Wesleyan 24’’ Observing Program
About the program
The goal of the program is to give budding astronomers at Wesleyan the opportunity to gain experience operating a research telescope. Students utilize Van Vleck Observatory’s 24” Perkin research telescope, collecting data for use in a range of faculty- and student-run research projects, detailed below.
If you are an astronomy student and would like to request time on the 24” telescope, either for ASTR 211 labs or for research purposes, please fill out this form.
Current projects
Transiting white dwarfs: A longstanding project under supervision of Professor Seth Redfield, lightcurves from observations of white dwards are analyzed in search of exoplanets orbiting these objects.
Galactic tidal streams: Started by Wes astronomy alumnus Anthony Santini (B.A. ‘18, M.A. ‘19), this project looks for streams of matter ejected from galaxies after interactions with other galaxies.
Transient black hole binaries: While the 24” is no exception to the fact that X-ray emission can’t be seen with ground-based instruments, this project looks for emission from the optical counterparts (stars) of X-ray binaries identified by senior astronomy major Mason V. Tea using data from the Chandra X-ray space telescope.
Getting involved
Wesleyan students are welcome to contact the Student Director, Mason V. Tea (mtea@wesleyan.edu), with questions about getting involved with the program. Preference is given to (1) astronomy majors, (2) prospective astronomy majors and (3) those taking/having taken one of ASTR 155 or ASTR 211 and/or involved in research in the astronomy department.