Utah Aurora - May 10/11 2024

BYU Astronomy Research Group Joins the Astrophysical Research Consortium (ARC)

As of January 2021 BYU will be a member of the ARC Consortium (Link to Consortium) with access to the ARC 3.5-m telescope and the 0.5-m ARCSAT telescope.  The primary use of the ARC 3.5-m telescope time is for graduate student projects.  This provides a wide array of instrumentation that is currently being used to study objects in the solar system all the way to studies of the large scale structure of the Universe.

Other BYU Astronomy Facilities

In addition to our telescope time from the ARC consortium, we operate a number of our own astronomical facilities

West Mountain Observatory (West Mountain)

This is our mountain observatory at about 6600 ft above sea level.  This consists of three telescopes: 0.9-m, 0.5-m, and a 0.32-m. It is a 40 minute drive that ends in a 5 miles drive up a dirt road. The mountain itself can be seen from campus. We don't provide any tours of this facility.

Orson Pratt Observatory

The Orson Pratt Observatory is named for an early apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  It is our campus telescope facility and contains a wide variety of telescopes for student research and public outreach. We operate a 24" PlaneWave telescope in the main campus dome, plus a 16", two 12", one 8", and a 6" telescope on our observation deck.  The telescopes are all fully robotic. Beyond this we have a large sections of telescopes used on public nights.

Royden G. Derrick Planetarium (Planetarium)

This is a 119 seat, 39" dome planetarium with acoustically treated walls to allow it's use as a lecture room. Recently we upgraded to an E&S Digistar7 operating system with 4K projectors.  The planetarium is used for teaching classes, public outreach, and astronomy education research projects.





Selected Publications

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Near Infrared Photometry of L and T Dwarfs
To better understand and model the atmospheres of L (Teff ˜2200 K to 1400 K) and T (Teff ⪉ 1300 K) dwarfs, we've obtained K- and L-band photometry with the Keck I telescope for a representative sample. These observations were motivated in part by our desire to understand the abundance of CH4 and H2O particularly at the L to T transition where CO reacts with H2 to produce these molecules. Here we present our most recent observations, discuss the trends we observe in color, and compare the Keck K and L' filters with the new Mauna Kea Observatory (MKO) K and L' filters.
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The classification of L dwarfs: Is it based on clouds or temperature?
A continuous L dwarf classification sequence requires the combined use of far optical (visible) and near infrared spectral indices. However, the visible and near infrared indices currently in use assign subtypes that differ by up to three subclasses due to differences in cloud opacity for objects with the same effective temperature. Therefore, it may be impossible to combine visible and near infrared spectral indices to create one L dwarf classification system, and two classification variables maybe necessary.
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Detection of two binary trans-Neptunian objects, 1997 CQ(29) and 2000 CF105, with the Hubble Space Telescope
Images of the trans-Neptunian objects 1997 CQ(29) and 2000 CF105 obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope WFPC2 camera show them to be binary. The two components of 1997 CQ29 were separated in our images by 0."20 +/- 0."03 in 2001 November and by 0."33 +/- 0."01 in 2002 June/July. The corresponding minimum physical distances are 6100 and 10,200 km. The companion to 2000 CF105 was 0."78 +/- 0."03 from the primary, at least 23,400 km. Six other objects in the trans-Neptunian region, including Pluto and its moon Charon, are known to be binaries; 1997 CQ29 and 2000 CF105 are the seventh and eighth known pair. Binarity appears to be a not uncommon characteristic in this region of the solar system, with detectable companions present in 4% +/- 2% of the objects we have examined.
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L-band photometry of L and T dwarfs
We present K- and L-band photometry obtained with the Keck I telescope for a representative sample of L and T dwarfs. These observations were motivated in part by the dominant role H(2)O and CH(4) play in shaping the flux near 2 and 3 mum and by the potential use of these bands as indicators of spectral class in the infrared. In addition, these observations aid the determination of the bolometric luminosity of L and T dwarfs. Here we report the K, L', and L(s) magnitudes of our objects and the trends observed in the (K-L') and (K-L(s)) colors as a function of L and T dwarf spectral class. We compare these colors with theoretical models, derive a relationship between effective temperature and L spectral class, and compare our temperature estimates with others.
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L-Band Photometry and Spectroscopy of L and T Dwarfs: Exploring Infrared Spectral Typing
The classification of L and T dwarfs requires the identification of easily observed quantities such as colour ratios or strengths of spectral features. Although current classification schemes based on optical spectroscopy for L dwarfs do exist, it is important to classify L and T dwarfs using other wavelengths as well. Observations of L and T dwarfs at infrared wavelengths are sensitive to physical processes controlling the atmospheres and temperatures of brown dwarfs which provide for the possibility of L and T dwarf classification using infrared observations. Here we present the first results of our observing program using the Keck telescope to obtain infrared photometry and spectroscopy of L and T dwarfs.
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Narrow Band Near Infrared Photometry of Brown Dwarfs