Chelen Johnson
Detecting Brown Dwarfs in Interacting Cataclysmic Binaries: Using Spitzer Space Telescope infrared images to determine whether the companion of the remnant star EE Eri (a white dwarf) is in fact a very low-mass object (sometimes called 'failed star') known as a brown dwarf.
Watching the students present the research we had been working on the last year was absolutely the best part of the experience for me. They made me so proud
I discovered that meaningful astronomical research does not require access to meter-class observatories or a Beowulf cluster. Given the right professional to collaborate with, it is something that I'm able to do while still working at the planetarium.
My takeaway lesson is that the students are much more tolerant of "issues" that make the research projects difficult to carry out and are generally content to be involved and learning something new.
