A Nicholas County High School sophomore analyzing data from the National Radio Astronomy Observatory's giant Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope has discovered a new pulsar, the observatory announced on Tuesday.
Shay Bloxton, 15, of Summersville, made the discovery while taking part in the Pulsar Search Collaboratory, a joint project of the NRAO and West Virginia University, funded by the National Science Foundation.
Bloxton initially spotted evidence of the pulsar on Oct. 15 of last year, then observed the pulsar again with NRAO astronomers one month later. Analysis of the November observations confirmed that the object Bloxton identified was in fact a pulsar - a dense, rotating neutron star - located 26.8 million billion miles from Earth.
"I was very excited when I found out I had actually made a discovery," Bloxton said. Her trip to Green Bank to participate in the follow-up observations was "a great experience," she said.
"It also helped me learn a lot about how observations with the Green Bank Telescope are actually done."
Pulsars, first discovered in 1967, produce lighthouse-like beams of radio waves that sweep through space as the neutron star rotates, creating a pulse as the beam sweeps past Earth.
The neutron stars are valuable tools for physicists studying exotic states of matter, as well as quantum mechanics and general relativity.
A Nicholas County High School sophomore analyzing data from the National Radio Astronomy Observatory's giant Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope has discovered a new pulsar, the observatory announced on Tuesday.
Shay Bloxton, 15, of Summersville, made the discovery while taking part in the Pulsar Search Collaboratory, a joint project of the NRAO and West Virginia University, funded by the National Science Foundation.
Bloxton initially spotted evidence of the pulsar on Oct. 15 of last year, then observed the pulsar again with NRAO astronomers one month later. Analysis of the November observations confirmed that the object Bloxton identified was in fact a pulsar - a dense, rotating neutron star - located 26.8 million billion miles from Earth.
"I was very excited when I found out I had actually made a discovery," Bloxton said. Her trip to Green Bank to participate in the follow-up observations was "a great experience," she said.
"It also helped me learn a lot about how observations with the Green Bank Telescope are actually done."
Pulsars, first discovered in 1967, produce lighthouse-like beams of radio waves that sweep through space as the neutron star rotates, creating a pulse as the beam sweeps past Earth.
The neutron stars are valuable tools for physicists studying exotic states of matter, as well as quantum mechanics and general relativity.
The Green Bank telescope is one of the world's leading tools for discovering and studying pulsars.
"Participating in the Pulsar Search Collaboratory has definitely encouraged me to pursue my dream of being an astrophysicist," said Bloxton, who hopes to study astrophysics at WVU.
Last year, another Pulsar Search Collaboratory participant, Lucas Bolyard of South Harrison High School in Lost Creek, discovered a pulsar-like object called a rotating radio transient.
The Collaboratory program trains teachers and student leaders how to analyze parcels of data from 1,500 hours of observations made by the Green Bank Telescope. Student teams across the West Virginia use analysis software to reveal evidence of pulsars.
In addition to learning how to use analysis software, students learn to recognize man-made radio interference that contaminates the data.
The project, led by NRAO education officer Sue Ann Heatherly and Pulsar Search Collaboratory director Rachel Rosen, will continue through 2011.
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We need more of his ilk!!