Capstone Research (Fall 2018)

My senior capstone project is focused on a type of variable star called RR Lyraes. These stars show periodic changes in brightness on relatively small timescales, making them ideal targets to observe for short periods of time. In the Fall of 2018, my project was mainly focused on observing a particular RR Lyrae, which is known to exhibit something called the Blazhko effect– a secondary variation in brightness occurring over a longer period of time than the “normal” change in brightness one would expect for an RR Lyrae. Using the RIT Observatory, I was able to take some images of my target star, but sadly, weather and other observational constraints prevented image-taking on many nights– I was unable to definitively show that my target star demonstrated the Blazhko effect.

However, because planning observations of variable stars can be tricky, I ended up creating a useful tool for myself in Python which aids in planning observations of variable stars– I am currently working on making this tool public. More information about this project can be found here.

For more information about my capstone project and its progression since the Fall, click here.