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Two PLU students spend the summer reading the stars

Two PLU students spend the summer reading the stars

Physic professors Katrina Hay and Sean O’Neill and students Julian Kop ’24 and Jessica Ordaz ’24 observe and characterize variable stars and globular clusters at PLU’s W. M. Keck Observatory.

Posted by: / August 28, 2023
PLU students is standing on a ladder in front of a large telescope placing a mask over the front of the telescope.

Image: As part of their summer research at PLU, physics professors Sean O’Neill and Katrina Hay, and student researchers Julian Kop (pictured) and Jessica Ordaz utilize the specialized telescope at the W. M. Keck Observatory to observe and photograph stars and globular clusters. (PLU Photo / Sy Bean)

August 28, 2023

“Capturing astronomy images is rewarding but can be challenging,” said professor of physics Katrina Hay.

“It requires long exposures or stacked images, focusing in cold dark conditions, climbing a ladder to access the telescope, tracking objects as they move across the sky, and merging several color-filtered images to make a full-color image. Then the physics begins! Our students optimize these skills to capture the best images for use in their investigations- observing dynamics, temperatures, and luminosity of celestial objects,” Hay concluded.

  • Dr. O'Neill is assembling the 3D-printed Bahtinov Mask, unique for PLU's telescope. The mask makes focusing the telescope on a star easier before image capture.
    Seeing Stars:Dr. O'Neill is assembling the 3D-printed Bahtinov Mask, unique for PLU's telescope. The mask makes focusing the telescope on a star easier before image capture.

  • O'Neill looks on while interns discuss celestial image processing. Kop is making light curves, showing how the brightness of several variable stars changes over time. Ordaz captured images of globular clusters, constructing diagrams based on temperature and luminosity to estimate the age of these ancient clusters.

    Mentorship:O'Neill looks on while interns discuss celestial image processing. Kop is making light curves, showing how the brightness of several variable stars changes over time. Ordaz captured images of globular clusters, constructing diagrams based on temperature and luminosity to estimate the age of these ancient clusters.

  • Two students and a professor stand in the observatory looking at the telescope.

    Mentorship:O'Neill looks on while interns discuss celestial image processing. Kop is making light curves, showing how the brightness of several variable stars changes over time. Ordaz captured images of globular clusters, constructing diagrams based on temperature and luminosity to estimate the age of these ancient clusters.

STUDENT VOICES: Kop and Ordaz share their summer research from the W. M. Keck Observatory

Julian Kop ’24 classifies variable star systems, data processing and modeling.

“Astronomy and Astrophysics have been my childhood and career interest since I was an elementary student, and engaging in undergraduate astronomy research kept me motivated and inspired throughout this entire summer,” reflected senior physics major Julian Kop.

Two star systems, RR Lyrae and 68 Herculis, exhibit remarkable fluctuations in brightness, rendering them ideal subjects for telescope observation, especially during the summertime in Tacoma. Kop photographed the stars as they underwent their luminous transformations, and by analyzing these images, he could determine the time it takes for the stars to go through their changes in brightness.

“My research is on Variable Stars or stars whose brightness is known to change over time. By operating the telescope and utilizing the observatory’s charge-coupled device (CCD) camera, I could image a small set of variable stars to track the changes in brightness,” said Kop. 

  • PLU students is standing on a ladder in front of a large telescope placing a mask over the front of the telescope.
    3-D Printing:“I am placing what is known as a Bahtinov Mask on our Meade LX200 16" telescope at the observatory,” stated Kop. “The purpose of the Bahtinov Mask is to assist in focusing on objects seen through the telescope. This ensures that the stars I was imaging had a normal appearance of a circular dot; this particular mask was 3D-printed by Matthew Hacker.”
  • PLU student is sitting in front of two computer screens looking at the moon.
    Observing the Moon:“I am using the observatory desktop computer to utilize a free software package known as AstroImageJ, a professional astronomy program that I used extensively throughout this summer to compute data for my research,” said Kop. “The image on the monitor showcases an image we took of the Moon when we had free time.”

Jessica Ordaz ’24 analyzes observations of globular clusters to estimate the minimum age of the universe.

“This was definitely the opportunity of a lifetime for me,” reflected Jessica Ordaz. “Astronomy was a childhood obsession of mine. YouTube videos, books, movies, and shows, I used to want to know everything about this field of study, so when I saw that my two favorite professors were leading an astronomy summer research, I knew I had to be a part of it.” 

In the mesmerizing depths of the universe lies a treasure trove of history known as globular clusters. These stellar time capsules are home to some of the oldest stars in our galaxy, holding secrets of the past. Jessica Ordaz spent the summer studying these ancient star clusters using Hertzsprung-Russell diagrams to estimate ages and measure their brightness and temperature. Star clusters, M13, also known as the Hercules Cluster, are visible from Tacoma during the summer.

  • Student stand in front of large telescope. Another student watches with their arms folded.
    Falling in love with space:“This was the first telescope I had ever looked into. Even something as simple as the moon completely blew me away, and the clusters of stars were life-changing. I’ve fallen in love with the night sky.”

  • Student works at a lab table looking at a mask that will be placed over the telescope. A professor stands next to her.

    Making a Bahtinov Mask:“Professor O'Neill is talking with me about our 3-D printed Bahtinov mask as I glue the pieces together and make sure it is as flat and smooth as possible in order to achieve the best function when we put it on the telescope,” said Ordaz.

Ordaz continued, “Reflecting on my research experience, the unexpected issues with research never deterred me. I really started to smile at those snags in our workflow because I always came out knowing something new. As many frustrations as I may have experienced, I’d definitely choose to go through them again because I made some fantastic memories and developed lifelong skills I’ll forever cherish.”