Professional
I completed two degrees in May 2000 from the University of Arizona, one in Astronomy and Physics, the other in Religious Studies. In September of 2005 I completed my PhD in Planeary Astronomy at MIT with a thesis studying the frequency, orbital and resolved rotational properties of Binary Kuiper Belt objects (KBOs).

Research
At the end of my second year at the U of A I began to work with Dr. Don McCarthy and the NICMOS (Near-Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer)Project.This research lead me to explore near-infrared astronomy of comets and (at the time,newly discovered) Kuiper Belt objects (KBOs). Our observations of Hale Bopp caught it during an outburst over a span of nearly two hours.
   
From Hale Bopp I moved onto studying the Kuiper Belt and their escapees, the Centaurs. My thesis for the Honors Program consisted of spectroscopy (NICMOS), photometry and a small amount of astrometry fora handful of these objects. My graduate research continued in the same realm.The NICMOS spectroscopy proved to be very difficult, but resulted in some interesting results (see links to papers below). My original work in photometry was to measure the lightcurves of six KBOs (work done in collaboration with Dr. Mark Wagner, LBTO).Our astrometry program measured positions for recovery observations of newly discovered KBOs, for which we might later do further studies.

During a summer REU program I worked with Dr. Marc Buie at Lowell Observatory on ground and space based spectroscopy of Pluto. In my gaduate program at MIT I worked with Dr. Jim Elliot on Kuiper Belt Objects as part of the Deep Ecliptic Survey team, a project aimed at discovering and dynamically characterizing 500 new KBOs. My thesis work in addition to the survey focused on the rotational signatures of binary KBOs and other KBOs that might show themselves to be binary using the Magellan telescopes in Chile in combination with the instrument MagIC, developed by my current advisor and Dr. Dave Osip at Las Campanas Observatory.

A list of publicaions I have either authored or worked on can be found at the bottom of this page.

Contact Information
Dr. Susan Kern
Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)
3700 San Martin Dr.
Baltimore, MD 21218
Phone 410-338-5041

Teaching
As an undergraduate I worked with Dr. Larry Lebofsky and his wife Nancy doing educational outreach in astronomy. I helped with a program called Project ARTIST which gives teachers additional background for teaching astronomy in their classrooms. Some of the activities developed for this program can be found at:http://www.u.arizona.edu/~lebofsky . I helped to run the Tucson NASA Teacher Resource Center which provides teachers and others with educational materials that are space science related.I also had the opportunity to help Larry begin the undergraduate Preceptor program at the Univerisity of Arizona in the Lunar and Planetary Department.

In 2003 I became a counselor for Dr. Don McCarthy's astronomy camp(s) for teens and adults.For more information on camp, look at: http://www.astronomycamp.org . Don and I have also written an article together that talks about disposable cameras and some cool things you can do with them to take pictures of the night sky. You can find the article at: http://www.astrosociety.org/education/publications/tnl/50/camera1.html

As a graduate student I was a laboratory instructor for three classes at MIT: Observational Techniques of Optical Astronomy, Hands-On Astronomy: Observing Stars and Planets and Astronomy Field Camp at Lowell Observatory, and helped to oversee many summer and semester projects with MIT undergraduates.

Astronomy Links
    In 6th grade I had the opportunity to meet Clyde Tombaugh, the man who discovered Pluto. Since then my interests have always focused on the Outer Solar system. You can go to the Minor Planet Center for information about small bodies in our solar system or to learn about new objects that are discovered or need to be followed up.

Information about our current Kuiper Belt discoveries can be found here: Lowell Observatory
Especially notable objects from our data base are:

2000CR105 – a KBO with q>44AU
2001QT297, 2003UN284, 2003QY90 and 2005EO304 – all binaries
2000OO67 – a KBO with a highly elongated orbit
2001QR322 – the first Neptune trojan

If you are interested in planetary missions and other good planetary astronomy sites, click here.
If you are looking for astronomy or physics articles, try searching the ADS database or AstroPH.
For mission images and other educational information, try the LPL Outreach Page and the Space Imagery Center at the U of A.

If you are a student trying to run IDL at MIT, click here: IDLroutines

Ministry Links
In addition to science, I have been part of a number of Christian missions groups which have taken me around the world... Israel, Italy and Prednystrovia, Ukraine... in addition to our own back yard, Estes Park, Colorado. Check out links to groups I have travelled with in the past:

The CONTINENTALS  – This is an organization which allows individualsto use their musical talents and to travel all over the world sharing the message of the love of the Lord Jesus Christ.
 

Bible Study Fellowship International (BSF) – Bible Study Fellowship is an indepth study of Scripture which is eye opening and life changing. It is an international program and has classes all overthe globe. Over a number of years we study the majority of theBible book by book. The studies include: The life of Moses, John, The history of Israel and the Minor Prophets, Acts of the Apostles, Genesis, Romans, and Matthew.
 

The Rafiki Foundation – A missionary program directed by Rosemary Jensen to help widows and orphans make godly contributions to their country.

Publications

Buie, M. W., R. L. Millis, L. H. Wasserman, J. L. Elliot, S. D. Kern, K. B. Clancy, E. I. Chiang, A. B. Jordan, K. J. Meech, R. M. Wagner, D. E. Trilling, Procedures, resources and selected results of the Deep Ecliptic Survey, Earth, Moon, and Planets, 92, 113-124, 2003.

Chiang, E. I., A. B. Jordan, R. L. Millis, M. W. Buie, L. H. Wasserman, J. L. Elliot, S. D. Kern, D. E. Trilling, K. J. Meech, R. M. Wagner, Resonance occupation in the Kuiper belt: Case examples of the 5:2 and 1:1 resonances, Astronomical Journal, 126, 430-443, 2003.

Elliot, J. L., S. D. Kern, Pluto's atmosphere and a targeted-occultation search for other bound KBO atmospheres, Earth, Moon, and Planets, 92, 375-393, 2003.

Elliot, J. L., S. D. Kern, K. B. Clancy, A. A. S. Gulbis, R. L. Millis, M. W. Buie, L. H. Wasserman, E. I. Chiang, A. B. Jordan, D. E. Trilling, K. J. Meech, The Deep Ecliptic Survey: A search for Kuiper belt objects and Centaurs. II. Dynamical classification, the Kuiper belt plane, and the core population, Astronomical Journal, 129, 1117-1162, 2005.

Elliot, J. L. et al., 2003 QY90, IAU Circ. No.8235.

Elliot, J. L. et al., 2001 QT297, IAU Circ. No.7733 & 7765.

Elliot, J. L., A. Ates, B. A. Babcock, A. S. Bosh, M. W. Buie, K. B. Clancy, E. W. Dunham, S. S. Eikenberry, D. T. Hall, S. D. Kern, S. K. Leggett, S. E. Levine, D.-S. Moon, C. B. Olkin, D. J. Osip, J. M. Pasachoff, B. E. Penprase, M. J. Person, S. Qu, J. T. Rayner, L. C. Roberts Jr., C. V. Salyk, S. P. Souza, R. C. Stone, B. W. Taylor, D. J. Tholen, J. E. Thomas-Osip, D. R. Ticehurst, L. H. Wasserman, The recent expansion of Pluto's atmosphere, Nature, 424, 165-168, 2003.

Gulbis, A. A. S, J. L. Elliot, M. J. Person, E. R. Adams, B. A. Babcock, M. Emilio, J. W. Gangestad, S.D. Kern, E. A. Kramer, D. J. Osip, J. M. Pasachoff, S. P. Souza, and T. Tuvikene, Charon's radius and atmospheric constraints from stellar occultation observations, Nature, 439, 48-51, 2006.

Kern, S. D. 2005.A Study of Binary Kuiper Belt Objects. Ph.D. Thesis MIT: Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences.

Kern, S.D., and J.L. Elliot, Characteristics of Binary Kuiper Belt Object 2003QY90, Icarus, 183,179-185, 2006.

Kern, S.D., and J.L. Elliot, The frequency of binary Kuiper belt objects, ApJ. Lett., 643, 57-60, 2006.

Kern, S.D., D.W. McCarthy, M.W. Buie, R.H. Brown, H. Campins, and M. Rieke, Compositional Variation on the Surface of Centaur 8405 Asbolus, ApJ. Lett., 542, 155-159, 2000.

McCarthy, D., S. Stolovy, S. Kern, G. Schneider, A. Ferro, H. Spinrad, J. Black, and B. Smith, NICMOS/HST Post-Perihelion Images of Comet Hale-Bopp in Outburst, Earth, Moon, & Planets, 78, 243.

Millis, R. L. et al., 2003 UN284, IAU Circ. No.8251.

Millis, R. L., M. W. Buie, L. H. Wasserman, J. L. Elliot, S. D. Kern, R. M. Wagner, The Deep Ecliptic Survey: A search for Kuiper Belt objects and Centaurs I. Description of methods and initial results, Astronomical Journal, 123, 2083-2109, 2002.

Osip, D. J., S. D. Kern, J. L. Elliot, Physical characterization of the binary Edgeworth-Kuiper Belt object 2001 QT297, Earth, Moon, and Planets, 92, 409-421, 2003.

always remember that

"For no matter how many promises God has made,

they are 'Yes' in Christ." 2 Corinthians 1:20

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I can be reached by e-mail at susank@mit.edu
This page was last updated March 30, 2006