MCDONALD OBSERVATORY
THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN
Research Experience for Undergraduates
in Astronomy and Engineering
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Project Titles from Previous Years Several of these projects from previous years have resulted in papers.
Project Examples 
The following are
possible projects in two categories: scientific and engineering. Because
the observatory is a dynamic place with changing engineering priorities the
exact projects will be chosen and documented after the deadline for
applications are due. The following are probable projects that will be
conducted while the REU students are on site but the list is not complete.
The candidates are encouraged to express their preferences for projects
and/or advisors.
ScientificLick Indices for Isolated SO galaxiesAdvisor: Steve Odewahn In this project the student will reduce long slit spectra obtained with McDonald Telescopes and then measure Lick indices. The indices have indicators for age and metallicity and will be compared with S0 galaxies in Hickson compact groups to understand how environment impacts the evolution of this class of galaxies. This project is good for a student who wants to learn about spectroscopic reductions and analysis of galaxies. Monitoring the Host Stars of Transiting Extrasolar Planets Advisor: Seth Redfield A critical component in understanding the environment of an extrasolar planet, particularly whether it is in the habitable zone, is the behavior of the host star. As part of a major observational program to study transiting extrasolar planets, our team has a large database of stellar spectra of several host stars. One in particular, HD189733, is known to be a moderately active star, showing signs of flares and starspots. Many spectral lines are sensitive to the level of activity of the star. By measuring the properties of these lines, we can reconstruct the temporal variability of this star, and explore the consequences this may have on its orbiting extrasolar planet. Previous exposure to stellar spectra and analysis tools such as IDL would be helpful. The data is already reduced, so we can jump right into the analysis. Making Use of the Ca H line to probe the stellar Chromosphere Advisor: Matthew Shetrone 
The basic aim of this proposal is to document the onset of mass outflows from the chromospheric
regions of Population I red giants through the use of high quality CCD
spectra of the Ca II H emission line. This is an extension of our previous
survey (Smith & Shetrone 2000) which concentrated on a sub-sample of
the Wilson catalog which was detectable at soft x-ray wavelengths by ROSAT
using the Ca II K line. We propose to use these same spectra and analyze
the Ca II H line to see if there are any fundamental differences between
the H and K lines. Most of the data was collected on the Sandiford Cassegrain Echelle
spectrograph on the McDonald 82". This
type of program is ideal for an undergraduate with interests in
observational astrophysics. The observations are straightforward and while
echelle data reduction can be challenging the analysis of the observed
spectra is very straightforward. This allows the project to be fully completed
by the student in 10 weeks; from observations to final data product with a
reasonably easy to understand result.
Measuring Sky brightness from HET Science spectra Advisor: Matthew Shetrone The Hobby-Eberly Telescope (HET) is one of the largest optical telescopes in the world and specializes in spectroscopy. The HET is queue scheduled and the astronomers who send targets to the HET ask for specific sky conditions. One of those constraints is the sky brightness. We wish to develop software which will calculate the AB magnitude sky brightness from any low resolution spectrum. This project is ideal for an advanced student with some familiarity with computer programming and data reduction techniques. The final output of this project will be a code which will be used nightly at the HET and thus will have a large impact on the operations of the HET. Successful completion should lead to a poster paper at the AAS meeting and possibly a refereed journal article to advertise the technique. EngineeringRedesign of the Tracker Electronics Heat Removal SystemAdvisor: Michael McMillan The Hobby-Eberly Telescope (HET) has a large package of electronics at the top of the telescope. That package produces heat that is dumped into the light path of the telescope which negatively impacts the delivered image quality of the telescope. We need a mechanical engineer student to work with our onsite Mechanical Engineer on a new heat removal system. The current system removes the heat through a series of ducts that block a significant portion of the light collecting area of the HET. This project is good for a hands on student interested in system design and specification. HET Power System Advisor: George Damm There are two possible projects for a qualified electrical engineering student: The first would be to build a monitoring system for the facility power. Since many of the systems at the Observatory are very sensitive to power fluctuations we need to monitor and protect vital systems with clean power. The second project involves a restructuring the way power is routed to the telescope. Currently the HET brings AC power to the telescope tracker (the moving secondary) and then uses a number of local AC-DC adapters. Each of these adapters dissipates a significant amount of heat that then must be removed with a large heat exchange system. An alternative approach to this situation is to run DC power directly to the tracker from the ground and avoid the local adapters. The implementation of this program would be given to a qualified electrical engineering student who would work closely with the electrical engineer and electrical technician in its design and implementation. Environmental Data Collection Advisor: Jim Fowler Knowledge of the current atmospheric environment is important at an observatory for the safety of the telescope as well as to optimize observations. Although the Hobby*Eberly Telescope collects weather and seeing measurements already we would like to add additional monitors in order to better characterize the local environment. A student could write applications to collect and archive the data. This requires some knowledge of hardware/software interaction and interface issues. The student would work with Onewire RS232 protocol coding and would write the output to an ascii database. This project is ideal for an EE student interested in improving their software skills or a CE student interested in working with hardware. A GIS representation of McDonald Observatory Advisors: Rex Barrick 
McDonald Observatory is a small town in many respects.
It has a water supply and treatment system, road infrastructures,
electrical and phone systems, housing areas and industrial areas. Trying to
manage these infrastructures has always been a challange. As part of an
upgrade to the management of the system the Observatory would like to
create a ArcGIS map of the entire facility with hyperlinks and
topographical markings. This project would be ideal for someone with some
exposure to the GIS environment and an interest in mapping or city
planning.
Encoding of the 2.1m dome position Advisor: Earl Green A previous year's REU student worked on replacement of the slip ring controls. Next step will be to encode the 2.1m dome positions and allow for automation of this dome so that its motion can be synced to the telescope position. The expectation is that we would use RFID tags since we already know about problems with bar codes. Tasks would include testing equipment in the lab, designing attachment fixture, locate and install about 1000 tags, align and checkout system and develop software to readout dome position data for observers. This is a high profile project to make significant improvements to one of the key McDonald Observatory Telescopes. This project is ideal for an EE or a CE student with an interest in hands on electronics. |