The multidimensional structure of dusty, neutral gas in the Milky Way Galaxy

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Claire Murray is awarded an NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellowship to conduct a program of research and education at Johns Hopkins University. Murray will observe dusty gas in the Milky Way to accurately account for the obscuration or "reddening" of starlight by the intervening matter. This would allow astronomers to understand the complex structure of the Milky Way and its evolution, as well as to accurately interpret observations of extragalactic light which passes through the matter in the Milky Way. Alongside this research, Murray will develop an outreach program to promote stargazing in urban settings.Murray will study dusty gas using high-resolution large-scale observations of atomic hydrogen available from the Galactic Arecibo L-band Feed Array-HI survey. She will also use reddening estimates from Gaia Data Release 2 to calibrate the relationship between gas and dust properties. This will allow her to produce a map of interstellar reddening at the highest resolution and fidelity possible to date. In addition, Murray will characterize the neutral envelopes of star-forming regions and the effect of the Galactic environment on the transition from atomic to molecular gas. For the educational component of her work, Murray will develop a program for public engagement with astronomy in urban areas, and she will deploy this program through a series of educational presentations in local state parks.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.