20th Annual Student Research Conference
Science
Differential Photometry of Eclipsing Binary Stars
Paul G. Blesz*, Samantha R. Sweet, Nirab Manandhar, Violet M. Poole, Om Goit, Kendra Lee, and Joost Vermue
Dr. Matthew M. Beaky, Faculty Mentor
Many stars are members of binary systems, where two stars revolve around a common center of mass. Binary systems are of particular interest because they have a unique orbital geometry, which allows us to extract physical information about the individual stars such as mass, radius, temperature, and luminosity. This information is determined from the light curve, which is a plot of the varying brightness of the binary system as one star eclipses the other. We used a charge-coupled device (CCD) camera with the 14-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope at Truman Observatory and the 31-inch reflecting telescope at the Lowell Observatory to record images of eclipsing binary stars over several nights. These images were then analyzed to produce light curves, which were used to estimate physical parameters for the individual stars. We will present the results of our observations of several eclipsing binary systems over the last eight months.
Keywords: Astronomy, Eclipsing Binary , Stars, CCD Photometry
Topic(s):Physics
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 13-1
Location: VH 1416
Time: 8:15 am