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Student research and investigations is a key component of the HOU
project. Many students have used HOU to explore astronomical phenomena
and have written web-based reports. Some examples of their work is provided
here.
ASTEROIDS
February-March 2007:
International
Asteroid Search Campaign
- HOU Asteroid
Search
- Excerpt
from Feb 2005 article The Sloan
Digital Sky Survey
by Michael A.
Strauss and Gillian R. Knapp.
Sky & Telescope
magazine.
- Asteroid Research Paper by HOU student:
Using
Astronomical Databases in the Search for Minor Planets [MS
Word file]
by Breanne N. Morelli, 5 April 2006.
Mr. Tim Spuck, Instructor
Oil City High School, Oil City, PA
ABSTRACT: With an ever increasing number
of databases of digital sky survey images, data mining has become
an intense field of study yielding significant results. Data-mining
projects have led to the discovery of unknown minor planets as
well as the detection of their relative positions to our planet.
However, the lack of inexpensive technology and software in the
past has hindered large scale implementation of research by high
school students. That appears to have changed. In this study
a student at Oil City High School conducting astronomical data
mining research has provided the Minor Planet Center with data
for one known and two unknown minor planets.
- Small Telescope Parallax Group, which includes
several HOU teacher leaders, looks for asteroids
that come relatively close to Earth, whose parallax
(and hence distance) can be determined by equipment
available to amateur astronomers. See results
for asteroid 1998WT.
SUPERNOVAE
 March
28, 2006: HOU Teacher, Harlan DeVore, and astronomer, Bob
Holmes, provide research opportunities for students.
Photo by Andrew Craft |
| A NBC
news video shows Harlan's students searching for supernovae!
(requires
Windows, Flash, and Internet Explorer.) |
- News
article about discovery of Supernova 2006al,
in Abell Galaxy Cluster 1066 by Devore and
Holmes.
- Images
of Supernova 2006al, with image processing
by Harlan, using HOU astronomy software.
1 May 2006.
From: Bob Holmes (Astronomical
Research Institute - ARI)
Congratulations Cape Fear High School student Brian Graves and
instructor Harlan Devore on the discovery of Supernova 2006bu!
I want to thank everyone who conducted observations using Astronomical
Research images for this 2005-2006 school year. You have done
an outstanding job. I especially want to thank Harlan Devore
and Patrick Miller for their ground breaking work they have done
in Image Subtraction of the ARI images. Even though we have a
ways to go in producing conclusive results, I feel that these
efforts are just the beginning of future for discoveries for
everyone on the team.
See table
of NEOs that have been measured by students
and instructors and data sent to the Minor Planet
Center. |
Join the HOU Collaborating
Amateur Astronomers' network
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