
Ty
Jake,
ReplyDeleteI know that you had said that you were using a new program to analyze the data. How is that working for you? What challanges have you encountered thus far? Sounds like you have alot of data to sort through and I am interested to see you presentation this week!
Jake,please correct me if I am wrong...but my high school physics teacher once told me that temperature of a star was categorized into color schemes using:blue, yellow, and red. Is that still true? You mentioned how hot some of the stars are in terms of brightness...is it possible that cooler stars at lower temperatures can not be seen with the naked eye?
ReplyDeleteTyler, we worked with two different types of telescopes, which were pretty expensive to begin with. The equipment we're working with is fine, and there isn't much we can do to make it go faster that I know of.
ReplyDeleteBrennan, the program is working pretty well. Unfortunately, working with such a high volume of images is going to take a while regardless. That is really the only challenge I have come across.
ReplyDeleteCara, yes there are different colors of stars, and that is the general color classification of stars. There are a lot of stars that can't be seen, but not necessarily because they aren't very bright. The universe is a big place, check this out if you don't believe me http://htwins.net/scale/index.html. But as to the temperature, when an object doesn't produce its own heat, it isn't a star.
ReplyDeleteJake,
ReplyDeleteThis a quite interesting research you are running. I am so impressed with most of your results and the explanations that you have provided with as I am learning a lot of new things. I also like your way of thinking and planning your future career. I wish you all the best with everything. I feel so strong that you really know what you are doing and you have a clear understanding of it. My only question for you is: how do you control your studies of these heavenly bodies which are located way out there outside of our planet in comparison to the other fields of natural science which are studied within a specific ideal distance and location like a lab. I mean isn't it a major limitation to study something that far? I know that studying the double helix is also a great challenge of some type and everything has its own complex parts to study, but I believe yours is even harder. So what do you have to say to that no matter how the software program and the telescope you are working with might be the most outstanding aids one can work with? I am looking for your opinion on this point as a researcher and future physicist. Thank you in advance.
Jake, I think I remember learning once that you can use spectrometry images to figure out what the stars are composed off, based off what you have so far do you have any ideas of the composition of the two stars?
ReplyDeleteAmanuel, the main limitation of studying something in the night sky is light pollution.
ReplyDeleteAs to the second question, I'm not sure what you're asking.
Ostey, I don't have any real idea yet, but we are seeing shifts in the spectrum from one point in the phase to another. I'll be able to make conclusions from that.
ReplyDeleteJake-
ReplyDeleteI love that website you posted with the relative scale of the universe. But I usually spend most of my time looking at the smaller stuff, not the larger stuff! :) I also like this one more focused on cells: http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/begin/cells/scale/
thanks for the interesting post - make sure you think about writing for a Goldwater Scholarship next fall...
kc
Dr. Cooper, I appreciate the offer, but I'll be transferring to Iowa State next year. I'll see if they have a similar scholarship there.
ReplyDelete