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

克莱尔·默里被授予NSF天文学和天体物理学博士后奖学金，在约翰霍普金斯大学进行研究和教育计划。 默里将观测银河系中的尘埃气体，以准确解释星光被介入物质遮蔽或“变红”的原因。 这将使天文学家能够了解银河系的复杂结构及其演变，并准确解释通过银河系物质的河外光线的观测结果。 除了这项研究，默里将开发一个推广计划，以促进在城市环境中的观星。默里将研究尘埃气体使用高分辨率的大规模观测原子氢可从银河阿雷西博L波段饲料阵列-HI调查。 她还将使用Gaia Data Release 2的红化估计来校准气体和尘埃属性之间的关系。 这将使她能够以迄今为止最高的分辨率和保真度绘制出星际变红的地图。 此外，默里还将描述恒星形成区域的中性包层以及银河系环境对从原子气体到分子气体转变的影响。 对于她工作的教育部分，默里将开发一个项目，让城市地区的公众参与天文学，她将通过在当地州立公园的一系列教育演示来部署这个项目。这个奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

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.