Related papers: Space Photometry with BRITE-Constellation
One of the main objectives of cosmic-ray studies are precise measurements of energy and chemical composition of particles with extreme energies. Large and sophisticated detectors are used to find events seen as showers starting in the…
We discuss the opportunities for astronomical discovery via ground-based astrometry carried out in the United States during the 2010-2020 decade. We describe imminent scientific breakthroughs that can be achieved at both classic astrometric…
We discuss, from a statistical point of view, some leading issues that deal with the study of stellar populations in fully or partially unresolved aggregates, like globular clusters and distant galaxies. A confident assessment of the…
We have obtained HST-NICMOS observations of five of M31's most metal rich globular clusters. These data allow photometry of individual stars in the clusters and their surrounding fields. However, to achieve our goals -- obtain accurate…
Although starburst galaxies have relatively flat spectral energy distributions, their strong optical emission lines and near-UV continua make it very feasible to estimate their redshifts photometrically. In this work, I describe a…
The identification of individual stars in crowded environments using photometric information alone is confounded by source confusion. However, with the addition of spectroscopic information it is possible to distinguish between blends and…
The determination of chemical abundances from stellar spectra is considered a mature field of astrophysics. Digital spectra of stars are recorded and processed with standard techniques, much like samples in the biological sciences.…
Astrometry measures shifts in a star's photocentre and can be used to detect reflex motion due to orbiting exoplanets. Brightness asymmetries (e.g. starspots) rotating in and out of view can also cause apparent motion of the photocenter,…
$\eta$ Car is a massive, eccentric binary with a rich observational history. We obtained the first high-cadence, high-precision light curves with the BRITE-Constellation nanosatellites over 6 months in 2016 and 6 months in 2017. The light…
The extragalactic distance scale is fundamental to our understanding of astrophysics and cosmology. In recent years, the surface brightness fluctuation (SBF) method, applied in the near-IR, has proven especially powerful for measuring…
We describe a system for rapidly measuring the brightness of the night sky using a mosaic of CCD images obtained with a low-cost automated system. The portable system produces millions of independent photometric measurements covering the…
Although the photon structure is most efficiently studied with the accelerator instruments, there is also a scientifically complementary potential in investigations on photons produced in the outer space. This potential is already being…
Societal dependence on space-based services demands major advances in predicting the impacts of eruptive solar events. Millimeter-wavelength observations offer uniquely direct access to the time-dependent physical conditions in the…
The BRITE (BRIght Target Explorer) constellation of nano-satellites performs seismology of bright stars via high precision photometry. In this context, we initiated a high resolution, high signal-to-noise, high sensitivity,…
We study the apparent optical brightness of satellite streaks in ground-based observatory cameras as the orbit height is varied. This is done via simulations. Several factors are in play: the range to the satellite, satellite size and…
The images provided by the Advanced Camera for Surveys at the Hubble Space Telescope (ACS/HST) have the amazing spacial resolution of 0".05/pixel. Therefore, it is possible to resolve individual stars in nearby galaxies and, in particular,…
Imaging spectropolarimetry is a new observing mode on the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) aboard the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) that was commissioned in Cycle 30 and is available to HST observers starting in Cycle 31 (i.e., from 2023).…
We study the impact of the atmospheric differential chromatic refraction on the measurements and precision of relative astrometry. Specifically, we address the problem of measuring the separations of close pairs of binary stars with…
Observational astrophysics uses sophisticated technology to collect and measure electromagnetic and other radiation from beyond the Earth. Modern observatories produce large, complex datasets and extracting the maximum possible information…
Hot subdwarf stars are particularly challenging for asteroseismology due to their rapid pulsation periods, intrinsic faintness and relative rarity both in the field and in clusters. These features have ensured that the preferred method of…