Sciences and Exploration Directorate

Laura D. Vega (she/her)

(POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHER)

Laura D. Vega (she/her)'s Contact Card & Information.
Email: laura.d.vega@nasa.gov
Org Code: 667
Address:
NASA/GSFC
Mail Code 667
Greenbelt, MD 20771
Employer: UNIV OF MARYLAND COLLEGE PARK

Brief Bio


Personal Website: https://lunaalphalyrae.github.io/

Research Interests


CRESST II & Heising-Simons Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellow

Astrophysics: Stars

  • X-rays/UV flares from M dwarf stars
  • Post-AGB, Type II Cepheids, RV Tauri, circumbinary disks

Education


B. S. Physics, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, 2013

M. A. Physics, Fisk University, Nashville, TN, 2017

Ph. D. Astrophysics, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 2021

Professional Societies


Sigma Xi | The Scientific Research Society (ΣΞ), National Society of Hispanic Physicists (NSHP), Toastmasters International - Chapters: NASA GSFC, Vanderbilt, and UTSA, Society for Advancement of Chicanos & Native Americans in Science (SACNAS), American Physical Society (APS), American Astronomical Society (AAS), Sigma Pi Sigma | The Physics Honor Society (ΣΠΣ), LeaderShape Institute Alumna & Pebble Club, Society of Physics Students (SPS)

2008 - Present

Grants


Exploring the Star-Planet Connection via Simultaneous TESS and Swift Observations of Highly Active M Dwarfs

TESS Cycle 3 Guest Investigator Program - NASA - Awarded: 2020-06-01



Stellar Evolution at the Crossroads: The True Colors of RV Tau Variable Stars

Minority University Research Education Project (MUREP) Advanced STEM Training and Research (ASTAR) Harriett G. Jenkins Fellowship - NASA - Awarded: 2015-08-04



Measuring The Highly Active Star Wolf 359 Using Optical, X-Ray, And Ultra-Violet Observations

TESS Cycle 4 Guest Investigator Program - NASA - Awarded: 2021-05-03


Publications


Refereed

2022. "A Pilot Survey of an M Dwarf Flare Star with Swift’s UV Grism." Research Notes of the AAS 6 (9): 201 [10.3847/2515-5172/ac9591] [Journal Article/Letter]

2022. "Transit Timing Variations for AU Microscopii b and c." The Astronomical Journal 164 (1): 27 [10.3847/1538-3881/ac68e5] [Journal Article/Letter]

2022. "Flares, Rotation, and Planets of the AU Mic System from TESS Observations." The Astronomical Journal 163 (4): 147 [10.3847/1538-3881/ac23ca] [Journal Article/Letter]

2021. "Simultaneous Multiwavelength Flare Observations of EV Lacertae." The Astrophysical Journal 922 (1): 31 [10.3847/1538-4357/ac1946] [Journal Article/Letter]

2021. "Multiwavelength Observations of the RV Tauri Variable System U Monocerotis: Long-term Variability Phenomena That Can Be Explained by Binary Interactions with a Circumbinary Disk." The Astrophysical Journal 909 (2): 138 [10.3847/1538-4357/abe302] [Journal Article/Letter]

2020. "The First Habitable-zone Earth-sized Planet from TESS. I. Validation of the TOI-700 System." The Astronomical Journal 160 (3): 116 [10.3847/1538-3881/aba4b2] [Journal Article/Letter]

2019. "The L 98-59 System: Three Transiting, Terrestrial-size Planets Orbiting a Nearby M Dwarf." The Astronomical Journal 158 (1): 32 [10.3847/1538-3881/ab2459] [Journal Article/Letter]

2017. "Evidence for Binarity and Possible Disk Obscuration inKeplerObservations of the Pulsating RV Tau Variable DF Cygni." The Astrophysical Journal 839 (1): 48 [10.3847/1538-4357/aa67dd] [Journal Article/Letter]

2016. "NGC 5195 IN M51: FEEDBACK “BURPS” AFTER A MASSIVE MEAL?." The Astrophysical Journal 823 (2): 75 [10.3847/0004-637x/823/2/75] [Journal Article/Letter]

Selected Public Outreach


Volunteer Astronomer at Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum

November 2017 - Present