Star struck: HPU students study astronomy in Chile

The star wobbled, leading researchers at West Virginia University to believe it had an unseen, undiscovered companion ... cue help from High Point University. The researchers called on Brad Barlow, assistant professor of astrophysics, and a trio of HPU students who were studying stars at the Cerro Tololo International Observatory. Barlow said the observatory is one of the most well-known observing sites for professional astronomers in the world. As a student, he traveled several times to Chile. 'When I started working at High Point, I knew immediately I wanted to take my own students to pass on the torch, so to say,' he said. Students Eugene Filik, Aaron Marlowe and Tyler Hockett in May trekked to the Andes Mountains with Barlow, ready to observe and analyze pulsating stars and their changes in brightness as well as eclipsing stars with the SMARTS telescope. 'The students were learning, as I was, how to operate the telescope, how to move the dome, how to not break all of this really expensive equipment,' Barlow said. Twice each day, they had to pour nitrogen oxide directly into the camera of the telescope to keep it cooled, eliminating light and background noise. Filik said each day the group awoke at 4 p.m. for dinner, then went to the mountain to set up the telescope and began observing at 8 p.m. Their work continued through the night and into the early-morning hours. Bedtime was 6 a.m. 'We'd be up for 10 hours straight observing,' he said. Mid-week, the West Virginia University researchers called, Barlow said. They saw a pulsar, or compact dead star, wobbling and decided it likely had a companion. 'They couldn't see the companion but knew it was there since the star was wobbling,' he said. 'The big question was: what was the companion?' The researchers requested the HPU foursome take a closer look with the technology they had at hand in Chile. 'They asked,' Barlow said, 'and we answered.' He said he couldn't reveal much about what they found, but 'long story short, our images show something very interesting.' The group spent much of June reviewing the data and expects a draft of their findings to be completed this week. They plan to submit the information to a peer-reviewed journal soon for possible publication. 'That was a really cool moment because that was something that was brand new,' Barlow said of the group's research. 'The call came out of the blue.' Also out of the blue, but much less welcomed, was a visit from a Chilean rose tarantula Barlow said was the size of his hand. The students saw it first. 'Halfway through the night, I hear my students shriek,' he said. 'They screamed like four-year-olds.' 'Yeah, I screamed,' Filik said. 'That was me. I screamed for Dr. Barlow. He saved the day. I was going to crush it.' 'There's a lot of stuff there that can kill you,' Barlow said, but everyone escaped the incident unharmed - even the tarantula - and the research continued. The experience in Chile has been invaluable for the students - personally and, later, professionally, Barlow said. 'They controlled the telescope,' he said. 'They prepared the data. They solved a problem that had not been solved before. I can't even tell you how much that will set them apart.' The unique experience and their work will propel them forward into their careers, he said. 'Astronomy is notoriously difficult to participate in when you're an undergraduate,' Barlow said. 'Unlike biology or chemistry, we can't go poke things we study to see how they poke back.' Because students cannot simply walk down the hall to a laboratory and many observatory sites are a great distance away, Barlow said there is a barrier between undergraduates and direct research. Filik, a rising sophomore, said when people think science, they often think of a lone researcher in a laboratory. But, thanks to HPU and Barlow, Filik said he now knows astronomy requires travel and networking. Looking out over the Andes Mountains, Filik said he felt, for the first time outside of class, that he was surrounded by a group of his 'real peers,' people who share the same interest. The trip pushed him to narrow his career path from general physics to either astrophysics or geophysics, he said. 'It's definitely opened my eyes to how science really works.'

kzachary@hpe.com | 888-3534 | @HPEkristin

Entities 0 Name: Barlow Count: 12 1 Name: Filik Count: 4 2 Name: HPU Count: 3 3 Name: Chile Count: 3 4 Name: Andes Mountains Count: 2 5 Name: West Virginia University Count: 2 6 Name: Eugene Filik Count: 1 7 Name: Cerro Tololo International Observatory Count: 1 8 Name: Brad Barlow Count: 1 9 Name: Dr. Barlow Count: 1 10 Name: Aaron Marlowe Count: 1 11 Name: Tyler Hockett Count: 1 Related 0 Url: http://ift.tt/1khqqdT Title: What to do if your A-level grades are even better than you'd hoped Description: It's well known that if you're a school-leaver hoping to go to university and you miss out on your predicted grades, you can find an alternative place through Clearing - some 11% of students did so last year. But what if, come results day, you've done better than expected?

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