Near-infrared ``true color'' image of the planetary nebula M 2-9 (The Butterfly), a star in its final stages of evolution. Broadband J, H, and K (1.2, 1.6, 2.2 microns) are plotted as blue, green, and red, respectively. This image shows clearly a resolved photodissociation region in the lobes of the nebula. These data were acquired with the U. Hawaii 2.2 meter telescope on Mauna Kea (Hora, J.H., and Latter, W.B. 1994, ApJ, 437, 281). Click on image to see it full size.
This object was recently featured in the 2MASS (Two Micron All Sky Survey) Picture of the Week! Find it here.


Go to: NASA HQ / NASA HQ Space Science / JPL / IPAC / Caltech / ESA
 
 

Hubble Space Telescope/NICMOS images of the Rotten Egg Nebula

Hubble Space Telescope/NICMOS images of NGC 7027 (Get a reprint of the ApJ paper: PDF )

 

William B. Latter

 

Phone:  626-395-8568
FAX:  626-432-7484
Office Location: Morrisroe Astrosciences Laboratory
                          770 S. Wilson Avenue
                          Room 220
                          California Institute of Technology

Mailing Address:


 


Where on this page would you like to go?

Some Details About Me:

Research Interests: Atomic and molecular processes in astrophysics; Chemical processes in rapidly evolving astrophysical systems; Early and late stages of stellar evolution including chemical processes in circumstellar envelopes of mass-losing stars, and the mass-loss process; Planetary nebula formation, evolution, and chemistry.
 
I was ionized this morning, but I'm OK now.
                    -- Buckaroo Banzai

 

My CV in brief: I am currently the Project Scientist and Task Lead for the NASA Herschel Science Center. Prior to that I was the Instrument Support Team Lead for the Multiband Imaging Photometer for Spitzer at the Spitzer Science Center and Infrared Processing and Analysis Center on the campus of the California Institute of Technology. Also, I was the Principal Investigator on a NASA Long Term Space Astrophysics Program grant titled ``Photon-Dominated Circumstellar Gas during Early and Late Stages of Stellar Evolution,'' and an observer with the Hubble Space Telescope and the Spitzer Space Telescope (in addition to many ground-based telescopes!).

         I get off on 57 Chevys;
         I get off on screaming guitar.
         Like the way it hits me every time it hits me.
         I've got a rock and roll, I've got a rock and roll heart.
                            -- Troy Seals, Eddie Setser and Steve Diamond

Prior to all this, I was as a Visiting Researcher in Astronomy at the University of California at Santa Cruz/Lick Observatory. This followed a two year period as a National Research Council Research Associate in the Space Science Division at NASA Ames Research Center. Prior to that I was with the National Radio Astronomy Observatory at the 12 meter operations in Tucson, Arizona. Before that I spent a couple of very interesting years at the Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics in Toronto, Canada. My Ph.D. study was done at the Steward Observatory in Arizona.
 

The man's been through solid matter, for crying out loud!
Who knows what's happened to his brain? Maybe it's scrambled
his molecules! All I'm saying is, Mr. President, let's not panic!
                  -- General Catburd
                     (in The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai)

 
 

What does all this mean?: I live in the rarefied world of professional astronomy and astrophysics. It is a realm where few dare to venture, and those that do are certainly altered in unpredictable ways by the experience. I have been many things in my life, from an auto repair technician (a.k.a. mechanic) as a carburetion and tune-up specialist, deck hand on sport fishing boats, a pit crew member for the once famed Walton-Cerny-Moody AA Fuel Dragster, to a cross country, marathon runner, and ultra runner.

           Play is even more demanding than real life.
           It asks unremittingly for our very best.
                                -- Dr. George Sheehan

            I don't want to win unless I know I've done my best,
            and the only way I know how to do that is to run out
            front, flat out until I have nothing left. Winning any
            other way is chicken-shit.
                                -- Steve Prefontaine

Little has come close to the adventure of discovery and learning that is being a scientist (Well, having a 4000 horsepower engine explode in your face does leave a lasting impact, too.). It is not a world those who do not enjoy learning, hard work, physics and math, chemistry, and total, all consuming obsession easily understand. If you are interested in learning a little about life in professional astronomy today, then join Sten Odenwald in the Astronomy Cafe now. Also, by following some of the links that litter this page, you can find yourself at just about any school, college, observatory, university department, or institute in the world.  Perhaps your might even run into a Mad Scientist (or two)!  Read on to learn a little about my research (not always correct!).
 

Ain't no chain strong enough to hold me.
Ain't no breeze big enough to slow me.
Never have seen a river that's too wide.
          -- Clarence `Gatemouth' Brown

 

 
 
 

          Desire is the key to motivation, but it's your determination
          and commitment to a goal -- your commitment to excellence --
          that will enable you to attain the success you seek.
                    -- Mario Andretti



 

For your information:

Please note: Data from our near-IR imaging survey of planetary nebulae (``Investigating the Near-Infrared Properties of Planetary Nebulae. I. Narrowband Images,'' Latter et al. 1995, ApJS, 100, 159; reprint here) are available to selected astronomers and other researchers. These data are in FITS format and can be transferred by FTP. Send email to the above address with your request, and a brief explanation for how these data will be used. Requests for data will only be honored if sufficient justification is given.

Part II of this work in which we present a near-infrared spectroscopic survey of many PNe (including several positions for most) has finally reached completion. Preliminary analysis was been presented (``A Near-Infrared Spectral Survey of Planetary Nebulae,'' J. H. Hora, W. B. Latter, and L. K. Deutsch 1998, in IAU Symposium 180, Planetary Nebulae).  The full survey has recently been published in the Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series (``Investigating the Near-Infrared Properties of Planetary Nebulae. II. Medium Resolution Spectra," Hora, J.L., Latter, W.B., & Deutsch, L.K. 1999, ApJS, 124, 195).

A reprint of Paper II can be found here.
 
 

Kluwer Academic Publishers have published  ``CO: Twenty-Five Years of Millimeter-Wave Spectroscopy;''  the proceedings of IAU Symposium 170!

The full IAU 170 Proceedings are online. Extended write-ups of the poster presentations given at IAU Symposium 170 ``CO: Twenty-five Years of Millimeter-wave Spectroscopy'' (29 May - 2 June 1995; Tucson, Arizona) can be found here. The editors have finalized the Proceedings, and they now are in the hands of Kluwer Academic Publishers. The Proceedings have been placed online until Kluwer ships the book. The online version can be found by clicking here. and following the link to IAU 170 proceedings. For those of you that need the full reference, here it is: CO: Twenty-five Years of Millimeter-wave Spectroscopy 1997, edited by William B. Latter, Simon J. E. Radford, Philip R. Jewell, Jeffrey G. Mangum, and John Bally (Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers).
 


Hot (well, actually getting fairly old and moldy) stuff:

Click here for my page of Pictures and Research -- very cool stuff!.

Click here for my page of Reference Links. If you don't find it there, well then maybe you don't need it.
 

So, what's all this talk about life possibly once having existed on Mars? There will be lots of discussion and debate about this. It is not 100% certain, but for the first time in human history we have apparent evidence that life also might have started somewhere other than Earth. Much work needs to be done to verify (or negate) this finding, however. See the ``Life on Mars'' Home Page. A copy of the scientific article reporting this discovery can be found here.
 
 
Comet Hyakutake (C/1996 B2) made its closest approach to the Sun on 1 May 1996, and is now heading back out into the far reaches of the Solar System. Close on its heels was another great comet. If you missed Comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1) you just didn't look (there is more to the world than that space of sidewalk in front of you). From the Northern Hemisphere it was clearly visible in the evening skies. Two long tails could easily seen without aid. Comet Hale-Bopp was at its best in late March and early April 1997. Keep a look out for the next one! Tune in to a sky (or web site) near you! 

The search for planets orbiting stars other than our Sun has now turned up a number clear detections, and the hunt has only just begun! Much of the most successful work to date has been done by San Francisco State University astronomers using the Lick Observatory. Learn more at the SFSU Planet Search Home Page. I know -- you want to know if there is intelligent life on those planets. Very unlikely, but you can learn about searches for extraterrestrial intelligence at the SETI page (here).
 

 
 

What is infrared astronomy? Go and see this IR astronomy tutorial for a great introduction.

See a nice discussion of the birth, life, and death of stars at Greg Sloan's Home Page.

For those who just love planetary nebulae, visit the Planetary nebula Observer's Home Page by Doug Snyder in San Jose. 

Kim McLeod's Page. She is a cool person and plays the mandolin. Jimmy Buffett had good things to say about mandolin players, and he would be right. 
 


Not Fade Away Section:
 

Richard Latter 1923 - 1999. I saw him through my telescope on a cloudless night in June as he rested between voyages at his beach house on the moon. (Jimmy Buffett 1999)

Florence Griffith-Joyner 1959 - 1998. With her hair on fire it seemed, Flo-Jo set world records in 1988: 10.49 seconds in the 100 meters and 21.34 in the 200 meters. The memory of those performances will forever be burned into the minds of all who witnessed them.

(4442) Garcia: Jerry Garcia was honored by the International Astronomical Union, an association of astronomers world wide, on 7 November 1995 -- an asteroid has been named for him. Thanks go to Drs. Ed Olszewski (Steward Observatory) and Simon Radford (NRAO)!

Jacques Cousteau 1910-1997. Mother, mother ocean, I have heard your call. Wanted to sail upon your waters since I was three feet tall -- You've seen it all, you've seen it all. (Jimmy Buffett 1974)

Richard J. Latter 1948 - 1990. He's somewhere on the ocean now, a place he outta be. With one hand on starboard rail, he's wavin' back at me. (Jimmy Buffett 1975)
 

 

This information is provided by William B. Latter, who is solely responsible for its content. Any information contained herein should not be construed as representing the official or unofficial views of NASA, the California Institute of Technology, or any other organization or individual.

Last update: Fri 6 Apr 2007 by Dr. William B. Latter

They tell me we're circlin' a star. 
Well I'll take their word I don't know. 
But I'm dizzy so it may be so. 
Jimmy Buffett, By: Jesse Winchester, Defying Gravity (1975)