Research Facilities
Progress in astronomy depends on ever-more-powerful telescopes and instruments. At the University of Delaware, we have access to national astronomy assets funded by NASA and NSF. We are now a member of the SMARTS consortium, giving us guaranteed access to telescopes in Chile. Below are described some of the facilities I have been using to study cool stars and brown dwarfs.
Space Observatories
|
Hubble Space TelescopeOrbiting high above the interference of Earth's atmosphere, the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is the premier ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared astronomical telescope. Its high resolution allows apparently single stars to be identified as close doubles. We have used HST to image Hyades cluster M dwarfs, field M dwarfs, and metal-poor M subdwarfs. Most recently, we have found that 20% of L dwarfs are doubles with separations in the range 1.5-15 A.U. We also obtained the first-ever ultraviolet spectrum of a brown dwarf using the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS). |
|
Spitzer Space TelescopeSpitzer Space Telescope is the most power mid-infrared telescope ever. We are using it to study disks around very young brown dwarfs. We are also using it to study the puzzling mid-infrared excess of active M dwarfs (also known as dMe stars). |
|
Chandra X-ray TelescopeWe used the Chandra telescope to study a 10-million year old brown dwarf. This 25 jupiter-mass brown dwarf shows strong H alpha emission, characteristic of a strong chomosphere or an active accretion disk. |
|
Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE)We are using the FUSE satellite to study the interacting winds of a massive binary in the Small Magellenic Cloud. |
Ground-Based Observatories
|
Gemini TelescopesThe new 8-meter Gemini telescopes are the flagship of the national observatories. Using the very high resolution Phoenix spectrograph, we are using Gemini-South to take 2.25 micron spectra of brown dwarfs. In conjunction with existing low-resolution spectra, we will able to measure the temperatures and understand the atmospheres of these cool objects. |
|
SMARTSThe SMARTS consortium operates the 0.9m, 1.0m, 1.3m, and 1.5m telescopes at CTIO in Chile. We are using these telescopes to observe cool stars, brown dwarfs, and white dwarfs. |
|
National Optical Astronomical ObservatoriesThe Kitt Peak and CTIO telescopes are the workhorses of our program. We use them to follow-up sources from 2MASS. |
|
CorMASSCorMASS is a low-resolution near-infrared spectrograph that observes the ZJHK bandpasses. It is ideal for confirming brown dwarfs with only a small telescope. |
Vitual Observatories
|
The Two Micron All-Sky Survey (2MASS)2MASS surveyed the entire sky in the near-infrared. It is a rich source of new nearby stars and brown dwarfs. |
|
The Rosat All-Sky Survey CatalogThe ROSAT All-Sky Survey has cataloged X-ray sources. It is a source of new, nearby young stars. The stars spin rapidly, generating magnetic fields which lead to hot coronae. |
