The one thing I would recommend to future astronomers," said Michael Smith '01, "is to be flexible. Since the asteroid I'm studying doesn't even come up until 9:30 p.m., I work some pretty odd hours."
Mike, an Arlington, Virginia, native, has been an avid stargazer since he was young, and now, as part of his Senior Project in physics, he is in the middle of an extensive asteroid research project. "In general," explained Peter Millet, professor of physics and Mike's project advisor, "asteroids are interesting to us because they may be comprised of primordial solar system material and can tell us much about how our solar system was formed. Plus, several large ones have actually hit the Earth and the Moon in the past (e.g., the lunar craters and the Meteor Crater in Arizona), so we like to keep an eye on where they're headed. Asteroids' orbits are constantly changing, some more rapidly than others, and exactly how they leave their benign orbits between Mars and Jupiter and enter the inner solar system -- our neighborhood -- is a topic of current research interest. "
Mike's project has him calculating the current orbit of the 31st asteroid ever discovered, called "31 Euphrosyne," in order to update the database that astronomers share. "Different events in the solar system can actually alter an asteroid's orbit," Mike explains, "so the orbits of known asteroids are typically recalculated every few years; this one hasn't been updated for a while." Before he is able to start calculating, though, Mike has to master the specialized digital camera equipment mounted on Hamilton's telescope. He'll be using digital photos as the basis for the complex series of mathematical calculations that produces the orbit. "I'm comfortable with the camera now, but I need at least three more clear nights to get photos," he said, "and then I'll spend a lot of time in front of a computer working through the calculations."
"Choosing Hamilton was the right decision for me," said Mike. "At most other schools, I wouldn't have had access to observatory facilities and equipment like I have here, and I need to spend a lot of time with the telescope to do this project right." After graduation, Mike hopes to observe "normal" work hours for a while by teaching astronomy, math, and physics at the secondary school level.
