Chris Richardson, assistant professor of physics, and Maria Temming ’16, Elon Honors Fellow, each described their research during the annual Triad Starfest, a meeting of professional and amateur astronomers at Guilford Technical Community College.
At the 2015 Triad Starfest in Greensboro, Chris Richardson, assistant professor of physics, presented a talk on the history of the Crab Nebula, a nearby star remnant. This included the discovery that the harsh environment of the Crab Nebula is conducive to forming molecules seeding the growth of new stars and planets. Richardson and his collaborators have been working to understand the deeper nature of these molecules in such an exotic environment.
Maria Temming ’16, a double-major in physics and creative writing, discussed her writing of astronomy articles for Sky and Telescope magazine during a summer internship. She also outlined her honors thesis project with Associate Professor of Physics Anthony Crider which incorporates aspects of both of her majors. Temming is currently investigating trends in extrasolar planet reporting to answer the question “What makes a discovery newsworthy?”