astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, g ...
white dwarf
A white dwarf is a stellar core remnant composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. A white dwarf is very dense: its mass is comparable to the Sun's, while its volume is comparable to the Earth's. A white dwarf's faint luminosity comes fro ...
stars. He is the Harlan J. Smith Centennial Professor in
Astronomy
Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...
and a university distinguished teaching professor at the
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
.
Research
Much of Winget's research concerns the study of
white dwarf
A white dwarf is a stellar core remnant composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. A white dwarf is very dense: its mass is comparable to the Sun's, while its volume is comparable to the Earth's. A white dwarf's faint luminosity comes fro ...
stars.
Winget's doctoral research at the
University of Rochester
The University of Rochester (U of R, UR, or U of Rochester) is a private research university in Rochester, New York. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees.
The University of Roc ...
predicted the existence of DBV stars, a certain class of
pulsating white dwarf
A pulsating white dwarf is a white dwarf star whose luminosity varies due to non-radial gravity wave pulsations within itself. Known types of pulsating white dwarfs include DAV, or ZZ Ceti, stars, with hydrogen-dominated atmospheres and the s ...
. After becoming a faculty member at the University of Texas, he and his colleagues discovered
GD 358
GD 358 is a variable white dwarf star of the DBV type. Like other pulsating white dwarfs, its variability arises from non-radial gravity wave pulsations within the star itself. GD 358 was discovered during the 1958–1970 Lowell ...
, a star of this class, fulfilling the prediction of his dissertation and marking the first time in which a class of
variable star
A variable star is a star whose brightness as seen from Earth (its apparent magnitude) changes with time. This variation may be caused by a change in emitted light or by something partly blocking the light, so variable stars are classified as ...
s was predicted to exist before any instances of it were observed.
With Ed Nather, his colleague at University of Texas, Winget introduced the technique for studying the seismology and the inner structure of white dwarfs called "
Whole Earth Telescope
The Whole Earth Telescope is an international network of astronomers that collaborate to study variable stars. The distribution of the observatories in longitude allow the selected targets to be continuously monitored despite the rotation of the ...
". The technique involves coordinating a network of small telescopes around the world to capture small variations in the light output of a white dwarf caused by its seismic oscillations.
One of Winget's projects involves studying white dwarfs using the Z machine pulsed-power electromagnetic wave generator at the Sandia National Lab in
New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Tiguex
, OfficialLang = None
, Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...
.
Recognition
In 1983, Winget was awarded the
Robert J. Trumpler Award
The Robert J. Trumpler Award of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific is given annually to a recent recipient of the Ph.D degree whose thesis is judged particularly significant to astronomy.Astronomical Society of the Pacific. He received the 1987
Newton Lacy Pierce Prize in Astronomy The Newton Lacy Pierce Prize in Astronomy is awarded annually by the American Astronomical Society to a young (less than age 36) astronomer for outstanding achievement in observational astronomical research. The prize is named after Newton Lacy Pi ...
from the
American Astronomical Society
The American Astronomical Society (AAS, sometimes spoken as "double-A-S") is an American society of professional astronomers and other interested individuals, headquartered in Washington, DC. The primary objective of the AAS is to promote the adv ...