"like putting eyeglasses on a telescope"

Wed., Oct 08

A cutting-edge instrument that can be placed on telescopes to improve the crispness of images 20-fold, should soon give astronomers a clearer picture of the binary stars sprinkled throughout the Milky Way Galaxy.

The device was built by Elliott Horch, an assistant professor of physics at Southern, with the intent of gaining new insight into the formation of our own solar system. Several of his students assisted him with the project.

"The disturbances in the atmosphere can cause images to blur together," Horch says. "But using this special instrument is like putting eyeglasses on a telescope. It enables you to see the two stars in a binary system distinctly."

The device is called a Differential Speckle Survey Instrument (DSSI), which includes two cameras and a scanning mirror system inside a rectangular box that can fit on a coffee table. Horch received a $352,487 grant from the National Science Foundation to develop the instrument three years ago while he was an assistant professor of physics at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth.

Horch has sent the DSSI to Kitt Peak National Observatory, a national center for optical astronomy in Tucson, Ariz. After final testing and tweaks, he expects the DSSI to be one of the most advanced devices for resolution purposes in the world, and ideal for observing binary stars. Horch says he believes this is the first time a DSSI has been cre-ated.

"It is a very exciting project," he says. "It will enable us to learn more about the behavior of the binary stars, and in turn, learn more about our own sun."

Binary systems are two stars that rotate around each other. Most stars are formed in groups and the chances are very good the sun was one of them. Many of these stars eventually leave the binary system. Studying binary systems will enable astronomers to learn about the sun's early years.

In addition, about 10 percent of stars eventually form planets and using the DSSI will help astronomers learn about why our sun formed planets and about how this was done.

And while it is designed with the binary stars in mind, the device can also be used for improved image crispness when eyeing other heavenly bodies.

Horch earned a Master of Science degree in astronomy from Yale University and a Ph.D. in applied physics from Stanford University.

He has written articles for publications such as Astronomical Journal, Astronomy and Astrophysics. He is a past recipient of grants from NASA and is a member of the American Astronomical Society, the Astronomical Society of the Pacific and the International Astronomical Union.