Nikki Miller, PhD

Research

Main research focus

NASA photo of the Sun, with a thermometer graphic and a question mark edited on top of it.
How can we improve temperature measurements for stars?

Why are most stellar temperatures not very accurate, and how can eclipsing binary stars help? Read more.
Hubble space telescope image of dark interstellar dust, speckled with brightly coloured stars.
What’s the best way to estimate dust extinction for nearby stars?

Interstellar dust blocks out the light we measure, so how can we mitigate for its effects? Read more.
teb: Code for measuring effective temperatures for eclipsing binaries

I developed this public code to make it easier to measure temperatures for eclipsing binaries. Read more.
Very precise measurements of stars in eclipsing binary systems

How can modern instrumentation unlock sub-percent precision for the properties of stars? Read more.
Artist's impression of a planet orbiting a star, with its atmosphere being evaporated. You can see the blue atmosphere disappearing into space like a giant comet's tail.
How do stars affect the evolution of close-orbiting planets?

Some exoplanets are subjected to large amounts of X-ray and UV light. What happens to them? Read more.
Scheduling software for Xamidimura telescopes at SAAO

I wrote an autonomous scheduler and was involved with commissioning the telescopes in South Africa. Read more.

Collaborations

ESA PLATO

The upcoming PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations (PLATO)mission is set to launch in 2026 and hunt for Earth-like planets around Sun-like stars. I’m involved with the Benchmark Stars work package, building a catalogue of well-measured calibration stars.

Cerro Murphy Observatory

One mountain over from the E-ELT is OCM, an observatory operated by the Araucaria Project with telescopes dedicated to observing pulsating stars and eclipsing binary stars. During my time at CAMK I helped with the development and operations of the observatory, and used its data.