In late September and early October, Dr. Michelle Creech-Eakman spoke to members of the Las Cruces Astronomical Society at Doña Ana Community College and a colloquium at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona about exoplanetary astronomy and her work with the New Mexico Exoplanet Spectroscopic Survey Instrument (NESSI). NESSI is a highly sensitive ground-based instrument mounted on the MRO 2.4-meter Optical Telescope that studies the atmospheres of distant planets. The ultimate goal of Creech-Eakman’s research is to discover planets with biosignatures like oxygen, water vapor, and methane in their atmospheres, all signs of habitability. While in Flagstaff, Dr. Creech-Eakman also worked with Dr. Gerard van Belle and Dr. Alma Ruiz Velasco on data retrieved by Palomar Testbed Interferometer (PTI). Three papers will be submitted using this data next year.
The orange supergiant star was one of the first stars observed by NESSI. Image Credit: MRO