Astroid Light Curves
Dr. Kent Montgomery
Dr. Kent Montgomery studies asteroid light-curves. Over twelve undergraduates have participated in research in his lab in the past six years and during this time 6 journal papers have been published.
Student Opportunities
The main objective of the proposed project is to analyze specific asteroids to determine how their brightness varies with time. This variation in brightness can then be used to determine the asteroid's rotation period and shape.
What You Will Do
The student will read some background papers to understand the techniques, and ramifications of the proposed research.
The student will then learn how to take astronomical data using both the telescopes of the SARA consortium and the East Texas A&M University telescopes. The students will learn how to run the telescopes, collect and analyze data and how to collect the necessary calibration images required each night. The students will then spend numerous nights collecting astronomical images as they watch the asteroid all night long. After the data has been collected the student will reduce the raw images to create images which can then be analyzed. The students will then extract the brightness of the asteroid from each of these images. Plotting the brightness versus time will produce a light-curve for the asteroid. The light-curve is then analyzed to determine the rotation period of the asteroid and the shape of the light-curve is used to determine the shape of the asteroid. By the end of the study the student will have studied 3 to 5 asteroids and will write a paper on the research findings to be published in the Minor Planet Bulletin.