I am actively collecting spectra of B-type (read: hot) stars for a first publication of updated spectral classifications of bright stars in the sky. This is work that is fundamentally important to most programs in stellar astronomy and astrophysics, and yet the last time that a thorough, homogeneous sample of stellar spectra was collected of stars in the bright sky was thirty years ago. In the intervening time, it has been discovered that many B-type stars are variable; also, the main techniques for securing spectra have changed from photographic plates to digital charge-coupled devices, so that in many cases we are securing the very first digital spectrum of these stars. As a result of these changes, we expect to see some modest changes to the spectral classifications for a number of our target stars in the bright sky, that will provide us with information towards understanding longtime variations in stellar spectra of hot stars.
Home » Summer Research » Physics Summer Research – David Whelan