Exploring the Solar Neighborhood with the GALEX All Sky Survey

University Of California-Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz CA

Investigators

Abstract

The history of element creation in our Milky Way galaxy is preserved in dwarf stars. By observing the nearby stars at ultraviolet (UV) wavelengths the investigators will unravel that history. The investigators will use the GALEX satellite images to measure the properties of the relatively faint dwarf stars in the solar neighborhood. These observations, made at UV wavelengths, complement observations made at the optical and infrared wavelengths with ground based telescopes. The investigators will also advance our knowledge of nearby stars, with potential impacts across other fields of astronomy. The research activity is designed to help train a young scientist and the project is defined as a set of projects suitable for high school students. The investigator's team will bring underrepresented minorities into their research, expanding participation in basic science. The investigators will measure the UV-based colors of stars and calibrate the colors to estimate stellar metallicity and stellar age. Their research will aid in understanding the formation and age of stars in our galaxy. They will combine measurements of dwarf star colors from previous optical surveys, such as the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and the Geneva-Copenhagen Survey, to determine the age-metallicity relations and age-versus-trajectory for stars in the Milky Way.