NOTE: This meeting will be in person at FURMAN UNIVERSITY, not at the Science Center. Location and Map are listed below:

We also had a speaker & topic change.  The meteorite talk has been moved to July 17, and the following will be our talk tonight.

Understanding & Tracking Transiting Exoplanets & their host stars

Transiting planet systems offer a unique opportunity to measure precise radii of planets and their host stars. Observing transiting systems have led to advances in understanding the demographics of exoplanet populations, their atmospheres, and their internal structures. However, much of what we can infer about transiting planets, and our ability to interpret their shadows, depends on our knowledge of exoplanet host stars. Relative photometry and radial velocity measurements alone only constrain the host star density, leaving a one-parameter mass-radius degeneracy. I assess the magnitude of systematic errors in the derived system parameters relative to their statistical precision due to different methods of breaking this degeneracy. There are also many opportunities for amateur astronomers to contribute to confirming and characterizing transiting exoplanets! Soon, NASA’s upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will lead to a paradigm shift by observing hundreds of thousands of transiting planets. Understanding the host stars for these planets and interpreting their shadows will usher in an new era of exoplanet science.

Dr. Alison Duck

I recently defended my PhD from the astronomy department at The Ohio State University working with Prof. Scott Gaudi. I am from Maryland's rural and remote Eastern Shore and completed my bachelor's degree at the University of Maryland, College Park. My research focuses on quantifying the systematic errors present in transiting exoplanets and their host stars. I am passionate about mentorship and am involved with the Polaris mentorship program at OSU.

He invites you to visit his website - https://mysteryandawe.com

LOCATION:

We will meet in a  classroom in Plyler Hall 222 in the Townes Science Center.  Visitors can park in the South Chapel Lot, which is the parking lot between the Daniel Chapel and the football stadium (park closer to the chapel side – see attached map, follow the red arrow).  The building is across the Mall from the parking lot.  The classroom is on the second floor; there is stair and elevator access near the classroom.