Research
My interest in astronomy originated at a young age, when my father took me to
see a planetarium show at, ironically enough, Williams College, where I would
obtain my B.A. This, coupled with the spectacular appearances of Comets
Hyakutake and Hale-Bopp, instilled in me a love for the night sky, especially
comets, which stays with me to this day. I bought my own 10-inch Dobsonian
telescope when I was twelve, and observed through it in my driveway. I have
been captivated by astronomy ever since.
In March 2007 I observed a Pluto occultation with Dr. Steven Souza at the
Magdelena Ridge Observatory, as part of an MIT-Williams collaborative project
on occultation studies of small bodies in the outer solar system. That summer
I reduced occultation data from the June 2006 occultation to search for signs
of rings or moons. The search produced a negative result, but we were able to
place upper bounds on the opacity and size of any debris that may be present.
The paper is currently being written. My undergraduate thesis was on the
related topic of occultations by cometary comae, and involved making
predictions of potential occultations and then observing them with the 24-inch
telescope at Hopkins Observatory, located on the Williams College campus. I
was able to observe several candidate events, but none produced an
occultation. I hope that future astronomy students at Williams will continue
to pursue this project, as there is much more that can be done.
I began my graduate studies in August 2008, as a member of the planetary
science group. My research interests lay particularly in the outer planets
and the smaller members of the solar system, such as satellites, Kuiper Belt
Objects (KBO's), comets, and asteroids. I also enjoy giving public planetarium
shows and observing sessions.
Publications
Waves in Pluto's Upper Atmosphere
Person, Elliot, Gulbis, Zuluaga, Babcock, McKay, Pasachoff, Souza, Hubbard,
Kulesa, McCarthy, Kern, Levine, Bosh, Ryan, Ryan, Meyer, & Wolf 2008,
AJ, submitted
Stellar Occultation by Pluto of P445.3 (2UCAC 25823784) on 2007 March 18 (UT)
Person, Elliot, Gulbis, Zuluaga, Babcock, McKay, Pasachoff, Souza, Hubbard,
Kulesa, McCarthy, Kern, Levine, Bosh, Ryan, Ryan, Meyer, & Wolf 2007,
IAU Circular 8825 as (31340) Pluto
Meetings
October 2007: Division of Planetary Sciences meeting,
Observational Results from the 2007 March 18 Pluto Stellar
Occultation
Pasachoff, Babcock, Souza, McKay, Person, Elliot, Gulbis, Zuluaga, Hill, Ryan
& Ryan
October 2007: Division of Planetary Sciences meeting,
High Altitude Structure in Pluto's Atmosphere from the 2007
March 18 Stellar Occultation
Person, Elliot, Gulbis, Zuluaga, Babcock, Pasachoff, McKay, Souza, Hubbard,
Kulesa, McCarthy, Kern, Levine, Bosh, Ryan, Ryan, Meyer, Wolf & Hill
October 2007: Division of Planetary Sciences meeting,
Electron-Multiplying CCD Imaging: Effectiveness for Stellar
Occultations by Faint Objects
Gulbis, Elliot, Person, Souza, Babcock, Pasachoff, McKay & Zuluaga
