We report follow-up observations of seven Kepler Objects of Interest (KOIs) from the remote controlled 0.61-m telescope at the Sierra Stars Observatory in California. We alternated between broadband photometric lters (NI-R-V-B) to measure transit events of KOIs it two distinct colors. We could then compare light curves (LCs) between lters in order to test for astrophysical false positive scenarios. Due to limitations directly resulting from the small aperture of the Sierra Stars Observatory telescope (SSOT) and magnitude of Kepler stars (between V15 and V18), LCs had a large root-mean-square (rms) scatter. In consequence, claims about the disposition of all seven KOIs lack statistical certainty in this study. However, change-point analysis (CPA) has proven to be an effective tool when parameterizing LCs. This technique has not been used before in exoplanetary transit LCs, and is worth comparing to other methods.
This research studies the evolution of galactic winds by correlating the properties of galaxies with the gas content of their extended halos. Given our current understanding of galactic winds, metal-rich gas should be driven from spiral galaxies in winds arising perpendicular to the disk. By taking advantage of the luminosity and stable spectrum of quasars, we can identify absorption lines from metal-rich gas in these extended halos of galaxies in the foreground of a quasar. Infrared images from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) were critical to achieving the sensitivity and resolution that are required to study the morphologies and star formation rates of high redshift galaxies. Accurate morphological measurements were made to examine the distribution of gas around galaxies, and to test whether the shape and extent of galaxy outflows around star-forming galaxies evolves over time.
