Nantucket Maria Mitchell Association REU-NSF Interns Attended the 245th American Astronomical Society Meeting in Washington, D.C.

January 24, 2025

NANTUCKET, MA—On the occasion of the 245th American Astronomical Society (AAS) Meeting, and the 178th anniversary year of the discovery of Miss Mitchell’s Comet, interns from the Maria Mitchell Association (MMA) of Nantucket Island, journeyed to Washington, D.C., to represent the MMA and present their work. Building on the legacy of Maria Mitchell, the first female American astronomer, the MMA offers STEM research and education opportunities to interns from across the country via their paid internship programs.

 

The MMA’s Maria Mitchell Observatory has operated the National Science Foundation- Research Experiences for Undergraduates (NSF-REU)- program each summer for decades. The program is funded by a generous grant from the National Science Foundation, which allows the MMA to bring six top undergraduate students to the MMA each summer who are selected out of a pool of approximately 380 applicants from around the United States.

 

January 12 -16, the MMA’s Summer 2024 NSF-REU interns presented their research on fascinating subjects, from finding baby stars, to understanding how galaxies grow over time, and how dark matter influences galaxy cluster collisions. MMA Executive Director, Joanna Roche, attended the conference and presented each student with a bound book of their cohort’s papers. “The research and projects that this year’s REU interns presented are as fascinating as they are well done. We are so proud to continue the tradition of nurturing young scientists through our REU program.”

 

This summer’s NSF-REU interns and their research presentations which they presented at the AAS are: 


Naija Bruckner | Rice University, majoring in Astrophysics, presented “Probing Circumgalactic Medium Turbulence with Synthetic Absorption.” Her topic was turbulence in the circumgalactic medium (the gas around galaxies). By examining snapshots of simulated galaxies at different redshifts, she found that higher ions are better tracers of turbulence and movement of gas in the CGM than low ions. This finding can be used to improve our interpretation of observed CGMs and the movement of gas within by looking at absorption lines particular to higher ions in actual observation.

 

Sophia Chan Davis | University of Michigan, double majoring in Astronomy & Astrophysics and Interdisciplinary Physics with a minor in Museum Studies, presented “Shining the X-ray light on Planetary Nebulae in Globular Clusters.”. She focused on investigating the origins of planetary nebulae in globular clusters, utilizing advanced X-ray observations to enhance our understanding of stellar evolution.  Her findings suggest its X-ray emissions come from shock interactions within the nebula, making K648 the most distant planetary nebula with X-ray emission ever observed.


Jillian Epstein | Cornell University, majoring in Engineering Physics and minoring in Astronomy, presented “Searching for X-ray Counterparts of Protostellar Cores.”  She is interested in optics and astrophysics with a particular interest in high-energy astrophysics, cosmology, and astrophysical instrumentation. She used archived Chandra X-ray Observatory data to research the X-ray components of protostars under Dr. David Principe from the MIT Kavli Institute. Epstein utilized the CAIO suite of tools in Python to analyze X-ray spectra.

 

Fiona Lopez | Texas A&M University, majoring in Physics and Astronomy, presented her research titled “Understanding the Interplay Between Dust, Gas, and Stars in High-Redshift Galaxies with ALMA and JWST” in collaboration with Dr. Mónica Relaño from the University of Granada, Spain. Her work explores the complex roles of interstellar dust, gas, and stars in high-redshift galaxies, leveraging observations from ALMA and the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to gain deeper insights into these distant cosmic systems. 

 

Nicolas Mazziotti | University of Arizona, majoring in Astronomy and Physics, presented, “Exploring Dark Matter and Galaxy Clusters.” His presentation at AAS was about his MMA research with Dr. Lindsay King (UT Dallas) on simulations of merging galaxy clusters. 

 

Gada Tefera | Pomona College, majoring in Computer Science, presented “Investigating the Impact of sub-DLAs on the Neutral Hydrogen Mass Density of the Universe.” He focused on investigating the contribution of sub-Damped Lyman Alpha systems to the neutral hydrogen content of the early universe using spectra from the KODIAQ DR3 sample of 727 quasars. He developed and implemented spectroscopic analysis methods using Python tools, including LineTools and XSpectrum1D, to identify and characterize absorption systems. He led a systematic search resulting in the identification of 555 absorbers, including 415 sub-DLAs, representing one of the largest high-redshift sub-DLA samples ever assembled. He performed analysis of absorption features and metal line systems to determine column densities and metallicities across redshift range 2 < z < 6. 

 

The Maria Mitchell Association was founded in 1902 to preserve the legacy of Nantucket native astronomer, naturalist, librarian, and educator, Maria Mitchell. After she discovered a comet in 1847, Mitchell’s international fame led to many achievements and awards, including an appointment as the first female professor of astronomy at Vassar College. Maria Mitchell believed in “learning by doing” and today that philosophy is reflected in the MMA’s mission statement, programs, research projects, and other activities. The Maria Mitchell Association operates two observatories, a natural science museum, an aquarium, a research center, and preserves the historic birthplace of Maria Mitchell. A wide variety of science and history-related programming is offered throughout the year for people of all ages.
 

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For Immediate Release

January 24, 2025

Contact: Joanna Roche

jroche@mariamitchell.org

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[1855] On the 12 th [December] at 8 o’clock, I found a comet in Cetus. It is probably that seen by Bruhns in Berlin on Nov. 12. It is round and bright and moved so rapidly that in an hour I was certain of its change of place. From 8 to 10 ½ it had moved about half the diameter of my field of view. I tho’t it varied in its light but of this I am not quite certain, as I at times changed from one instrument to another, and I cannot be certain that my eye was not somewhat affected by the size of different powers, so as to affect my judgement. I would give a good deal for it to be my own possession, because it would convince me that I was not declining in vigor.  This comet, unlike her won comet of October 1, 1847, is fairly fast moving – it would take many calculations and much time for her comet to illustrate its movement – beyond just the appearance of its “tail.” Maria had made earlier comments in the month about if being a hard year – the hardest of her life. The loss of friends, her mother’s illness. But this, with other matters, buoyed her spirit and she talked about her “blessings.” This comet was one seen by Maria only eight years after her comet discovery so it seems interesting that she feels she is slipping and not as “vigorous” – she is only thirty-seven years old at this date. JNLF

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Another re-blog. I came across this recently while looking through my computer files. I want to re-blog it in memory of Jean Hughes, an incredibly gifted islander, who was directly influential in the lives of so many island children and those in need. She was the Coffin School Trustee’s President for many years and I had the honor to serve as a trustee under her. She passed away in the summer of 2025. Jeanie loaned me this from her family collections as she thought I would enjoy it. She knew me better than I thought she did. With love. 1830s Chinese silk to be exact. It literally floated into my lap as I sat reading a letter.  A letter from a young Nantucket girl to her grandparents. A young girl who just several years before had moved from tiny Nantucket Island to San Francisco with her mother to join her father. He had moved for better work and a better life. Nantucket was in an economic decline. Reading this treasure trove of letters – loaned to me by a friend who is a descendant of these people I mention – was like spying on them. Now, when I read Mitchell family letters and writing it is slightly different for me. Having worked in the Mitchell House for so long, I feel like they are a part of my family. This batch of letters was different however. I felt like they know I read their letters – as if they were looking over my shoulder or sitting on the other side of the room aghast. I felt like they thought no one ever would – or at the very least an outsider – read this correspondence. The worse letter one was the son writing to his mother upon receipt of her letter telling him of his father’s death. That was hard. Made harder because he thought his father was fine – he was as of the last letter a month or two before. Made harder as I lost my own Father a little over a year ago. I knew how he felt – but cannot imagine receiving a letter that is about a month old telling one of such horrible news. He had not seen his father in several years. I could speak to my Father, visited him monthly, and was there with him. That was not an easy letter to read. The silk fabric piece is quite beautiful – and still pristine – as if it was just folded into the letter yesterday. She wanted to share with her grandparents the dress that her cousin had brought to her directly from Hong Kong. A cousin, who was likely pregnant – or “sick” as was written but it was obvious what “sick” meant (yes, pregnancy was looked at as an illness in a way – and there were high rates of infant and mother mortality during and immediately following birth). The cousin had travelled back and forth to Hong Kong on the China Trade with her husband it seems but due to the pregnancy had to be put off with family or others until the baby was born. This was a common practice for the wives of whale captains who might go to sea with their husbands. They were put off with other whaling families or missionaries in far off ports so that they could have their baby where others could help. Sometimes they were put off months in advance. And, did you know that Nantucket whale wives were the FIRST to go to sea with their captains husbands? They set the trend – after all, we were the whaling capital of the world. At least, until we lost that title for multiple reasons. I digress. The other piece that leads one to realize that money was to be had – at least for the cousin – is that she didn’t bring fabric – she brought the dress already made in Hong Kong. Yes, it would have been less costly there than in the United States but it shows there was extra money for spending. And, there was enough excess fabric inside the dress for this young girl to cut off a piece of it and send it to her grandparents. Making them feel as if they were a part of her daily life – and making her feel that way too. So far from home. On the other side of the continent with Nantucket Sound in the midst, to boot. JNLF

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