[Previous] | [Session 113] | [Next]
D. Backman (F&M College / NASA-Ames), T. Henry (Georgia State U.), T. Okimura, P. Mariani (Symtech, Inc.), J. Blackwell (NBSO), S. Jue (Johns Hopkins U.)
The goals of the NStars Project are to: 1) provide a robust, web-based data set for use by researchers and the public regarding stellar objects within 25 pc of the Earth, 2600 of which are presently known from an estimated total of 10,000; 2) discover unidentified nearby stars; 3) characterize stars especially in terms of astrobiology-related properties such as age, metallicity, variability, sub-stellar companions, and circumstellar planetary ('exozodi') dust; 4) support definition of research programs using upcoming NASA Origins facilities such as SIRTF (Space Infrared Telescope Facility), SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy), SIM (Space Interferometry Mission), and TPF (Terrestrial Planet Finder); and 5) coordinate other NASA- and NSF-funded observing programs aimed at gathering new data on nearby stars. The large set of homogeneous and quality-controlled data for these stars will soon be accessible through the NStars website at: http://nstars.arc.nasa.gov. The Project is intended as part of a long-term initiative to promote research from both ground and space on nearby stars and fundamental stellar quantities, stellar populations and kinematics, history of the galaxy, extrasolar planets, habitability zones, and SETI. We thank the NASA Origins program and the NASA-Ames Astrobiology Institute for support.
The author(s) of this abstract have provided an email address for comments about the abstract: backman@ssa1.arc.nasa.gov