Published: February 15, 2006
Ms. Thomas worked with 70 6th graders on February 28th and taught them about the electromagnetic spectrum. The students did activities to learn about infrared and also watched a short powerpoint on the Spitzer Space Telescope. After the AAS meeting, Ms. Thomas along with Howard Chun and Beth Thomas, worked with Steve Howell and submitted a follow-on observation proposal (submitted end of January). From their initial Brown Dwarf study, a possible dust disk was discovered surrounding both the brown dwarf and white dwarf pair. The group requested a spectra of one of their objects to resolve the true nature of what they were observing. The proposal was accepted (2/15) and the team is now waiting to be placed on the Spitzer observing schedule. They also worked on an ApJ Letter with Steve Howell describing the dust disk discovery during the months of January and February. The ApJ Letter was submitted, reviewed, resubmitted, and, as of 3/20/06, the letter is still in its second review.