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Justin Travis Gilker
Missouri State University
Advisor: Dr. Michael Reed
Abstract
There are currently no surveys that are designed to search for variability at timescales less than one minute. We propose to start the first survey designed for this reason and to conduct it using the facilities at Baker Observatory. This could lead to discoveries of new classes of variable stars, and unpredictable discoveries, since this has not been done before. In preparation of this survey, we have been doing preliminary work to determine the sensitivity of our equipment to variability at various timescales and exploring methods to efficiently detect and classify variability for the large quantity of objects that a survey would observe. We have been writing new programs to facilitate this need while also exploring the use of multi-object photometric techniques.
Justin Gilker is from Anderson, Missouri, and is currently a junior at Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri. Justin is majoring in Physics with a minor in Astronomy within the Department of Physics, Astronomy, and Material Science. After he earns his undergraduate degree, Justin hopes to pursue a Doctorate degree in Astrophysics.
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