معرفی
Patrick M. Hartigan is a Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Rice University, where he is affiliated with the Rice Space Institute (RSI). He maintains an office in Hermann Brown 350 and conducts research using the Hubble Space Telescope and ground-based observatories to study star formation processes.
Dr. Hartigan's research focuses on:
- Phenomena associated with young stars
- Accretion disks and stellar jets
- Shock wave dynamics in star-forming regions
- Conditions similar to those during our solar system's formation
He has developed significant educational resources on lunar phenomena, including detailed analyses of libration, eclipse cycles (particularly the 521-year Hypersaros cycle connecting modern observations with historical events like Columbus's 1504 eclipse), and Venus-Jupiter conjunction patterns. His work demonstrates that supermoons are not rare events (occurring in approximately 25% of full Moons) with minimal size differences between them.
Through the Campus Observatory at Rice University, Dr. Hartigan actively engages in public outreach, creating accessible materials that explain complex astronomical concepts while maintaining scientific accuracy. His forthcoming paper in the Research Notes of the American Astronomical Society details newly identified eclipse cycles beyond the traditional Saros series.
