Burchell students zero in on explosive stars

Frontiersman reporter

WASILLA -- A team of Burchell High School students has agreed to spend the next five months peering at the heavens.

From the school's observatory in north Wasilla, members of this star-gazing team will stare through a massive 26-inch Newtonian telescope, looking past the earth's atmosphere, the moon and solar system, and more than 250 billion miles into outer space, to a place where 15 highly explosive stars are bursting with light.

The project was inspired by Burchell astronomy teacher Tim Lundt. Two summers ago, Lundt joined 25 teachers from other parts of the country to attend the Teaching Leadership Research Based Science Education program in Tucson, Ariz. The two-week seminar instructed teachers how to use different telescopes. During his time there, Lundt talked with professional astronomers to brainstorm a research idea for his kids back at Burchell. On the counsel of professionals, Lundt agreed to study the volatile semivariable stars.

Four years ago, Burchell High School made a name for itself by acquiring the third-largest telescope of any high school in the nation. Its current project is possible thanks to a $9,340 Toshiba America Foundation grant, which enabled the school to purchase a powerful, highly light-sensitive digital camera.

"They said we could document changes in semivariable stars," Lundt said, "because we have stars up here that we can do all-night observation on."

Alaska, with its long winter nights, is an ideal place to observe stars for extended stretches -- which is necessary to accurately document the volatile stars.

Large semivariable stars grow brighter in the night sky as they circle unseen smaller stars. Whenever the two approach one another in their orbits, volatile gases mix and explode, causing the larger stars to visibly brighten in the night sky.

"I love stars," said Burchell senior Naomi DeMott. "They're so pretty, but I've never looked at them through a telescope yet. I can't wait."

DeMott is one of four students who will participate in the project. Once the research is finished, three students will fly with Lundt to Kitt Peak, Ariz., in the spring. For three nights, they will take pictures of the same stars, using a world-class spectrograph telescope at the National Optical Astronomy Observatory. With the spectrograph photos, they can determine exactly what elements the stars are made of.

"Three of the four students will go to Kitt Peak," Lundt said. "It's all based on work ethic and how well they work, so it's like a real-life scenario."

Throughout the winter, Lundt said his students will observe the stars for at least four hours at a time, three nights a week. The four-person team will take turns watching the stars and capturing roughly 15 photographs each night.

The astronomers' guidelines are to get several photos over several days of the same star.

"Toshiba thought this would be a unique activity to benefit kids," Lundt said, "and NOAO said if you get the camera and do the research, they would pay for three kids and myself to come to Kitt Peak."

The project culminates with a professional report written by the students and then, hopefully, published in a science education journal.

"Similar research has been done but not with a lot on northern stars," Lundt said. "It is also unique because not a lot of research has been done by kids. There's not a lot of information about these 15 stars so this will add to knowledge on northern semivariable stars."

Contact Joel Davidson at joel.davidson@frontiersman.com.