NSTARS: Completing the Inventory of Nearby Stars: An automated, all-sky search for high proper-motion stars using the Digitized Sky Surveys

American Museum Natural History, New York NY

Investigators

Abstract

AST-0087313 Shara Dr. Michael Shara is conducting an all-sky survey to discover nearby high proper motion objects in the solar neighborhood using first- and second-epoch Digitized Sky Survey data. The SUPERBLINK software tool is used to identify objects that have moved between the two image epochs, roughly spaced 40 years apart. The main goal of the project is to complete the census of lower main sequence, white dwarf and subdwarf stars in the solar neighborhood. A carefully selected subset of this sample will be targets for the Space Interferometry Mission (SIM). The entire database generated by this project is incorporated into a web-accessible resource. Funding for this project is provided through the joint NSF/NASA "Nearby Stars (NStars)" initiative and the NSF Mathematical & Physical Sciences Directorate Office of Multidisciplinary Activities (MPS/OMA). ***