Frederick M. Walter

Professor of Astronomy
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Z=3800
Stony Brook University
Stony Brook NY 11794-3800
631-632-8232
frederick.walter at stonybrook.edu

Images of the Sun taken about 11:45 AM 21 August 2017 MDT from near the intersection of Rt 29 and Cut Across Rd, about 12 miles south of Agate NE. These are handheld 1/1000 second integrations with a DSLR camera (ISO 400, f/8, 135 mm focal length).

Brief Bio:

Frederick M Walter has been a professor of Astronomy at SBU since 1989. Prior to that he spent 8 years navigating the alphabet soup at the University of Colorado, Boulder as a post-doc at JILA, a research scientist at LASP, and a fellow of CASA. His PhD is from the University of California at Berkeley (Astronomy); he has an SB in course VIII (Physics) from MIT.

Professor Walter is an observational astronomer who studies the birth and death of stars, and stellar magnetic activity (stellar weather). He uses telescopes in Arizona, Chile, Hawaii, and in Earth orbit. Currently he spends most of his time studying the Galactic novae, thermonuclear runaways (explosions!) on the surfaces of white dwarf stars, but he worries about the next Carrington event, and the future inhabitability of planet Earth.

Professor Walter is a past president of the Stony Brook University Senate, and has been a statewide SUNY Senator. He is a former Vice President for Academics for the UUP Stony Brook West Chapter. He represents Stony Brook in the Associated Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA), where he was formerly a member of the Board of Directors, and is the Stony Brook representative to the Astronomical Society of New York (ASNY).

He used to play collegiate ice hockey, fly airplanes, brew beer, and run marathons. He roots for the Red Sox. He has never scaled a 14er, nor hiked the length of the Appalachian Trail.

Contents


Hard at work.

Tycho and me

on the island of Ven, September 2005
At Cerro Tololo, December 2006

ROSAT image of the R CrA Molecular Cloud

R CrA cloud (ROSAT PSPC band 1), with an isolated neutron star to the lower right. This is a mosaic of 6 images.

Public Presentations

  • public talks, including Astronomy Open Night presentations.

    TEACHING

  • AST 301: Collisions in the Solar System (Spring 2021)

  • HON 301: Surviving the Anthropocene (Fall 2021)

  • AST 443: Observational Techniques (Fall 2020)

  • AST 389: Science Fiction (Spring 2022)

  • AST 248: The Search for Life in the Universe (Fall 2021)

  • AST 105: Introduction to the Solar System (Fall 2018)

  • SSB 102: Welcome to the Anthropocene (Freshman Seminar) (Spring 2022)

  • PHY 688: Special Topics in Astrophysics: The Formation of Stars and Planets (Fall 2017)

  • AST 101: Introduction to Astronomy (Spring 2013)

  • AST 341: Astrophysics I (Fall 2012)

  • HON 114: The Science in Science Fiction (Fall 2010)

  • Phy 445/515: The Astronomy Option (Fall 2006)
    Phy 445/515: backup astronomy page - may be out of date

  • PHY 666 (AST 510): Cool Stars Seminar (Spring 2006)

  • CEN 511: Recent Discoveries in Astronomy (Fall 1997)

    SMARTS INFORMATION

  • SUNY-specific information about SMARTS
  • The SMARTS Consortium website
  • How to access and measure ANDICAM images
  • How to access and measure 1.5m RC spectra
  • The 1.5m RC spectrograph service observing schedule
  • The Stony Brook / SMARTS 1.5m RC spectrograph spectral atlas
  • The Stony Brook / SMARTS Spectral Atlas of Southern Novae

    SMARTS DATA

  • eta Car
  • Nova LMC 2005
  • V1118 Ori
  • V1647 Ori
  • new nova in Oph
  • The massive Dwarf Nova HD 109962. Poster presented at the October 2006 AAS/HEAD meeting

    CURRENT PROJECTS

  • Time-resolved photometry and spectroscopy of things that go bump in the night, using the SMARTS facilities
  • Observations of the isolated neutron star RXJ185635-3754.

  • ROSAT X-ray observations of low mass stars in the R CrA and Orion associations.

  • The outer atmosphere of V471 Tau,
    as probed by absorption spectroscopy
  • Optical and near-IR spectroscopic followup observations of X-ray identified low mass stars in young associations.

  • HST and FUSE observations of molecular Hydrogen in the gaseous disks of low mass pre-main sequence stars,

  • Doppler imaging of AB Dor at all levels of the atmosphere (HST/GHRS, EUVE, ROSAT, and ground-based observations) -- happened on 14-17 November 1994. See also Andrew Collier-Cameron's MUSICOS page .

  • Photometric observations of low mass PMS stars to determine rotational modulation period ( S. Wolk , N. Adams, and undergraduate observers).

    SOME RECENT PUBLICATIONS

  • The Downside of EF Eridani: 6 years of SMARTS observations of a Dormant Polar, a poster shown at the Tri-State Astronomy Conference, at the CUNY Graduate center, 31 October 2008.
  • The Distance to σ Orionis and Implications for the Age of the Orion OB1b Association a poster shown at IAU Symposium 258, The Ages of Stars, Baltimore MD, October 2008.
    Musings on IAU 258, in the style of Edgar Allan Poe.
  • Very low mass objects in Orion OB1a and b to appear in the proceedings of the 15th Cool Stars Workshop, July 2008, St Andrews, Scotland.
    The poster on which this paper is based.
  • The σ Orionis Cluster in the Handbook of Star Formation regions, ed. B. Reipurth, in press
  • Probing Small Scale Structure in the Atmosphere of V471 Tauri, 2004, Astron. Nach, 325, in press

  • Resolving Atmospheric Structure in V471 Tauri, 2004, Proceedings of IAU Symposium 219, in press

  • Mapping the Circumstellar Environment of T Tauri with Fluorescent H2 Emission, F.M. Walter, G. Herczeg, A. Brown, D.R. Ardila, G.F. Gahm, C.M. Johns-Krull, J.J. Lissauer, M. Simon, J.A. Valenti, 2003 Astronomical Journal, 126, 3076

  • Deconstructing HD 28867, F.M. Walter, T. Beck, J.A. Morse, & S.J. Wolk, 2003, Astronomical Journal, 125, 2123

  • Very low mass stars and brown dwarf candidates in Orion OB1a and OB1b, F.M. Walter, W.H. Sherry, & S.J. Wolk, 2002, in Brown Dwarfs, (IAU Symposium 211), ed. E. Martin.
    The Brown Dwarf Talking Blues

  • A Revised Parallax and its Implications for RX J185635-3754, F.M. Walter & James M. Lattimer, 2002, ApJL, 576, L145

  • The Sun: The First 4.6 Gyr, F.M. Walter, 2002, review presented at the Twelfth Cool Stars Workshop. Six GIF movies accompany section 2.2 of this presentation:
    1. The orbit of V471 Tau.
    2. The time-resolved GHRS spectrum from 2 Oct 1995.
    3. The time-resolved GHRS spectrum from 26 Aug 1996 .
    4. The time-resolved GHRS spectrum from 4 Jan 1997.
    5. Part 1 of the time-resolved STIS N V spectrum on 23 March 1998.
    6. Part 2 of the time-resolved STIS N V spectrum on 23 March 1998.

  • Global Properties of Low Mass Stars in the Orion OB1 Association, F.M. Walter, W.H. Sherry, & S.J. Wolk, 2002, presented at the Galactic Star Formation Workshop, La Serena Chile, March 2002.

  • Kim, J.S., Walter, F.M., & Wolk, S.J. 2001, in the proceedings of the 12th Cool Stars, Stellar Systems, and the Sun, ed. Brown, A., Ayres, T.R., & Harper, G.M., http://origins.colorado.edu/cs12/proceedings/proceedings.html

  • Kim, J.S., Walter, F.M., & Wolk, S.J. 2002, in press, in the proceedings of Galactic Star Formation Across the Stellar Mass Spectrum held in La Serena, Chile, March 2002, ed. De Buizer, J.M., (the ASP Conference Series).

  • Towards a Mass and Radius Determination of the Nearby Isolated Neutron Star RX J185635-3754, J.A. Pons, F.M. Walter, J.M. Lattimer, M. Prakash, R. Neuhaeuser, & P. An. ApJ, 564, 981.

  • AB Dor in '94: I. HST/GHRS Observations of the Quiescent Chromosphere of an Active Star, J.C. Brandt et al. 2001, AJ,121, 2173.

  • The Proper Motion, Parallax, and Origin of the Isolated Neutron Star RX J185635-3754, F.M. Walter, 2001, ApJ, 549, 433.

  • The Chromosphere of V471 Tauri Resolved, F.M. Walter & J.S. Kim, in ASP Conf. Ser #223, the Eleventh Cambridge Workshop on Cool Stars, Stellar Systems, and the Sun, p. CD-1073 (2000).

  • The Low Mass Stellar Population of the Orion OB1 Association and Implications for the Formation of Low Mass Stars, F.M. Walter, J.M. Alcala, R. Neuhaeuser, M. Sterzik, & S.J. Wolk, in Protostars and Planets IV, ed V. Mannings, A.P. Boss, and S.S. Russell (Tucson: University of Arizona), p 273 (2000). There are 5 figures: Figure 1, Figure 2, Figure 3, Figure 4, and Figure 5.

  • Activity in pre-main sequence and very active stars in Solar and Stellar Activity: Similarities and Differences, eds. C.J. Butler and J.G. Doyle, ASP Conf. Ser #158, (ASP: San Francisco), p. 87 (1999).

  • The Large-Scale Distribution and Motions of Older Stars in Orion. A.G.A. Brown, F.M. Walter, & A. Blaauw, to appear in the proceedings of the 1997 Ringberg Conference on Orion, eds. A. Burkert and M. McCaughrean.

  • A New Non-Solar Paradigm for Active Stars. F.M. Walter & P.B. Byrne, in Cool Stars, Stellar Systems, and the Sun 10, eds. R. Donahue and J. Bookbinder, (ASP: San Francisco), CD-1458 (1998).

  • The Sigma Orionis Cluster. F.M. Walter S.J. Wolk, & W. Sherry, in Cool Stars, Stellar Systems, and the Sun 10, eds. R. Donahue and J. Bookbinder, (ASP: San Francisco), CD-1793 (1998).

  • Probing the Extended Atmosphere of V471 Tauri. J.S. Kim & F.M. Walter, in Cool Stars, Stellar Systems, and the Sun 10, eds. R. Donahue and J. Bookbinder, (ASP: San Francisco), CD-1431 (1998).

  • The Optical Counterpart of the Isolated Neutron Star RX J185635-3754. F.M. Walter & L.D. Matthews. Nature, Sept. 25, 1997. You may download figure 1 as a GIF image, and figure 2 as a postscript file.

  • X-Ray Sources in Regions of Star Formation. VI. The R CrA Association as Viewed by EINSTEIN. F.M. Walter, F.J. Vrba, S.J. Wolk, R.D. Mathieu, & R. Neuhauser. AJ, 114, 1544.

  • GHRS Observations of Molecular Hydrogen in the Gas Disks of Pre-Main Sequence Stars. F.M. Walter & Y. Liu, in The Scientific Impact of the Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph, eds. J.C. Brandt, C.C. Petersen, & T.B. Ake, ASP Conference Series # 143 (San Francisco: ASP) p. 360.

  • A Search for Protoplanetary Disks Around Naked T Tauri Stars. S.J. Wolk & F.M. Walter. AJ 111, 2066 (1996).

  • Discovery of a Nearby Isolated Neutron Star. F.M. Walter, S.J. Wolk, & R. Neuhaeuser. Nature, 379, 233 (1996) with 2 figures: 1 , 2 .

  • New Insights into Non-Radiative Heating in Late-A Star Chromospheres. F.M. Walter, L.D. Matthews, & J.L. Linsky. ApJ, 447, 353 (1995).

  • The Long Period AM Her-like Cataclysmic Variable RXJ051541+0104.6. Frederick M. Walter, Scott J. Wolk, & and Nancy R. Adams, ApJ 440, 834 (1995).

  • X-ray Sources in Regions of Star Formation. V. The Low Mass Stars of the Sco OB2 Association. F.M. Walter, F.J. Vrba, R.D. Mathieu, A. Brown, & P.C. Myers. AJ, 107, 692 (1994).

    Click here to see a complete list of publications in postscript format.

    GRADUATE STUDENTS

  • Jacqueline Faherty. Brown Dwarfs. Astrometry. Neutron star parallaxes. PhD 2010. Now at AMNH.

  • Angeliki Field-Pollatou. Photometric Survey of Young Southern Clusters and Associations.

  • Serena Kim. Star Formation in the Gum Nebula. PhD 2002. Gone to Tucson to work on SIRTF.

  • Bill Sherry. Spatial distribution of PMS stars in the belt of Orion. PhD 2003. Gone to Tuscon to work at NSO.

  • Nancy R. Adams. (MA 1995. gone to AXAF.)

  • Scott J. Wolk. (PhD 1996. gone to AXAF.)

    UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

    SMARTS undergrads (2003-2004): Phil Grandin, Jesse Miner, Rustum Nyquist
    SMARTS undergrads (2004-2005): Jesse Miner, Rustum Nyquist, Kevin Lyons, Frank Modica
    SMARTS undergrads (2005-2006): Chris Arettines, Salman Ghani
    SMARTS undergrads (2006-2007): Kevin Lyons
    2008-2010: Andrew Battisti
    2010-2012: Aleksandra Cerniha, Chana Tilevitz, Joseph Wysk


    Initial results of the 1996/7 monitoring campaign were presented at the spring 1997 ASNY meeting in the paper "Rotation Periods of the Low Mass Pre-Main-Sequence Stars near Epsilon Orionis", by G. Leussis, J. Faber, H. Altan, Z. Colon, A. Hervias, J. Janis, J. Mallozzi, J. Thomas, C. Wilson, & F.M. Walter.

    SUNY Senate

    At-large member of the College of Arts and Sciences Senate, and of the University Senate.
    President, Arts and Sciences Senate, 2004-2006
    President, University Senate, 2010-2014

    Chair, Intercollegiate Athletics Board (IAB), 2006-2009

    SPACE TELESCOPE USERS COMMITTEE

    (Chair, Space Telescope Users Committee, 1997-1998)

  • The Space Telescope Users Committee (STUC) charter.
  • STUC membership .
  • old STUC reports .
  • Report of the May 1997 meeting
  • Minutes of the November 1997 meeting
  • November 1997 STUC Report
  • Minutes of the May 1998 meeting
  • May 1998 STUC Report
  • May 1998 STUC Report to the Second Decade Committee
  • Minutes of the November 1998 meeting
  • November 1998 STUC Report

    SOFTWARE PACKAGES for IDL

  • The ICUR Spectral Analysis Software Package
  • The ROSAT RX Analysis Package
  • A package for the photometric reduction of JHK images taken with CIRIM or NSFCAM.

    Miscellaneous

  • Pictures from CTIO, March 2002.
  • Pictures from CTIO, November 2003.
  • Pictures from CTIO, December 2006.
  • Aviation Pictures.
  • Arecibo Observatory, Nov 2007.
  • Montpelier VT, 3 March 2007.
  • Baltimore MD, 21-22 April 2007.
  • St Andrews Scotland, July 15-22 2007.
  • the Old Course, St Andrews Scotland, July 15-22 2007.
  • Munich Germany, July 23-29 2007.
  • Mauna Kea Hawaii, Nov 27-Dec 1 2007.
  • Joe and Tricia's Wedding.
  • A Day in Manhattan, July 5 2009

    Running

    The key is to outlast your opponents. This is one place where getting old is not necessarily a disadvantage.

    Date Race Distance Time Pace Notes
    11/24/10 Feaster 5 5 mi 37:49 7:37
    10/17/10 Run for Children 5 k 22:44 7:20 won age group
    10/2/10 Hampton's Marathon 26.2 mi 3:40:24 8:26 won age group,
    Qualified for Boston
    8/7/10 Beach to Beacon 10 k 45:15 7:17
    5/8/10 The Bench 5k 5 k 22:41 7:19 won age group
    4/25/10 James Joyce Ramble 10 k 48:59 7:53
    11/26/09 Feaster 5 5 mi 38:16 7:42
    11/15/09 SBU Turkey Trot 5 k 23:32 7:36
    10/18/09 Run for Children 5 k 22:54 7:23 won age group
    9/26/09 Hampton's Marathon 26.2 mi 4:01:47 9:14 won age group
    6/6/09 St. James 5K 5 k 24:02 7:45
    4/6/09 Deb Whittemore 5K 5 k 23:30 7:32 won age group
    3/29/09 Suffolk County Half Marathon 13.1 mi 1:44:51 8:00
    11/16/09 SBU Turkey Trot 5 k 23:51 7:42 first place, faculty/staff
    7/27/08 NYC Half Marathon 13.1 mi 1:46:17 8:07
    6/7/08 St. James 5K 5 k 22:49 7:21
    5/26/08 Boulder Boulder 10 k 48:52 7:53
    4/27/08 James Joyce Ramble 10 k 45:07 7:17
    4/13/08 Seawolves 10K 10 k 45:19 7:18
    3/30/08 Suffolk County Half Marathon 13.1 mi 1:41:20 7:45
    11/22/07 Feaster 5 5 mi 37:57 7:39
    10/14/07 Run for Children 5 k 22:48 7:21
    10/7/07 BAA Half Marathon 13.1 mi 1:41:31 7:45
    9/15/07 Cow Harbor 10 k 47:18 7:37
    8/5/07 NYC Half Marathon 13.1 mi 1:51:20 8:29
    7/31/07 LI Corporate Challenge 3.5 mi 26:39 7:37
    6/2/07 St. James 5K 5 k 22:37 7:18 won age group
    4/29/07 James Joyce Ramble 10 k 48:12 7:46
    3/28/07 Suffolk County Half Marathon 13.1 mi 1:50:52 8:28
    12/31/06 Central VT Running Club 5k 23:55 7:43
    11/23/06 Feaster 5 5 mi 38:38 7:47
    11/19/06 SBU Turkey Trot 5k 23:55 7:43
    10/15/06 Run for Children 5 k 24:18 7:50
    5/31/05 Boulder Boulder 10 k 58:05 9:22
    5/30/88 Boulder Boulder 10 k 49:26 7:58
    5/30/87 Boulder Boulder 10 k 47:28 7:39

    The race we're running now is never ending
    Since space and time are bending,
    There's no finish line.

    -Chris Smither

    Selected Fiction

  • The Brown Dwarf Talking Blues
  • Thoughts on IAU 258
  • The Ballad of EF Eridani
  • All the Low Mass Objects - Where Do They All Come From?

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