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Jacob L. Swett
Missouri State University
Advisor: Dr. Robert S. Patterson
Abstract
RR Lyrae stars are short-period pulsating stars that have a period-variability relationship that allows astronomers to use them to measure distances to globular clusters and nearby galaxies1. It is for this reason that astronomers are interested in determining the periods of RR Lyrae stars. I have recently begun to learn the procedures for determining the period of RR Lyrae stars. To determine the period, raw images were reduced using the computer program IRAF2. Once the images were processed, CCD differential photometry was used to find the magnitudes of the star. Next, the computer program AVE3 was used to search for a period in the data, and finally phase curves were graphed using Microsoft Excel.
Jacob Swett is 18 years old and is from Raymore, Missouri. He is a freshman at Missouri State University, in Springfield, Missouri, where he is majoring in Physics and Applied Mathematics. Jacob plans to attend graduate school and pursue a career in some field of science or mathematics.
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