Transit Timing Observations of the Extrasolar Hot-Neptune Planet GL 436b

Gliese 436 is an M dwarf with a mass of 0.45 Msun and hosts the extrasolar planet GL 436b [3, 6, 7, 2], which is currently the least massive transiting planet with a mass of ~23.17 Mearth [10], and the only planet known to transit an M dwarf. GL 436b represents the first transiting detection of the class of extrasolar planets known as "Hot Neptunes" that have masses within a few times that of Neptune's mass (~17 Mearth) and orbital semimajor axis <0.1 AU about the host star. Unlike most other known transiting extrasolar planets, GL 436b has a high eccentricity (e~0.16). This brings to light a new parameter space for habitability zones of extrasolar planets with host star masses much smaller than typical stars of roughly a solar mass. This unique system is an ideal candidate for orbital perturbation and transit-time variation (TTV) studies to detect smaller, possibly Earth-mass planets in the system. In April 2008 we began a long-term intensive campaign to obtain complete high-precision light curves using the Apache Point Observatory's 3.5-meter telescope, NMSU's 1-meter telescope (located at APO), and Sommers Bausch Observatory's 24" telescope. These light curves are being analyzed together, along with amateur and other professional astronomer observations. Results of our analysis are discussed. Continued measurements over the next few years are needed to determine if additional planets reside in the system, and to study the impact of other manifestations on the light curves, such as star spots and active regions.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures. To appear in "Proceedings of the 15th Cambridge Workshop on Cool Stars, Stellar Systems and the Sun", 2009, AIP Conference Proceedings vol. 1094, ed. Eric Stempel

New Galactic Candidate Luminous Blue Variables and Wolf-Rayet Stars

We have undertaken a near-infrared spectral survey of stars associated with compact mid-IR shells recently revealed by the MIPSGAL (24 micron) and GLIMPSE (8 micron) Spitzer surveys, whose morphologies are typical of circumstellar shells produced by massive evolved stars. Through spectral similarity with known Luminous Blue Variable (LBV) and Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars, a large population of candidate LBVs (cLBVs) and a smaller number of new WR stars are being discovered. This significantly increases the Galactic cLBV population and confirms that nebulae are inherent to most (if not all) objects of this class. Keywords - stars: emission-line, Be, stars: mass loss, stars: winds, outflows, stars: Wolf-RayetComment: 2 pages, 1 figure. To appear in IAU 282 proceedings "From Interacting Binaries to Exoplanets: Essential Modeling Tools", Mercedes Richards \& Ivan Hubeny, ed

V1647 Ori (IRAS 05436-0007) in Outburst: the First Three Months

We report on photometric (BVRIJHK) and low dispersion spectroscopic observations of V1647 Ori, the star that drives McNeil's Nebula, between 10 February and 7 May 2004. The star is photometrically variable atop a general decline in brightness of about 0.3-0.4 magnitudes during these 87 days. The spectra are featureless, aside from H-alpha and the Ca II infrared triplet in emission, and a Na I D absorption feature. The Ca II triplet line ratios are typical of young stellar objects. The H-alpha equivalent width may be modulated on a period of about 60 days. The post-outburst extinction appears to be less than 7 mag. The data are suggestive of an FU Orionis-like event, but further monitoring will be needed to definitively characterize the outburst.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journa

Comparative analysis of atmospheric parameters from high-resolution spectroscopic sky surveys: APOGEE, GALAH, Gaia-ESO

SDSS-IV APOGEE-2, GALAH and Gaia-ESO are high resolution, ground-based, multi-object spectroscopic surveys providing fundamental stellar atmospheric parameters and multiple elemental abundance ratios for hundreds of thousands of stars of the Milky Way. We undertake a comparison between the most recent data releases of these surveys to investigate the accuracy and precision of derived parameters by placing the abundances on an absolute scale. We discuss the correlations in parameter and abundance differences as a function of main parameters. Uncovering the variants provides a basis to on-going efforts of future sky surveys. Quality samples from the APOGEE-GALAH, APOGEE-GES and GALAH-GES overlapping catalogs are collected. We investigate the mean variants between the surveys, and linear trends are also investigated. We compare the slope of correlations and mean differences with the reported uncertainties. The average and scatter of vrad, Teff, log g, [M/H] and vmicro, along with numerous species of elemental abundances in the combined catalogs show that in general there is a good agreement between the surveys. We find large radial velocity scatters ranging from 1.3 km/s to 4.4 km/s when comparing the three surveys. We observe weak trends: e.g. in $\Delta$Teff vs. $\Delta$log g for the APOGEE-GES stars, and a clear correlation in the vmicro-$\Delta$vmicro planes in the APOGEE-GALAH common sample. For [$\alpha$/H], [Ti/H] (APOGEE-GALAH giants) and [Al/H] (APOGEE-GALAH dwarfs) potential strong correlations are discovered as a function of the differences in the main atmospheric parameters, and we find weak trends for other elements. In general we find good agreement between the three surveys within their respective uncertainties. However, there are certain regimes in which strong variants exist, which we discuss. There are still offsets larger than 0.1 dex in the absolute abundance scales.Comment: Accepted in A&A, 23 pages, 13 figures, 6 tables. A minor correction is applied to the Gaia-ESO Survey's solar reference: Grevesse et al. (2007) instead of Grevesse & Sauval (1998

The Stony Brook / SMARTS Atlas of (mostly) Southern Novae

ABSTRACT We introduce the Stony Brook / SMARTS Atlas of (mostly) Southern Novae. This atlas contains both spectra and photometry obtained since 2003. The data archived in this atlas will facilitate systematic studies of the nova phenomenon and correlative studies with other comprehensive data sets. It will also enable detailed investigations of individual objects. In making the data public we hope to engender more interest on the part of the community in the physics of novae. The atlas is on-line a

The Stony Brook / SMARTS Atlas of mostly Southern Novae

We introduce the Stony Brook / SMARTS Atlas of (mostly) Southern Novae. This atlas contains both spectra and photometry obtained since 2003. The data archived in this atlas will facilitate systematic studies of the nova phenomenon and correlative studies with other comprehensive data sets. It will also enable detailed investigations of individual objects. In making the data public we hope to engender more interest on the part of the community in the physics of novae. The atlas is on-line at \url{http://www.astro.sunysb.edu/fwalter/SMARTS/NovaAtlas/} .Comment: 11 figures; 5 table