Press Release
Friday, March 01, 2024
Four Université de Moncton Research Projects Win Observing Time at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope
Four astronomy research projects at Université de Moncton are made possible by spectral observations at the Canada-France-Hawaii Observatory (CFHT). This observatory houses a 3.58-metre diameter telescope that allows observations with very high spectral resolution.
Three students and two professors from the Department of Physics and Astronomy are involved in one or another of the following projects: "Study of roAp Stars" -- Félix LeBlanc, student enrolled in the bachelor's program in physics (supervised by Prof. Viktor Khalack), "Study of HgMn Stars" -- Jarred Allison, student enrolled in the master's program in physics (supervised by Professors Viktor Khalak and Francis LeBlanc), "Study of roAp Stars" -- Marharyta Sliusarenko, M. Sc. student in physics (supervised by Prof. Viktor Khalak) and Prof. Viktor Khalak's "Study of Chemically Peculiar Slowly Rotating Stars" project.
The winning projects deal with different aspects of chemically peculiar stars and originate from the research programs of Professors Viktor Khalack and Francis LeBlanc. Chemically peculiar stars exhibit anomalous abundances of chemical elements on their surfaces. Using the spectra of these stars, collected with the CFHT's ESPaDOnS spectropolarimeter, we study their physical properties, including the abundance of chemical elements on their surface, the presence of a magnetic field, etc., with the goal of better understanding their nature.
The observing time for these four projects was awarded through an international competition. The world's major observatories allocate time by ranking applications, which are then evaluated by external experts.
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