Catherine Pilachowski

Last updated
Catherine Pilachowski
Former KPNO Director, Dr. Catherine Pilachowski.jpg
Born
Catherine Anderson Pilachowski

1949 (age 73–74)
Sacramento, California, U.S. [1]
Alma mater
Scientific career
Fields Astronomy
Institutions
Thesis The Luminosities and Compositions of a Group of Mildly Peculiar Late-Type Giant Stars (1975)
Doctoral advisor Walter Bonsack

Catherine Anderson Pilachowski (born 1949) [1] is an American astronomer, professor and Kirkwood Chair in astronomy at Indiana University Bloomington. She is a fellow at the American Association for the Advancement of Science and former president of the American Astronomical Society. [2]

Contents

Early life and education

Pilachowski was born and raised in California. [3] She has stated that growing up during the Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union led to her interest in becoming an astronomer. [2]

She received her B.S. in Physics in 1971 from Harvey Mudd College in California and an M.S. and Ph.D. in 1975 from the University of Hawaii. [3]

Career

Pilachowski is a fellow at the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Astronomical Society. She was president of the American Astronomical Society from 2002 to 2004. [2] For over twenty years, she was a staff astronomer at the National Optical Astronomy Observatory's Kitt Peak Observatory in Tucson, Arizona where she served as Project Scientist for the design and construction of the WIYN Telescope. [4] [5] [6]

Pilachowski became a professor of astronomy at Indiana University and in 2001 was named the Daniel Kirkwood Chair in the Department of Astronomy. [7]

Pilachowski specializes in understanding the spectra of starlight. Her work has included searching for the molecular species hydrogen fluoride. [4] [8]

Publications

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Messier 34</span> Open cluster in constellation Perseus

Messier 34 is a large and relatively near open cluster in Perseus. It was probably discovered by Giovanni Batista Hodierna before 1654 and included by Charles Messier in his catalog of comet-like objects in 1764. Messier described it as, "A cluster of small stars a little below the parallel of γ (Andromedae). In an ordinary telescope of 3 feet one can distinguish the stars."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 752</span> Open cluster in the constellation Andromeda

NGC 752 is an open cluster in the constellation Andromeda. The cluster was discovered by Caroline Herschel in 1783 and cataloged by her brother William Herschel in 1786, although an object that may have been NGC 752 was described by Giovanni Batista Hodierna before 1654.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metallicity</span> Relative abundance of heavy elements in a star or other astronomical object

In astronomy, metallicity is the abundance of elements present in an object that are heavier than hydrogen and helium. Most of the normal currently detectable matter in the universe is either hydrogen or helium, and astronomers use the word "metals" as a convenient short term for "all elements except hydrogen and helium". This word-use is distinct from the conventional chemical or physical definition of a metal as an electrically conducting solid. Stars and nebulae with relatively high abundances of heavier elements are called "metal-rich" in astrophysical terms, even though many of those elements are nonmetals in chemistry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 1705</span> Peculiar lenticular galaxy in the constellation Pictor

NGC 1705 is a peculiar lenticular galaxy and a blue compact dwarf galaxy (BCD) in the southern constellation of Pictor, positioned less than a degree to the east of Iota Pictoris, and is undergoing a starburst. With an apparent visual magnitude of 12.6 it requires a telescope to observe. It is estimated to be approximately 17 million light-years from the Earth, and is a member of the Dorado Group.

56 Andromedae, abbreviated 56 And, is a probable binary star system in the northern constellation of Andromeda. 56 Andromedae is the Flamsteed designation. It has a combined apparent visual magnitude of 5.69, which is just bright enough to be dimly visible to the naked eye under good seeing conditions. The distance to this system can be ascertained from its annual parallax shift, measured at 9.9 mas with the Gaia space observatory, which yields a separation of 330 light years. It is moving further from the Earth with a heliocentric radial velocity of +62 km/s and is traversing the celestial sphere at a relatively high rate of 0.183″ per year. This pair is positioned near the line of sight to the open cluster NGC 752, located 1,490 light-years away.

BPS CS22892-0052 is an old population II star located at a distance of 4.7 kpc in the galactic halo. It belongs to a class of ultra-metal-poor stars, specifically the very rare subclass of neutron-capture (r-process) enhanced stars. It was discovered by Tim C. Beers and collaborators with the Curtis Schmidt telescope at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile. Extended high-resolution spectroscopic observations since around 1995 allowed observers to determine the abundances of 53 chemical elements in this star, as of December 2005 only second in number to the Sun.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 1316</span> Lenticular radio galaxy in the constellation Fornax

NGC 1316 is a lenticular galaxy about 60 million light-years away in the constellation Fornax. It is a radio galaxy and at 1400 MHz is the fourth-brightest radio source in the sky.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 602</span> Open cluster in the constrellation Hydrus

NGC 602 is a young, bright open cluster of stars located in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), a satellite galaxy to the Milky Way. It is embedded in a nebula known as N90.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 2232</span> Open cluster in the constellation Monoceros

NGC 2232 is a bright open star cluster in the equatorial constellation of Monoceros, centered on the star 10 Monocerotis. It is located in the Gould Belt close to the Orion Nebula cluster, at a mean distance of 1,060 ly from the Sun. The average radial velocity of the cluster members is 26.6±0.77 km/s. This is one of the nearest open clusters to the Sun, which makes it a potentially useful target for studying young stars and their transition to the main sequence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 672</span> Spiral galaxy in the constellation Triangulum

NGC 672 is a spiral galaxy in the northern constellation of Triangulum, positioned around 2° to the southwest of the star Alpha Trianguli. The original object designated NGC 672 was discovered by the German-born astronomer William Herschel on 26 October 1786, but this was later cataloged as NGC 614. The object now identified as NGC 672 was discovered by John Herschel on 11 November 1827.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 6939</span> Open cluster in the constellation Cepheus

NGC 6939 is an open cluster in the constellation Cepheus. It was discovered by William Herschel in 1798. The cluster lies 2/3° northwest from the spiral galaxy NGC 6946. The cluster lies approximately 4,000 light years away and it is over a billion years old.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 6940</span> Open cluster in the constellation Vulpecula

NGC 6940 is an open cluster in the constellation Vulpecula. It was discovered by William Herschel in 1784. The cluster is nearly a billion years old and it is located 2,500 light years away. It is considered the finest open cluster in the constellation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 7419</span> Open cluster in the constellation Cepheus

NGC 7419 is an open cluster in the constellation Cepheus. It is heavily reddened and notable for containing five red supergiants, the highest number known in any cluster until the end of the 20th century, but probably no blue supergiants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 753</span> Spiral galaxy in the constellation Andromeda

NGC 753 is a spiral galaxy located 220 million light-years away in the constellation Andromeda. The galaxy was discovered by astronomer by Heinrich d'Arrest on September 16, 1865 and is a member of Abell 262.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 4298</span> Flocculent spiral galaxy in the constellation Coma Berenices

NGC 4298 is a flocculent spiral galaxy located about 53 million light-years away in the constellation Coma Berenices. The galaxy was discovered by astronomer William Herschel on April 8, 1784 and is a member of the Virgo Cluster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 4299</span> Relatively featureless spiral galaxy in the constellation Virgo

NGC 4299 is a featureless spiral galaxy located about 55 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo. It was discovered by astronomer William Herschel on March 15, 1784 and is a member of the Virgo Cluster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 4306</span> Dwarf barred lenticular galaxy in the constellation Virgo

NGC 4306 is a dwarf barred lenticular galaxy located about 100 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo. The galaxy was discovered by astronomer Heinrich d'Arrest on April 16, 1865. Although considered to be a member of the Virgo Cluster, its high radial velocity and similar distance as NGC 4305 suggest that NGC 4306 is a background galaxy. NGC 4306 is a companion of NGC 4305 and appears to be interacting with it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 4324</span> Lenticular galaxy in the constellation of Virgo

NGC 4324 is a lenticular galaxy located about 85 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo. It was discovered by astronomer Heinrich d'Arrest on March 4, 1862. NGC 4324 has a stellar mass of 5.62 × 1010M☉, and a baryonic mass of 5.88 × 1010M☉. The galaxy's total mass is around 5.25 × 1011M☉. NGC 4324 is notable for having a ring of star formation surrounding its nucleus. It was considered a member of the Virgo II Groups until 1999, when its distance was recalculated and it was placed in the Virgo W Group.

References

  1. 1 2 Nemeh, Katherine H., ed. (2020). "Pilachowski, Catherine A.". American Men & Women of Science: A Biographical Directory of Today's Leaders in Physical, Biological, and Related Sciences. Vol. 12 (38th ed.). Farmington Hills, MI: Gale. p. 8761. ISBN   978-0-02-866695-2. Archived from the original on 2023-02-21. Retrieved 2023-02-21.
  2. 1 2 3 "Catherine Pilachowski". News at IU. 2019-03-07. Archived from the original on 2021-04-17. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
  3. 1 2 "An Interview with Caty Pilachowski". www.astro.indiana.edu. Archived from the original on 2020-08-03. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
  4. 1 2 "Astronomy Department | Indiana University Bloomington". www.astro.indiana.edu. Archived from the original on 2021-04-18. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
  5. ↑ "NASA bio" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2010-01-12.
  6. ↑ "History of Women in Astronomy: Catherine Pilachowski". www.physics.sfsu.edu. Archived from the original on 2019-09-17. Retrieved 2021-03-31.
  7. ↑ "Catherine A. Pilachowski: University Honors and Awards: Indiana University". University Honors & Awards. Archived from the original on 2021-06-24. Retrieved 2021-03-31.
  8. ↑ Croswell, Ken (2015-09-11). "How neutrinos saved your teeth from cavities". Science | AAAS. Archived from the original on 2023-02-21. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.