IR Astrometry and Photometry of the Abell 1882 Supergroup

Previously observed characteristics of the Abell 1 882 supergroup show signs of early stages of cluster formation. Supergroups and clusters have already been studied, but the unique stage of Abell 1 882 will aid in understanding the process of galaxy cluster formation. The data set contains observations from the Infrared Side Port Imager at the 4.0-m Blanco telescope at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) during May 2010. The data reduction process, unique challenges of working with infrared data, and preliminary results will be discussed. Rohl worked with Gomez from January through March 201 1 as a research assistant with the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REV) program of the National Science Foundation. The program was hosted at CTIO in cooperation with Gemini Observatory in La Serena, Chile

Rotational Properties of Trojan Asteroid 5209

We present VR photometric observations of several Trojan asteroids and of asteroid 5209 1 989 CW1. Trojan Asteroids are found in the L4 and L5 stable Lagrange points of Jupiter\u27s orbit. These asteroids are farther away and generally more dim than Main Belt asteroids and have received less attention from observers in the past. By plotting the lightcurve of the asteroid, we were able to determine the rotation period and the lightcurve amplitude. The goal of this research is to eventually understand the collision history of the Trojan asteroids and to compare the asteroids to those in the Main Belt. Observations were made using the 3 I -inch telescope at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, AZ during the months of January and February of 20 11. Our results will be compared with previous work by other authors