DESIGN. BUILD. FLY.
Artist’s impression of the first confirmed detection of a star system that will one day form a kilonova — the ultra-powerful, gold-producing explosion created by merging neutron stars.
The Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory is an astronomical observatory located on Cerro Tololo in the Coquimbo Region of northern Chile, with additional facilities located on Cerro Pachón about 10 kilometers to the southeast.
A STELLAR TEAM
In addition to Richardson, Pavao and Jan J. Eldridge of the University of Auckland, the Nature paper, “A high-mass X-ray binary descended from an ultra-stripped supernova,” was co-authored by Herbert Pablo, American Association of Variable Star Observers; André-Nicolas Chené Gemini Observatory; Peter Wysocki and Douglas R. Gies, CHARA and Georgia State University; Georges Younes, The George Washington University; and Jeremy Hare, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.
COMMUNITY SUPPORT
Pavao’s research was supported by Embry-Riddle’s Undergraduate Research Institute and the Arizona Space Grant program. The project also received support from the university’s Faculty Innovative Research in Science and Technology program.
RECOGNIZING STARS
Richardson has been named Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s first recipient of the $100,000 Cottrell Scholar Award, which recognizes research and teaching excellence. He will use the award to develop additional student research opportunities and continue to study massive binary stars.
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