WDS 21183+4140AC

High School students Jael Clark and Adelyn Fisher and their teacher Kimberly McCollum at the SUCCESS Academy of Southern Utah University were not satisfied with the lack of observations of the complex star system WDS 21183+4140. Even the limited existing data regarding this system seemed to be inconsistent with each other. Together with the assistance of Dr. Cameron Pace, these students conducted new observations using the Great Basin Observatory.

WDS 21183+4140 is a unique triple star system that has been neglected in its frequency of observations. They observed the triple star system, and took a total of 20 images using the GBO. The dark and flat images in the V filter were corrected via AstroImageJ then compared to the limited existing data available from the Naval Observatory. These observations as well as observations of the system's parallax and proper motion suggest that the A and C components of the system may not be physically associated with each other.

Read their paper here.

Photo: The students share their research with the public at the Great Basin Observatory 5th anniversary celebration in August 2021 at Great Basin National Park.