Colloquium: Dr. Matthew Craig

Dr. Matthew Craig

Department of Physics and Astronomy

Minnesota State University Moorhead

Moorhead, MN

 

Variable Star Photometry: A Sampler

Minnesota State University Moorhead operates a small research-grade telescope at a dark site east of campus which was refurbished two years ago. Since then we have been building a research program in variable star photometry: the study of the variation of the brightness of a star over time. This talk will outline a representative sample of the current projects being carried out at the observatory. They include the first reported period for a particular RR Lyrae-type pulsating variable, an attempt at characterizing the pulsations of a δ Scutii variable and measurement of a light curve for the Type I supernova SN 2011fe.