Anna Katherina Vivas (born 1972) is a Venezuelan astrophysicist recognized for her investigations of and finding up to 100 new and very distant

RR Lyrae RR Lyrae is a variable star in the Lyra constellation, figuring in its west near to Cygnus. As the brightest star in its class, it became the eponym for the RR Lyrae variable class of stars and it has been extensively studied by astro ...

stars. They are between 13,000 and 220,000 light years from the Sun, and are considered some of the oldest in the

Milky Way The Milky Way is the galaxy that includes our Solar System, with the name describing the galaxy's appearance from Earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars that cannot be individually distinguished by the naked eye. ...

. Her research has enabled some of the first studies of the structure and properties of the whole halo of the Milky Way and not only its innermost parts. The observation was made possible by combining a telescope with a large format camera, allowing astronomers to cover large portions of the sky in a short amount of time.

Career

Vivas is a physics graduate from the University of the Andes and astrophysics doctor from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

. From 2002 to 2013 she served as researcher of the Francisco J. Duarte Astronomy Investigation Center (

Llano del Hato National Astronomical Observatory The Llano del Hato National Astronomical Observatory ( es, OAN de Llano del Hato, or Observatorio Astronómico Nacional de Llano del Hato, code: 303) is an astronomical observatory in Venezuela. It is 3600 meters above sea level and is the coun ...

), in the village of Llano del Hato in the Venezuelan

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

, near

Apartaderos Apartaderos is a small Andean town in Mérida State, Venezuela. Located at an altitude of , it is the highest town in Venezuela, surrounded by páramo vegetation, the town has tourism facilities such as restaurants, gift shops and small hotels. ...

, about 50 kilometers north-east of Mérida,

Mérida State Mérida or Merida may refer to: Places *Mérida (state), one of the 23 states which make up Venezuela *Mérida, Mérida, the capital city of the state of Mérida, Venezuela * Merida, Leyte, Philippines, a municipality in the province of Leyte * ...

. In 2009 she received the

Empresas Polar Empresas Polar is a Venezuelan corporation that started as a brewery, founded in 1941 by Lorenzo Alejandro Mendoza Fleury, Juan Simon Mendoza, Rafael Lujan and Karl Eggers in Antímano "La Planta de Antimano", Caracas. It is the largest and bes ...

Lorenzo Mendoza Fleury Science Prize The Lorenzo Mendoza Fleury Science Prize, also known as the "Premio Fundación Empresas Polar" is the most important award offered by the private sector to contemporary scientists from Venezuela who have shown outstanding talent, creativity and pro ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vivas, Kathy 1972 births Living people People from Tovar, Mérida 21st-century Venezuelan women scientists Astrophysicists Women astrophysicists 21st-century Venezuelan scientists 21st-century astronomers University of the Andes (Venezuela) alumni Yale University alumni

Career

See also

References