COE Observatory Report
2009
Tennessee State University
Center of Excellence in Information Systems
Nashville, Tennessee 37209
This report covers the interval January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2009.
The astrophysics program in the TSU Center of Excellence concentrates on photometry and spectroscopy of cool giants, chromospherically active stars, solar-type stars, planetary-candidate host stars, binary and multiple stars, and pulsating variables, as well as building and managing robotic telescopes and applying automation to astronomy. Astronomy staff in 2009 were Geoffrey S. Burks, Michael R. Busby, Joel A. Eaton, Francis C. Fekel, Gregory W. Henry, and Michael H. Williamson. Matthew Muterspaugh (Townes Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of California, Berkeley) became the newest member of our Automated Astronomy Group in 2009 January. He has accepted a tenure-track faculty position in the TSU Department of Physics and Mathematics. Julia O'Connell was a student research assistant.
OBSERVING FACILITIES
Center of Excellence astronomers continue to operate several automatic telescopes at Fairborn Observatory in the Patagonia mountains of southern Arizona. Fairborn Observatory is a non-profit Educational Corporation directed by Lou Boyd and dedicated to the design, construction, and operation of automated telescopes. TSU telescopes include the T3 0.40 m automated photometric telescope (APT) for Johnson BV photometry, the T4 0.75 m APT for Stromgren by photometry, the T8, T10, T11, and T12 0.80 m APTs, also for Stromgren by photometry, and the T13 2.0 m automatic spectroscopic telescope (AST) for high-resolution echelle spectroscopy. The table below gives the number of years each telescope has been operational and the current observing program(s).
| Telescope | Type | Years | Primary Observing Program(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| T2 | 0.25 m APT | 19 | Semi-Regular Variables (Decommissioned 2007) |
| T3 | 0.40 m APT | 22 | Chromospherically Active Stars, Early-F Stars |
| T4 | 0.75 m APT | 17 | Solar-type Stars |
| T8 | 0.80 m APT | 14 | Solar-type Stars |
| T10 | 0.80 m APT | 10 | Solar-type Stars, Planetary Candidate Stars |
| T11 | 0.80 m APT | 10 | Solar-type Stars, Planetary Candidate Stars |
| T12 | 0.80 m APT | 10 | Planetary Candidate Stars |
| T13 | 2.03 m AST | 6 | Giant Stars, Binary & Multiple Stars |
2009 PUBLICATIONS
Armstrong, J. T., Mozurkewich, D., Creech-Eakman, M. C., Akeson, R. L., Buscher, D. F., Ragland, S., Ridgeway, S. T., ten Brummelaar, T., Townes, C. H., Wishnow, E., Aufdenberg, J. P., Baines, E. K., Bakker, E. J., Hinz, P., Hummel, C. A., Jorgensen, A. M., Leisawitz, D. T., Muterspaugh, M. W., Schmitt, H. R., Restaino, S. R., Tycner, C., and Yoon, J., "Ground-based Optical/Infrared Interferometry: High Resolution, High Precision Imaging," Astro2010: The Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Survey, Science White Papers, No. 27, 2009. (paper)
Bruntt, H., Penny, A. J., Stello, D., Evans, N. R., and Eaton, J. A., "Welcome Back, Polaris the Cepheid," in Cool Stars, Stellar Systems, and the Sun: 15th Cambridge Workshop, AIP Conf. Ser. 1094, ed. E. Stempels (New York: American Institute of Physics), p.884, 2009. (paper)
Clubb, K., Fischer, D. A., Howard, A., Marcy, G., and Henry, G., "M2K: A Search for Planets Orbiting Early M and Late K Dwarf Stars," Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 41, 192, 2009. (paper)
Desert, J.-M., Sing, D., Vidal-Madjar, A., Lecavelier des Etangs, A., Hebrard, G., Ehrenreich, D., Ferlet, R., Parmentier, V., and Henry, G., "Spitzer and HST Transit Spectrophotometry of the Exoplanet HD 189733b," Societe Francaise d'Astronomie et d'Astrophysique, SF2A 323, 2009. (paper)
Fekel, F. C., Boden, A. F., Tomkin, J., and Torres, G., "HR 8257: A Three-Dimensional Orbit and Basic Properties," Astrophysical Journal, 695, 1527, 2009. (paper)
Fekel, F. C., Tomkin, J., and Williamson, M. H., "New Precision Orbits of Bright Double-Lined Spectroscopic Binaries. III. HD 82191, Omega Draconis, and 108 Herculis, Astronomical Journal, 137, 3900, 2009. (paper)
Fekel, F. C. and Willmarth, D. W., "The Spectroscopic Orbit of SAO 167450, Visual Companion of AA Ceti," Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, 121, 1359, 2009. (paper)
Fekel, F. C., Zuckerman, B., Williamson, M. H., Henry, G. W., and Muno, M. P., "The Dusty, Solar-Type Spectroscopic Binary BD +20 307," in Cool Stars, Stellar Systems, and the Sun: 15th Cambridge Workshop, AIP Conf. Ser. 1094, ed. E. Stempels (New York: American Institute of Physics), p.836, 2009. (paper)
Fischer, D., Driscoll, P., Isaacson, H., Giguere, M., Marcy, G. W., Valenti, J., Wright, J. T., Henry, G. W., Johnson, J. A., Howard, A., Peek, K., and McCarthy, C., "Five Planets and an Independent Confirmation of HD 196885Ab from Lick Observatory," Astrophysical Journal, 703, 1545, 2009. (paper)
Ford, E., Marcy, G. W., Shao, M., Muterspaugh, M. W., Beichman, C., Wright, J., Fischer, D. A., Catanzarite, J. H., Olling, R., Kulkarni, S., Unwin, S. C., and Traub, W. A., "Multiple-Planet Systems," in SIMLite Astrometric Observatory, JPL 400-1360 2/09, eds. J. Davidson, S. Edberg, R. Danner, B. Nemati, and S. Unwin (Pasadena: JPL), p. 25, 2009. (paper)
Guinan, E. F., Eaton, J. A., Wasatonic, R., Stewart, H., Engle, S. G., and McCook, G. P., "Time-Series Photometry and Spectroscopy of the Bright Blue Supergiant Rigel: Probing the Atmosphere and Interior of a SN II Progenitor," in Highlights of Astronomy, Vol. 15, ed. I. Corbett (New York: Cambridge University Press), p. 359, 2009. (paper)
Hall, J. C., Giampapa, M. S., Henry, G. W., Lean, J. L., Saar, S. H., and Soderblom, D., "The Stars as a Sun: Secular Variations of Cycling and Non-Cycling Stars," Astro2010: The Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Survey, Science White Papers, No. 111, 2009. (paper)
Hall, J. C., Henry, G. W., Lockwood, G. W., Skiff, B. A., and Saar, S. H., "The Activity and Variability of the Sun and Sun-Like Stars. II. Contemporaneous Photometry and Spectroscopy of Bright Solar Analogs," Astronomical Journal, 138, 312, 2009. (paper)
Halverson, S., Muterspaugh, M., Howard, A., Wright, J., and Sirk, M., "The SIM Exoplanet Analysis Experiment, an Undergraduate Perspective," Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 41, 357, 2009. (paper)
Handler, G., Matthews, J. M., Eaton, J. A., et al., "Asteroseismology of Hybrid Pulsators Made Possible: Simultaneous MOST Space Photometry and Ground-Based Spectroscopy of gamma Peg," Astrophysical Journal, 698, L56, 2009. (paper)
Helminiak, K. G., Konacki, M., Ratajczak, M., and Muterspaugh, M., "Orbital and Physical Parameters of Eclipsing Binaries From the ASAS Catalogue I. A Sample of Systems with Components' Masses Between 1 and 2 Solar Mass," Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 400, 969, 2009. (paper)
Hinkle, K. H., Fekel, F. C., and Joyce, R. R., "Infrared Spectroscopy of Symbiotic Stars. VII. Binary Orbit and Long Secondary Period Variability of CH Cyg," Astrophysical Journal, 692, 1360, 2009. (paper)
Hinkle, K. H., Fekel, F. C., and Joyce, R. R., "Binary Orbit and Long Secondary Period Variability of the Symbiotic CH Cygni," Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 41, 304, 2009. (paper)
Howard, A. W., Johnson, J. A., Marcy, G. W., Fischer, D. A., Wright, J. T., Henry, G. W., Giguere, M. J., Isaacson, H., Valenti, J. A., Anderson, J., and Piskunov, N. E., "The NASA-UC Eta-Earth Program: I. A Super-Earth Orbiting HD 7924," Astrophysical Journal, 696, 75, 2009. (paper)
Kane, S. R., Mahadevan, S., Cochran, W. D., Street, R. A., Sivarani, T., Henry, G. W., and Williamson, M. H., "Discovery of a Low-Mass Companion to the Solar-Type Star TYC 2534-698-1," Astrophysical Journal, 692, 290, 2009. (paper)
Knutson, H. A., Charbonneau, D., Cowan, N. B., Fortney, J. J., Showman, A. P., Agol, E., and Henry, G. W., "The 8 Micron Phase Variation of the Hot Saturn HD 149026b," Astrophysical Journal, 703, 769, 2009. (paper)
Knutson, H. A., Charbonneau, D., Cowan, N. B., Fortney, J. J., Showman, A. P., Agol, E., Henry, G. W., Everett, M. E., and Allen, L. E., "Multi-Wavelength Constraints on the Day-Night Circulation Patterns of HD 189733b," Astrophysical Journal 690, 822, 2009. (paper)
Konacki, M., Muterspaugh, M. W., Kulkarni, S. R., Hełminiak, K. G., "The Radial Velocity Tatooine Search for Circumbinary Planets: Planet Detection Limits for a Sample of Double-Lined Binary Stars - Initial Results from Keck I/Hires, Shane/CAT/Hamspec, and TNG/Sarg Observations," Astrophysical Journal, 704, 513, 2009. (paper)
Krticka, J., Mikulasek, Z., Henry, G. W., Zverko, J., Ziznovsky, J., Skalicky, J., and Zverina, P., "The Nature of the Light Variability of the Silicon Star HR 7224," Astronomy and Astrophysics, 499, 567, 2009. (paper)
Krticka, J., Mikulasek, Z., Zverko, J., Ziznovsky, J., Henry, G. W., Skalicky, J., and Zverina, P., “The Mechanism of the Light Variability of Chemically Peculiar Stars,” in Solar and Stellar Variability – Impact on Earth and Planets, IAU Symposium No. 264, eds. A. H. Andrei, A. Kosovichev, and J.-P. Rozelot (New York: Cambridge University Press), p. 119, 2009. (paper)
Lloyd, J. P., Czeszumska, A., Edelstein, J., Erskine, D., Feuerstein, M., Halverson, S., Marckwordt, M., Mercer, T., Muirhead, P., Schwehr, J., Muterspaugh, M., Wishnow, E., and Wright, J., "Precision Radial Velocities in the Near Infrared with TEDI," in Transiting Planets, IAU Symposium No. 253, eds. F. Pont, D. Sasselov, and M. Holman (Cambridge: University Press), p. 157, 2009. (paper)
Marcy, G. W., Shao, M., Muterspaugh, M. W., Beichman, C., Fischer, D. A., Ford, E., Catanzarite, J. H., Olling, R., Kulkarni, S., and Unwin, S. C., "Detecting Earth-Like Planets," in SIMLite Astrometric Observatory, JPL 400-1360 2/09, eds. J. Davidson, S. Edberg, R. Danner, B. Nemati, and S. Unwin (Pasadena: JPL), p. 3, 2009. (paper)
Mercer, T., Edelstein, J., and Muterspaugh, M., "Robust Control System Software for the TEDI (Triplespec Exoplanet Discovery Instrument)," Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 41, 193, 2009. (paper)
Muterspaugh, M. W., Benedict, G. F., Boss, A., et al., "Astrometry," in Exoplanet Community Report, JPL Publication 09-3, eds. P. R. Lawson, W. A. Traub, and S. C. Unwin (Pasadena: JPL), p. 13, 2009. (paper)
Muterspauch, M. W., Tanner, A., and the Exoplanet Forum 2008 Astrometry Committee, "Exoplanet Community Report on Astrometry," Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 41, 285, 2009. (paper)
O'Connell, J., Johnson, C., Pilachowski, C., and Burks, G., "Fe and Al Abundances in the Globular Cluster NGC 6171," Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 41, 322, 2009. (paper)
Odell, Andrew P., Eaton, J. A., and Lopez-Cruz, O., "V432 Per, a Close Binary Star in Poor Thermal Contact," Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 400, 2085, 2009. (paper)
Olson, E. C., Henry, G. W., and Etzel, P. B., "Mass Transfer Variations in UX Monocerotis: Eight Years of Automated Photometric Monitoring," Astronomical Journal, 138, 1435, 2009. (paper)
Peek, K. M. G., Johnson, J. A., Fischer, D. A., Marcy, G. W., Henry, G. W., Howard, A. W., Wright, J. T., Lowe, T., Reffert, S., Schwab, C., Williams, P. K. G., Isaacson, H., and Giguere, M. J., "Old, Rich, and Eccentric: Two Jovian Planets Orbiting Evolved Metal-Rich Stars," Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, 121, 613, 2009. (paper)
Percy, J. R., Mashintsova, M., Nasui, C., Palaniappan, R., and Henry, G. W., "Photometric Variability of Red Giants," in The Biggest, Baddest, Coolest Stars, ASP Conf. Ser. 412, eds. D. G. Luttermoser, B. J. Smith, and R. E. Stencel (San Francisco: ASP), p. 179, 2009. (paper)
Roettenbacher, R. M., Harmon, R. O., Vutisalchavakul, N., and Henry, G. W., "A Study of Differential Rotation on II Pegasi Using Starspot Imaging," Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 41, 304, 2009. (paper)
Schaefer, G., Armstrong, T., Bender, C., Creech-Eakman, M., Fekel, F. C., Franz, O., Hartkopf, W., Hutter, D., Mason, B. D., Monnier, J., Muterspaugh, M., Prato, L., Ridgway, S., Simon, M., ten Brummelaar, T., Wasserman, L., and Zhao, M., "New Frontiers in Binary Stars: Science at High Angular Resolution," Astro2010: The Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Survey, Science White Papers, No. 259, 2009. (paper)
Shao, M., Marcy, G., Catanzarite, J. H., Edberg, S. J., Léger, A., Malbet, F., Queloz, D., Muterspaugh, M. W., Beichman, C., Fischer, D., Ford, E., Olling, R., Kulkarni, S., Unwin, S. C., and Traub, W., "Astrometric Detection of Earthlike Planets," Astro2010: The Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Survey, Science White Papers, No. 271, 2009. (paper)
Sing, David K., Desert, J.-M., Lecavelier des Dtangs, A., Ballaster, G., Vidal-Madjar, A., Parmentier, V., Hebrard, G., and Henry, G. W., "Transit Spectrophotometry of the Exoplanet HD 189733b. I. Searching for Water but Finding Haze with HST NICMOS," Astronomy and Astrophysics, 505, 891, 2009. (paper)
Stewart, H. A., Guinan, E. F., Wasatonic, R., Engle, S. G., McCook, G. P., and Eaton, J. A., "Multi-Frequency Photometric Analyses of Rigel, the Nearest Blue Supergiant and Supernova Progenitor," Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 41, 207, 2009. (paper)
Tomsick, J. and Muterspaugh, M., "How Well Can SIM Lite Measure Parameters of Neutron Star and Black Hole Binaries?" Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 41, 355, 2009. (paper)
Traub, W. A., Ford, E., Laughlin, G., Levison, H., Lin, D., Raymond, S., Makarov, V., Casertano, S., Fischer, D., Kasdin, J., Muterspaugh, M., Shao, M., Beichman, C., Boss, A., Gould, A., and Marr, J., "Overview of the SIM-RV Double-blind Simulation to Detect Earths in Multi-planet Systems," Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 41, 267, 2009. (paper)
Valenti, Jeff A., Fischer, D., Marcy, G. W., Johnson, J. A., Henry, G. W., Wright, J. T., Howard, A. W., Giguere, M., and Isaacson, H., "Two Planets Discovered at Keck Observatory," Astrophysical Journal, 702, 989, 2009. (paper)
Winn, J. N., Holman, M. J., Henry, G. W., Torres, G., Fischer, D., Johnson, J. A., Marcy, G. W., Shporer, A., and Mazeh, T., "The Transit Light Curve Project. X. A Christmas Transit of HD 17156b," Astrophysical Journal, 693, 794, 2009. (paper)
Wittenmyer, R. A., Endl, M., Cochran, W. D., Levison, H. F., and Henry, G. W., "A Search for Multi-Planet Systems Using the Hobby-Eberly Telescope," Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, 182, 97, 2009. (paper)
Wright, J. T., Fischer, D. A., Ford, E. B., Veras, D., Wang, J., Henry, G. W., Marcy, G. W., Howard, A. W., and Johnson, J. A., "A Third Giant Planet Orbiting HIP 14810," Astrophysical Journal, 699, L97, 2009. (paper)
Zuckerman, B. M., Fekel, F. C., Williamson, M. H., Henry, G. W., Muno, M. P., Melis, C., and Marois, C., "Planetary Systems Around Spectroscopic Binary Stars: The Very Dusty, Old, Sun-like BD+20 307," Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 41, 492, 2009. (paper)