Astronomical Research from the East End

Abstract:

In December, 2016 the Thacher Observatory was renovated and upgraded to a research-grade facility. For the past 7 years, students at the Thacher School have taken advantage of Ojai’s nearly pristine skies and good weather to make meaningful contributions to astronomical research in the areas of exoplanet discovery and characterization, variable star monitoring, supernova search and follow up studies, as well as searching for exotic events that produce gravitational wave signals. In this short talk, I will give you some context for these projects and present some of our most recent results that have resulted in our students earning co-authorship on peer-reviewed research articles and invitations to professional conferences.

Dr. Jon Swift is the director of the Thacher School observatory, where he has also taught math and science since 2014. He will talk about the observatory and how it being used to explore the furthest reaches of human knowledge, and how his students are involved in that project. He is also a veteran surfer and musician.