The National Science Foundation has granted UTRGV $516,000 to continue the research of gravitational waves. The money would be used to finish building a six-year-old telescope in South America.
“We get a lot of information from [gravitational waves],” said Mario Diaz, physics and astronomy professor and director of the Center for Gravitational Wave Astronomy. “For example, they detect gravitational waves of compact objects. Compact objects are the neutron stars, black holes, it can be two neutron stars…we get to know the masses of, you know, how much heavier than the sun [they] are. We get to know how far they are from us, from the Earth. We get to know how they spin or how fast they spin.”
Students will have the opportunity to interact with the telescope in different ways and be part of the research that will be conducted at the facility in Argentina.
Hyung Lee, physics and astronomy professor said, “Once we have this facility down there, students can physically visit that site and learn about this telescope, learn about this observatory. … Because it’s a remote facility, students can even work from here in Edinburg or Brownsville.”
The Transient Optical Robotic Observatory of the South (TOROS) telescope will allow students to have access to data about astronomical research. Gravitational-wave detections, behaviors of black holes and the locations of astronomical events are some of the topics available to learn about.
“We already have UTRGV students both at undergraduate and graduate, working at the observatory in Brownsville,” Astronomy Professor Nicolas Pereyra said. “We will be able to get students collaborating with astronomers from Argentina and also with various in Texas.”
Nicole Lass, an Ocean Coastal and Earth Sciences graduate student said she is glad the grant was awarded to the TOROS project.
“It’s an awesome opportunity,” Lass said. “I am glad we got the grant. I think it’s great. … The grant, I think is going to be great for students who are pursuing that field of research. It will help get our name out there once again. … Things like this is what makes us amazing.”
For more information about TOROS, email mario.diaz@utrgv.edu.
