The Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian

The Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian

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Joshua Bennett Lovell

Center for Astrophysics

SMA Postdoctoral Fellow

Joshua Bennett Lovell

joshua.lovell@cfa.harvard.edu

About

Josh is a Submillimeter Array (SMA) Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for Astrophysics Harvard-Smithsonian, which he took on after successfully defending his PhD Thesis in 2022 (Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge). In his Fellowship, he is advancing work on observational aspects of planetesimal disk formation and evolution, primarily working at sub-/millimeter wavelengths with the SMA and ALMA. His research forms two main tranches; 1) studying the evolution of young disks and disk populations to understand how planetesimal belts form (around class II and III stars), and 2) investigations of debris disk morphologies to understand how planetesimal belts evolve in the context of planet-disk interactions.

Undergraduate: University of Cambridge (Physical Natural Sciences); Masters: University of Cambridge (Astrophysics); PhD: University of Cambridge (Astronomy)

Telescopes and Instruments

Pan-STARRS-1 Science Consortium

Many objects in the sky don’t change or move visibly on human time scales. However, many others do, especially objects in the Solar System. The Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS) program is designed to monitor the sky for transient astronomical phenomena: everything from near-Earth asteroids to supernovas in far-off galaxies. The first phase of the program, Pan-STARRS1, used a 1.8-meter telescope on the summit of Haleakalā on the island of Maui in Hawaii. The Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian is part of the international Pan-STARRS1 Science consortium, along with the University of Hawaii and other institutions around the world. Pan-STARRS1 data revealed many asteroids, comets, and other previously-unknown moving or variable astronomical objects.

Visit the Pan-STARRS1 Science Consortium Website

Spitzer Space Telescope

Infrared light is the key to studying a wide range of astronomical systems, including newborn stars and planets, dust in distant galaxies, and material swirling around black holes. The Spitzer Space Telescope was NASA’s orbiting infrared observatory, and part of NASA’s Great Observatories program, along with the Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Hubble Space Telescope. Scientists and engineers at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian led the design, testing, and construction of the Infrared Array Camera (IRAC). The Spitzer Space Telescope was launched in 2003 and retired in 2020.

Visit the Spitzer Space Telescope IRAC Page

The Submillimeter Array - Maunakea, HI

Located near the summit of Maunakea on the Big Island of Hawaii, the Submillimeter Array (SMA) is one of the flagship observatories of the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian. The observatory consists of eight radio dishes working together as one telescope, giving astronomers a window on a wide range of astronomical objects and phenomena: planets and comets in our own Solar System; the birth of stars and planets; and the supermassive black holes hidden at the centers of the Milky Way and other galaxies. The SMA is operated jointly by the CfA and the Academia Sinica in Taiwan.

Visit the Submillimeter Array Website