Tod R. Lauer
Encyclopedia
Tod R. Lauer is an astronomer on the research staff of the National Optical Astronomy Observatory
. He was a member of the Hubble Space Telescope
Wide Field and Planetary Camera
team, and is a founding member of the Nuker Team
. His research interests includes observational searches for massive black holes in the centers of galaxies
, the structure of elliptical galaxies, stellar populations, large scale structure of the Universe, and astronomical image processing
. He is presently PI of the Destiny
JDEM concept study. Asteroid 3135 Lauer
is named for him.
National Optical Astronomy Observatory
The National Optical Astronomy Observatory is the United States national observatory for ground based nighttime ultraviolet-optical-infrared astronomy. The National Science Foundation funds NOAO to provide forefront astronomical research facilities for US astronomers...
. He was a member of the Hubble Space Telescope
Hubble Space Telescope
The Hubble Space Telescope is a space telescope that was carried into orbit by a Space Shuttle in 1990 and remains in operation. A 2.4 meter aperture telescope in low Earth orbit, Hubble's four main instruments observe in the near ultraviolet, visible, and near infrared...
Wide Field and Planetary Camera
Wide Field and Planetary Camera
The Wide Field/Planetary Camera was a camera installed on the Hubble Space Telescope until December 1993. It was one of the instruments on Hubble at launch, but its functionality was severely impaired by the defects of the main mirror optics which afflicted the telescope...
team, and is a founding member of the Nuker Team
Nuker Team
The Nuker Team was organized in 1985 to use the Hubble Space Telescope, with its high-resolution imaging and spectroscopy, to investigate the central structure and dynamics of galaxies. The team uses the space telescope to examine supermassive black holes and determined the relationship between a...
. His research interests includes observational searches for massive black holes in the centers of galaxies
Galaxy
A galaxy is a massive, gravitationally bound system that consists of stars and stellar remnants, an interstellar medium of gas and dust, and an important but poorly understood component tentatively dubbed dark matter. The word galaxy is derived from the Greek galaxias , literally "milky", a...
, the structure of elliptical galaxies, stellar populations, large scale structure of the Universe, and astronomical image processing
Image processing
In electrical engineering and computer science, image processing is any form of signal processing for which the input is an image, such as a photograph or video frame; the output of image processing may be either an image or, a set of characteristics or parameters related to the image...
. He is presently PI of the Destiny
Dark Energy Space Telescope
The Dark Energy Space Telescope , was a planned project by NASA and DOE, designed to perform precision measurements of the universe to provide an understanding of dark energy...
JDEM concept study. Asteroid 3135 Lauer
3135 Lauer
3135 Lauer is a main-belt asteroid discovered on March 1, 1981 by S. J. Bus at Siding Spring. It is named for American astronomer Tod R. Lauer in honor of his participation in the Palomar Planet-Crossing Asteroid Survey during 1976-77 as an undergraduate student at Caltech.- External links :*...
is named for him.