NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI)

Analysis of Space Data of Gaseous Nebulae

We have spacecraft-obtained astrophysical data. These include observations made very recently with the Spitzer Space Observatory. The GSRP student will help with processing/analysis of these data. Our research, for the most part, concentrates on two types of astronomical objects – H II regions and planetary nebulae. The work will involve Spitzer data – completed Cycle 1 observations of the galaxy M83 and future observations of the galaxy M33 to be made in Cycle 2. These datasets comprise spectroscopic observations of H II regions in these two spiral galaxies. The research involves an analysis and interpretation of the emission lines in order to assess the abundances for neon and sulfur. This is important for testing theories of nucleosynthesis and galactic chemical evolution. We are also interested in measuring the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) features seen in our Spitzer spectra to correlate these with the gas-phase abundances. The student should be capable with computers. Our work will be mainly with computers using a UNIX operating system.

Deadline: 5:00 PM EST February 1, 2009.
http://fellowships.hq.nasa.gov/gsrp/research/detail.cfm?oppID=655