Collaborative Research: Unearthing the Young Stars in Aquila

合作研究：发掘天鹰座的年轻恒星

• 批准号: 2206443
• 负责人: Travis Rector
• 金额: $ 13.63万
• 依托单位: University of Alaska Anchorage Campus
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-08-01 至 2025-07-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2206443&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Unearthing; Young; Stars

A major goal in astronomy is to understand the conditions necessary to form stars. Stars begin their lives in giant, dusty clouds of gas. The Orion Nebula is a spectacular example of such a cloud in which many stars are forming. A particularly interesting star forming region is the Aquila Rift, a massive expanse of dark gas clouds. The Rift is important because no other nebula so large and potentially rich in young stars lies this close to the Sun. For many decades astronomers have been puzzled by the lack of young stars in the Rift because it contains enough gas to form about a hundred thousand Suns. Yet only a few young stars had been identified in the Rift. One way to find evidence of forming stars is to look for Herbig-Haro (HH) objects- distinct jets of gas that are produced by young stars. A new method has proven successful in finding several dozen new HH objects in the Rift, many in places where none had been seen before. Their discovery shows that many more stars are forming in the Rift than previously thought. The goal of this project is to complete a comprehensive survey of the Rift to better understand the extent of star formation within its clouds. The survey will use the "Dark Energy" Camera (DECam) on the Blanco 4-meter telescope at the Cerro Tololo Interamerican observatory, which is operated by NSF's NOIRLab. It is the only telescope in the world that can do this search.This search for HH objects in the Rift will be developed by Dr. Rector into a "Curriculum for Undergraduate Research Experience" (CURE). CUREs are an established instructional model that integrates scientific research with education by giving introductory-level undergraduate students an opportunity to do authentic research with real data. Its goals are threefold: (1) to teach that science is a process of discovery, not just a body of knowledge, (2) to improve attitudes towards science and STEM careers, and (3) to develop critical thinking, teamwork and goal-driven work skills important in any career. Dr. Prato will also mentor her undergraduate students and participate in outreach activities, particularly as a role model to women in science and to girls interested in pursuing science as a career. Prato actively mentors professional junior women at Lowell and NAU. Furthermore, Prato is developing a curriculum for a professional development workshop aimed at providing advanced undergraduates and early-career graduate students with critical professional advice of the type that is not typically taught in class. Prato is also leading a major effort to provide information and resources for high school students in under-resourced communities to pursue secondary STEM education.This project is jointly funded by the Astronomy Division and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).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.

天文学的一个主要目标是了解形成恒星所需的条件。恒星的生命始于巨大的尘埃气体云。猎户座星云是这种云中形成许多恒星的壮观例子。一个特别有趣的恒星形成区域是天鹰裂谷，这是一片巨大的暗气体云。裂谷很重要，因为没有其他星云如此巨大且可能富含年轻恒星，距离太阳如此之近。几十年来，天文学家一直对裂谷中缺乏年轻恒星感到困惑，因为它含有足够的气体来形成大约十万个太阳。然而，在裂谷中只发现了几颗年轻的恒星。 寻找恒星形成证据的一种方法是寻找赫比格-哈罗（HH）天体——由年轻恒星产生的独特气体喷流。事实证明，一种新方法成功地在裂谷中发现了数十个新的 HH 物体，其中许多位于以前从未见过的地方。他们的发现表明，裂谷中正在形成的恒星比之前想象的要多得多。该项目的目标是完成对裂谷的全面调查，以更好地了解裂谷云内恒星形成的范围。该调查将使用托洛洛山美洲天文台布兰科 4 米望远镜上的“暗能量”相机 (DECam)，该望远镜由 NSF 的 NOIRLab 运营。它是世界上唯一能够进行这种搜索的望远镜。Rector 博士将把对裂谷中 HH 天体的搜索开发成“本科生研究经验课程”(CURE)。 CURE 是一种既定的教学模式，通过为入门级本科生提供使用真实数据进行真实研究的机会，将科学研究与教育融为一体。其目标有三个：(1) 教导人们科学是一个发现的过程，而不仅仅是知识体系；(2) 改善人们对科学和 STEM 职业的态度；(3) 培养对任何职业都很重要的批判性思维、团队合作和目标驱动的工作技能。 普拉托博士还将指导她的本科生并参加外展活动，特别是作为科学界女性和有兴趣以科学为职业的女孩的榜样。普拉托积极指导洛厄尔大学和 NAU 的职业年轻女性。此外，普拉托正在为专业发展研讨会开发课程，旨在为高年级本科生和早期职业研究生提供课堂上通常不会教授的关键专业建议。普拉托还领导了一项重大工作，为资源贫乏社区的高中生提供中学 STEM 教育的信息和资源。该项目由天文学部和刺激竞争性研究既定计划 (EPSCoR) 共同资助。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。