Email: romanishin@ou.edu
B.S. Harvard (1974)
Ph.D. Arizona (1980)
My research involves the application of optical CCD imaging of astronomical objects using various large and small telescope, along with associated image processing techniques, to a variety of astronomical topics.
Currently, my main topic of interest is the colors and other photometric properties of minor bodies in the outer solar system, including Kuiper Belt Objects and irregular satellites of the Jovian planets. A common theme of these projects is to obtain accurate measurements of the observed brightness and colors of various astronomical objects, frequently in the presence of contaminating background or foreground light sources. The scientific goal of these studies is to trace how and where the diverse population of minor outer solar system bodies we now observe originated and how these objects fit into the story of the formation of our solar system. By measuring colors for a large sample of minor outer solar system objects and finding patterns in their colors and orbital properties, my colleagues and I have already found interesting clues to the places of origin of certain classes of these objects.
