Lowell Observatory

Lowell's astronomers carry out research in areas spanning much of modern astrophysics, from studies of tiny icy objects in our own solar system to the structure of distant galaxies. Meet our scientists and learn more about our diverse programs here.

The Rotation of Stars
Sydney Barnes

Sydney Barnes.jpg
Sydney Barnes

Dr. Barnes works in the field of stellar astronomy, with an emphasis on sun-like stars. He enjoys working at the interface between theory and observations, particularly on topics related to the global and dynamical properties of stars, and their changes with stellar age. He has a special interest in understanding how stars rotate, and why they do so at the measured rates. Major results of his work include the identification of patterns in the distribution of stellar rotation periods, an explanation of these in terms of stellar magnetism, and gyrochronology, a new way of deriving the ages of individual stars.