Personal Website: https://lunaalphalyrae.github.io/
Laura D. Vega (she/her)
(POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHER)
| Email: | laura.d.vega@nasa.gov |
| Org Code: | 667 |
| Address: |
NASA/GSFC Mail Code 667 Greenbelt, MD 20771 |
| Employer: | UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND AT COLLEGE PARK |
Brief Bio
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
2025. "The Transmission Spectrum of the Potentially Rocky Planet L 98-59 c.", The Astronomical Journal, 169 (5): 241 [10.3847/1538-3881/ada5f6] [Journal Article/Letter]
2024. "Preparing for the Early eVolution Explorer: Characterizing the Photochemical Inputs and Transit Detection Efficiencies of Young Planets Using Multiwavelength Flare Observations by TESS and Swift.", The Astronomical Journal, 169 (1): 27 [10.3847/1538-3881/ad93ce] [Journal Article/Letter]
2024. "A Multiwavelength Survey of Nearby M Dwarfs: Optical and Near-ultraviolet Flares and Activity with Contemporaneous TESS, Kepler/K2, Swift, and HST Observations.", The Astrophysical Journal, 971 (1): 24 [10.3847/1538-4357/ad487d] [Journal Article/Letter]
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
October 2017 - December Present