Home Island: Hilo, Hawaii Island
High School: Christian Liberty Academy
Institution when accepted: UH Hilo
Bethany de Loach was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii. She
is a proud graduate of Christian Liberty Academy. She is
currently a student at the University of Hawaii at Hilo,
pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Astronomy. While she is
fascinated by all things related to astronomy and
mathematics. However, studying the heavens is more than
an academic pursuit for her; it is to understand one small,
beautiful part of creation and the creator of the universe.
Site: Gemini Observatory. Hilo, Hawaii Island
Mentors: Cicero Lu & Winston Wu
Project title: Analyzing SPHEREx Spectral Data to Identify Life-Essential Volatiles in Debris Disks
Project Abstract:
Volatiles in young planetary systems encode key information for the interior composition of
terrestrial planets. However, it is challenging to directly observe these volatiles (H20, CO, CO2). With
the SPHEREx near-infrared all-sky survey, we are now able to investigate the tenuous amount of
volatiles in these systems. This study involves 87 young planetary systems from 10-40 Myr in the
Pleiades and Beta Pictoris Moving Group. We fit blackbody models and perform normalization to
isolate volatile signatures. Derivative-based methods and visual comparisons between volatile-rich
protoplanetary systems from the SpExoDisks database and our systems of interest are used to
identify hints of emission features.