Research
I received my B.S. degree in physics in 2006 from the University of Texas, El Paso, and
completed a M.S. degree in astronomy at the University of Texas, Austin, in 2008.
I have worked with Edward Robinson at UT Austin on interacting binary stars,
reducing CCD photometry data and generating light curves, and also conducting
telescope observations at McDonald Observatory. Our work on the UW Coronaw
Borealis system was published in ApJ in 2008.
I also worked with Anita Cochran on comet spectroscopy. I analyzed more than
25 years of optical spectroscopy from the McDonald Observatory for roughly 100
hundred comets, studying their chemical compositions to distinguish between
Oort Cloud and Kuiper belt objects. I built on evidence for depletion of
carbon chain molecules in Jupiter Family comets, and identified a new class of
comets which are depleted in C3 but not in C2. This
work formed the body of my M.S. thesis.
I worked for several years with Paul Mason (UTEP), studying magnetic
cataclysmic variables stars. We used the Very Large Array (VLA) to measure
their radio emission, and my senior undergraduate thesis was based on our
results.
I also collaborated with Niesjca Turner while at UTEP, in the field of
astronomy education. I taught laboratory exercises for undergraduates using a
three-dimensional visualization system called GeoWall, designed to illustrate lunar phases. Students
were surveyed pre- and post-usage, and we presented the results at several
American Geophysical Union conferences.
My interests in teaching developed further while in Austin, where I taught
classes ranging from elementary to high school levels as a part of the UTeach program which
emphisized project-based instruction. I designed, taught, and lead a team of other
UTeach student in a 3 week high-school project where we taught students how to
design and build their own telescopes. I won the award for best new project for my
design of teaching physics by building a pinball machine.
I began my graduate studies at NMSU in August 2010, as a member of the planetary
science group. I study the effects solar flares have on the nightglow of Venus with
my advisor Nancy Chanover and collaborator Tom Slanger. In particular, I study the
oxygen green line at 5577.3 A which is known to be a highly variable feature. It was
first detected in 1999 (Slanger et. al 2001) and through 2004 and has since disappeared.
We observe Venus as a target of opportunity on Apache Point's 3.5m Astrophysical Consortium Telescope
after high energy flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are emitted from the Sun towards Venus.
In 2012, we observe an X-class flare and a large CME impact Venus and found bright oxygen
green line emission that had not been seen to that strength since its initial discovery in 1999.
I recently presented these finding at the Comparative Climatology of Terrestrial Planets in Boulder, CO,
the Divsion of Planetary Science (DPS) meeting in Reno, NV, and presented a talk at the
American Geophysical Union (AGU) conference in San Francisco, CA. We are currently writing our
results as an Icarus note.
Below
is an image of a waxing crescent moon sitting humbly next to Venus, taken in Las Cruces, NM.
In addition to researching the Venusian atmosphere, I also enjoy creating space art style painting.
Two examples of my work are shown below. Inside the ladybug are the Horsehead, Eagle, and Snowball Nebula,
M100, Venus, the north star, comet Hale-Bopp, the Sun with Venus transiting. This painting was
made for a friend and true lady of astronomy. The painting on the right is of AR UMa, the
highest known magnetic field polar, a type of interacting binary star system.
Awards/Honors
NASA Earth and Space Science (NESSF) Award, 2012
New Mexico State University College of Arts and Science Travel Grant, 2012
Third place in New Mexico State University's 3 Minute Thesis Competition, 2012
New Mexico State University Peagasus Award for Excellence in Teaching, 2011
Division of Planetary Science Hartmann Travel Grand, 2011
UT Austin, UTeach Lucas Award for best Project-Based Instruction project "The Physics of Pinball", 2010
UT Austin Graduate Enrichment Fellowship, 2006 - 2007
Minority Access to Research Careers (MARC) Scholar, 2004 - 2006
Presidentail Scholarship, University of Texas at El Paso, 2001 - 2005
Presentation
15 min talk, AGU, San Francisco, CA, Dec 2012
LASP Colloquium, Boulder, CO, Nov 2012
Poster presentation, Division of Planetary Science (DPS), Reno, NV, Oct 2012
Poster presentation, Comparative Climatology of Terrestrial Planets, Boulder, CO, June 2012
Poster Presentation, Division of Planetary Science (DPS), Nantes, France, Oct 2011
Publications
Thirty Years of Cometary Spectroscopy from McDonald Observatory.
Anita L. Cochran, Edwin S. Barker, Candace L. Gray, 2012, Icarus, 218, 144-168.
Recent Observations of Venus' OI and O2 Emission from Apache Point Observatory
Candace L. Gray, Nancy J. Chanover, Tom G. Slanger.
The Orbital Period and Time-variable Asymmetric Accretion Disk in the X-Ray
Binary MS 1603.6+2600 (=UW Coronae Borealis)
Paul A. Mason, Edward L. Robinson, Candace L. Gray, & Robert I. Hynes
2008, ApJ, 685, 428-435
A Chemical Survey of 73 Comets Conducted at McDonald Observatory
Candace L. Gray & A. L. Cochran
2008, BAAS, 40, 411
AR Ursae Majoris Discovered to Be a Persistent Radio Polar: Results from a VLA
Survey of Magnetic Cataclysmic Variables
Paul A. Mason & Candace L. Gray
2007, ApJ, 660, 662-668
CCD Photometry of UW Coronae Borealis
Paul A. Mason, Edward L. Robinson, & Candace L. Gray
2006, BAAS, 38, 84
AR Ursae Majoris: A New Persistent Radio Emitter
C. L. Gray & P. A. Mason
2005, BAAS, 37, 496
An Investigation of Radio Emission in Magnetic Cataclysmic Variables
P. A. Mason & C. Gray
2004, ASPC, 315, 237
Effectiveness of GeoWall Visualization Technology for Conceptualization of the
Sun-Earth-Moon System
N. E. Turner, C. Gray, & E. J. Mitchell
2004, AGUFM, ED11A-06
A VLA Survey of Magnetic Cataclysmic Variable Stars
C. Gray & P. A. Mason
2004, RMxACm 20, 267
A VLA Survey of Magnetic Cataclysmic Variables: The First Radio Detection of
the High Field Polar, AR UMa
C. Gray & P. A. Mason
2004, BAAS, 36, 982
Effectiveness of GeoWall Technology in Conceptualizing Lunar Phases
N. Turner, R. Lopez, K. Hamed, D. Corralez, & C. Gray
2004, COSP, 35, 4104
