For group meeting today, I'm supposed to have a brief summary of what I'm doing this summer (think elevator pitch to astro-related folks). Here is what I'm thinking for mine:
This summer, I'm researching the velocities of close binary pairs. From SDSS, we have spectral data on these binaries for multiple exposures. Because the binary pairs that we're examining are so close together and moving so quickly, in each exposure taken (which can be over a couple of hours), the binaries may have moved causing the spectrum to be redshifted. Using these SDSS exposures and previously compiled templates for each spectral type, we can actually calculate the velocity of these binary pairs. At this point in my research, I have calculated the velocities of ~5,000 white dwarf and M dwarf binaries.
Okay, so it needs a little work, and the last line won't be true for a couple of hours, but all in all a good start.
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