Mike Corcoran received his PhD from the University of Pennsylvania in 1988, where, as a graduate student in the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, he learned the (often frustrating) art of visible-band photometry and polarimetry. Mike's thesis was an attempt to explore the importance of non-sphericity of winds from hot, massive stars by looking for a residual polarimetric signal in the photospheric radiation scattered by the wind material. As a result of this work, Mike became convinced of three things: that the assumption of spherical symmetry applied to winds from hot stars is, in general, unphysical; that disturbances in stellar winds can have observable effects throughout the electromagnetic spectrum; and that an unheated telescope dome gets pretty cold in winter.
Moving indoors, in 1988 Mike found a job at NASA/GSFC as a post-doc with Advanced Computer Concepts (ACC) studying stellar wind behavior via analysis of UV spectral lines. After finishing his tenure at ACC in 1989, Mike inverse-Compton scattered his way to an NRC post-doc at the X-ray group at GSFC.
In 1991 Mike went to work for Universities Space Research Association and joined the ROSAT Guest Observer Facility at GSFC as lead archive scientist. In 1993 Mike joined the HEASARC, and now serves as the manager of the HEASARC Calibration Database and HEASARC archive scientist for the GLAST mission, in addition to his continuing duties as ROSAT archive scientist. In 2008 Mike became USRA Associate Director for the Center for Research and Exploration in Space Science and Technology (CRESST). In April 2017 Mike joined The Catholic University of America as an Associate Research Professor as part of CRESST.
X-ray Emission from Massive Stars
Dr. Corcoran studies the ways stars in our Galaxy (and slightly beyond) produce X-ray emission. He's especially interested in studying mass loss in massive binary systems via their strong winds by studying the X-ray emission produced where the winds collide.
X-ray Emission from Eta Carinae
Eta Carinae is perhaps the most luminous and massive binary system in our Galaxy. Variable X-ray emission from this system has been instrumental in establishing the star as a Colliding-Wind Binary system. Dr. Corcoran and his collaborators use X-ray observations with RXTE, Swift, Chandra, XMM, NuSTAR and NICER to determine how the system loses mass through strong stellar winds (the strongest "steady" stellar wind we know of in the Milky Way) and how this mass loss changes with time.
Variable X-ray Emission from the Colliding Wind Binary Laboratory, WR 140 = HD 193793
WR 140 is the prototype colliding wind binary, consisting of an evolved massive star and a less evolved, more massive star in an 8-year, very eccentric orbit. The star has been well studied from ground and the binary orbit imaged. It is a bright X-ray emitter where X-ray emission is produced by the collision fo the two stars in the system. Dr. Corcoran and his colleagues have used a variety of X-ray observatories to study the high-energy emission around the orbit and have helped develop models of the 3-D structure of the wind-wind interactions, and the mysterious connection between the very hot gas producing X-ray emission and the very cold gas that produces dust.
1988
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1989
Postdoctoral Researcher
Advanced Computer Concepts, Inc,
NASA/GSFC Analysis of IUE observations of the winds of massive stars in binary systems (supervisor: Dr. Sally Heap)
1989
-
1991
National Research Council Resident Research Associate
National Reseach Council,
NASA/GSFC Research involving the X-ray emission associated with shocked stellar winds from massive stars (supervisor: Dr. Jean Swank)
1991
-
1993
ROSAT Guest Observer Facility Support Scientist
USRA,
NASA/GSFC Assisted community access to and analysis of data from ROSAT.
1993
-
Present
HEASARC Archive Scientist
USRA,
NASA/GFC Serves as ROSAT and Fermi archive scientists, manager of the Calibration Database, and editor of the High Energy Astrophysics Picture of the Week.
2009
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2016
USRA Director, Center for Research and Exploration in Space Science and Technology
USRA,
NASA/GSFC Directed the USRA scientists employed through CRESST, and managed the CRESST Visitor Program.
2014
-
2015
Acting Director, Space Technology Institute
USRA,
NASA/MSFC Managed research activities of STI at MSFC
2015
-
2016
Director, NASA Postdoctoral Program
USRA,
NASA/GSFC Transitioned and directed the NASA Postdoctoral Program
4/2016
-
Present
Associate Research Professor
The Catholic University of America,
620 Michigan Ave., N.E. Washington, DC 20064 I work for Catholic University as part of the Center for Research and Exploration in Space Sciences and Technology (2) at the Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt MD
Graduate Student Supervision
1992 -Jose Suarez, Florida Institute of Technology
1993 - Jennifer Catelli, U. Maryland
1994 - Sven Geier, U. Maryland
1996 - 1999 Kazunori Ishibashi, U. Minnesota (M. Sc., Ph. D.)
1999 - Amy Fredericks, U. Maryland
2000 - Laura Brenneman, USRA
2003 - Gary Price, Richard Stockton College
2017 - David Espinoza, The Catholic University of America
Postdoctoral Supervision
2001 - Dr. Aaron Flores
2002 - Dr. Kenji Hamaguchi
2020 - Dr. Christopher Russell
1988-- Ph.D. Astrophysics, University of Pennsylvania
1982-- BA. Physics, Cornell
American Astronomical Union,
1986
-
Present
International Astronomical Union,
1988
-
Present
High Energy Astrophysics Division, American Astronomical Society,
2016
-
Present
Secretary
2022 - NASA Exceptional Public Service Medal
2022 - HEAD Bruno Rossi Prize (as part of the Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer Team)
2019 - NASA Special ACT - Team Award for execution of the NICER Observing Program 2018 - NASA Special ACT - Team Award for contributions to the NICER Team
2015 - NASA Group Achievement Award
2005 - CPSS Community/Educational Outreach Award
2001 - CPSS University Collaboration Award
1992 - NASA Group Achievement Award
1989 - National Research Council Resident Research Associate Award
Mike Corcoran received his PhD from the University of Pennsylvania in 1988, where, as a graduate student in the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, he learned the (often frustrating) art of visible-band photometry and polarimetry. Mike's thesis was an attempt to explore the importance of non-sphericity of winds from hot, massive stars by looking for a residual polarimetric signal in the photospheric radiation scattered by the wind material. As a result of this work, Mike became convinced of three things: that the assumption of spherical symmetry applied to winds from hot stars is, in general, unphysical; that disturbances in stellar winds can have observable effects throughout the electromagnetic spectrum; and that an unheated telescope dome gets pretty cold in winter.
Moving indoors, in 1988 Mike found a job at NASA/GSFC as a post-doc with Advanced Computer Concepts (ACC) studying stellar wind behavior via analysis of UV spectral lines. After finishing his tenure at ACC in 1989, Mike inverse-Compton scattered his way to an NRC post-doc at the X-ray group at GSFC.
In 1991 Mike went to work for Universities Space Research Association and joined the ROSAT Guest Observer Facility at GSFC as lead archive scientist. In 1993 Mike joined the HEASARC, and now serves as the manager of the HEASARC Calibration Database and HEASARC archive scientist for the GLAST mission, in addition to his continuing duties as ROSAT archive scientist. In 2008 Mike became USRA Associate Director for the Center for Research and Exploration in Space Science and Technology (CRESST). In April 2017 Mike joined The Catholic University of America as an Associate Research Professor as part of CRESST.
