U.S.-New Zealand Cooperative Research: A Tended Automatic Photometric Telescope for the Southern Hemisphere

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This award will enable collaborative research between Dr. Michael Zeilik of the University of New Mexico and Dr. Edwin Budding of the Carter Observatory, New Zealand. They will investigate the manifestations of magnetic activity in selected sunlike stars by parallel programs of careful photometric observations and phenomenological analysis of the data. The observations will be carried out by a tended automated photometric telescope sited in New Zealand. Implementation of a tended automated photometric telescope in New Zealand will initiate a patrol of active stars in the Southern Hemisphere complementary to the observation programs already underway at various Northern Hemisphere observatories. Data from the telescope will yield insight into the patterns of stellar activity and how they compare and contrast to those seen in the sun. Dr. Budding brings to the project the resources of the Carter Observatory in New Zealand and his own expertise in the modeling of starspot light curves. Dr. Zeilik has been involved in the implementation of tended automated photometric telescope systems at Northern Hemisphere sites.