Two-color speckle imaging of M-dwarfs with the Discovery Channel telescope

Lowell Observatory and Southern Connecticut State University are currently involved in a joint project to determine the stellar multiplicity rates and the fundamental stellar parameters of M dwarf stars using the Differential Speckle Survey Instrument (DSSI) at Lowell’s Discovery Channel Telescope (DCT). DSSI observes speckle patterns simultaneously at two separate wavelengths, allowing color measurements of the components of a binary system to be made in a single observation. This paper will describe the initial data gathering process, which began in 2016. Since then, over 1000 stars have been observed. We summarize the analysis on these objects so far, and discuss the relevance of these observations for existing and future space missions such as TESS, JWST, and Gaia.

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