MIT
Reports to the President 1994-95
The George R. Wallace, Jr., Astrophysical Observatory is a teaching and
research observatory located in Westford, Massachusetts. Its facilities
consist of a 24-inch telescope, a 16-inch telescope, several 14- and 8-inch
telescopes, a 5.5-inch astrograph, and a building that houses a workshop,
darkroom, computer facility, and observers' quarters. Instruments include the
SNAPSHOT high-speed dual-CCD photometer, a portable high-speed CCD occultation
system, several small CCD systems, conventional photometers, photographic
cameras, and a spectrograph. Upgrades to Observatory facilities during the
past year included re-engineering of the drive systems for the 14-
inch
telescopes and characterization of the 24-inch drive system to minimize
periodic errors. The spectrograph was successfully converted from 35-mm film
to CCD technology; work is continuing to improve the system optics.
Professor James L. Elliot continued his duties as Observatory Director.
Principal Research Scientist Heidi B. Hammel assists with site management and
telescope scheduling, with the help of Research Specialist Rich Meserole. Mr.
Michael Mattei serves as a part-time Technical Assistant for making on-site
observations and helping with optical maintenance. Other staffing (usually
students) is coordinated through research programs. The undergraduate working
on the spectrograph project--Asantha Cooray--is participating in the
Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP); other students are
supported in part by NSF's Research Experiences for Undergraduates.
Last year course 8.287J-12.110J (Observational Techniques of Optical Astronomy)
drew 12 students, who used the Wallace facilities for a variety of astronomical
projects. An additional 11 students in subject 12S23 (Observing the Stars and
Planets) used the Observatory for laboratory work. Course 12S24 (Advanced
Observations of Stars and Planets) was not offered this year. An informal
field trip for course 12.401 (Beyond the Solar System) was offered, as was an
observing session for freshmen last fall. An open house held during MIT's 1995
Independent Activities Period attracted over 40 people (mostly undergraduates;
some faculty and staff from other departments came).
Ms. Reba Bandyopadhyay, Mr. Stephen McDonald, and graduate student Catherine
Olkin used the 24-
inch
to obtain CCD data for astrometric fields surrounding the comet 2060 Chiron and
the star Ch08, which Chiron occulted in March 1994. Professor Elliot, Ms.
Olkin, and their colleagues successfully observed the occultation with NASA's
Kuiper Airborne Observatory, and they found several features that may be
signatures of jets from Chiron's nucleus. Mr. McDonald, Ms. Bandyopadhyay, and
Ms. Olkin also used CCD data from the 24-inch for astrometric and photometric
observations of occultation candidate stars for future events involving Pluto,
Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, Triton, and Titan. Astrometric and
photometric observations in support of the Hubble Space Telescope are
continuing, with Dr. Amanda Bosh (Lowell Observatory) assisting in coordination
of that effort.
Former graduate student Steve Slivan, working with Professor Richard Binzel and
undergraduate Adam Ross, used the 24-inch to observe rotational lightcurves of
asteroids Lacrimosa, Dresda, Urda, Florentina, Claudia, Eriphyla, Koronis, and
Elvira. Dr. Slivan developed an extensive database of asteroid photometry
using the Wallace facilities, and recently successfully defended his MIT
doctoral dissertation based on Wallace data.
Graduate student Jeff Foust used the 24-inch and 16-inch telescopes to prepare
the portable high-speed CCD system for observations of the collision of Comet
Shoemaker-Levy 9 with Jupiter, which occurred in mid July 1994. Mr. Foust
observed this event using the system on the Mauna Kea Planetary Patrol
Telescope (Hawaii). Ms. Bandyopadhyay and undergraduate Lisa Sopata monitored
the event at Wallace using the SNAPSHOT on the 24-inch.
Mr. McDonald and Ms. Olkin are using the 24-inch to obtain CCD data for the
astrometric fields surrounding: Pluto and the star P28 (which Pluto will
occult in July 1995); Neptune's moon Triton and the star Tr148 (which Triton
will occult in August 1995); and Saturn's moon Titan and star GSC5254-00997
(which Titan will occult in August 1995). The data will be analyzed to refine
pre-event predictions of the positions of the stars and occulting objects.
Professor Elliot, Dr. Hammel, Ms. Olkin, and colleagues have been awarded time
on the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility (Mauna Kea, Hawaii) to observe the
August occultation events.
Heidi B. Hammel
MIT
Reports to the President 1994-95