WHAT'S NEW
First Light on New CCD Camera
(March 2012)
The image of the galaxy M81 above is the "first-light" image taken by the new U42 CCD camera at the UIS Barber Observatory on March 14, 2012. The new camera was purchased to image supernova impostors in distant galaxies as part of a project sponsored by National Science Foundation and private donors. The field of view on the camera is exceptionally large, covering a patch of sky nearly as big across as the full moon.
Prof John Martin Named University Scholar
(October 2011)
Assistant Professor of Astronomy-Physics John Martin has been named the 2011 University Scholar for the University of Illinois Springfield. The University Scholar program honors the top scholars at the University of Illinois and is the top award for scholarship on the Springfield Campus.
http://news.uis.edu/2011/10/astronomy-and-physics-professor-john.html
Prof John Martin Earns Grant From National Science Foundation
(July 2011)
On July 1 the National Science Foundation (NSF) announced that a collaboration including UIS Assistant Professor John Martin earned a three-year grant for their proposal entitiled "On the Road to the Supernova: LBVs, Hypergiants, and SN Impostors." The project will continue and expand on Martin's collarboration with Kris Davison and Roberta Humphreys (both at the University of Minnesota) to study the end stages and instabilities in the most massive stars in the universe.
The $62,000 grant includes money to upgrade the capabilities of the 16-inch telescope at Henry Barber Research Observatory to observe "supernova imposter." A supernova imposter is an an eruption equal in magnitude to the visual brightness of a supernova that many of the most massiv stars have atleast once on their way to becoming a supernova. The great eruption of Eta Carinae in the 1850's is the prototype for these types of events. More recently supernova searchs have been discovering similar events in other galaxies. The physics and exact nature of these violent events are not well understood.
http://news.uis.edu/2011/08/uis-professor-awarded-national-grant-to.html
Prof John Martin's Article in June 2011 issue of Gemini Focus magazine
(June 2011)
The June 2011 issue of Gemini Focus magazine contains an article written by UIS Assistant Professor John Martin about his use of an infrared camera on the Gemini-South telescope to image the interior of the nebula cocooning the star Eta Carinae. Read about it online at the Gemini Focus web page:
http://www.gemini.edu/images/pio/e_newsletters/201106_gf/index.html
