Elon freshman Todd Calnan presented his research on the energetics of the supermassive black hole in one of our nearest galactic neigbors, Centaurus A, at the 218th meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Boston on May 25.
A physics major, Calnan worked over the past year together with fellow freshman, Matthew Barger, and their advisor, assistant professor Daniel Evans, to analyze X-ray emission from the galaxy using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory.
Their AAS poster, “A Decade of Variability in the Nucleus of Centaurus A: Results from Chandra/ACIS Observations,” presents evidence that the structure of material near to the black hole has changed significantly over the past 10 years, and it provides key insights into the power output of supermassive black holes.
Elon’s Undergraduate Research Program provided partial funding for the project.