Stellar activity is a quintessential piece of our understanding of stars and a major source of false signals in the hunt for exoplanets. However, detailed study requires a very long time baseline of observations. In this talk, I will detail my work compiling five decades of chromospheric activity measurements in 59 Sun-like stars using observations from the Mount Wilson Survey (1966-2001) and the California Planet Search at Keck Observatory (1996–) to better classify stellar activity cycles. This work highlights the value of combining archival and recent observations to study stellar behavior. I will also discuss how this led to the discovery of a star, HD 166620, entering a Grand Magnetic Minimum: a phenomenon otherwise only well-observed during the Sun's Maunder Minimum (1645-1715). HD 166620 presents a unique opportunity to investigate the mystery of the magnetic minimum.

Host: Jason Wright

Seminar held in 538 Davey or please email CEHW-SEMINAR-QUESTIONS@lists.psu.edu to attend virtually.