Benjamin Boe
Bio
I obtained a Bachelor of Science in Physics and Mathematics from the University of Puget Sound in 2015. Subsequently, I completed my Doctor of Philosophy in Astronomy in 2020 at the Institute for Astronomy at the University of Hawaii at Manoa (IfA/UH), where I studied the solar corona using total solar eclipses with Dr. Shadia Habbal. I remained at IfA/UH as a National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow until 2023, collaborating with Dr. Habbal and Dr. Cooper Downs at Predictive Science Inc. Since the fall of 2023, I have been an Assistant Professor of Physics at the Wentworth Institute of Technology.
Research Interests
My primary research interest is in the physics of the solar corona. I have extensively worked with observations taken during total solar eclipses, where the Moon completely covers the Sun, enabling meticulous analyses of the corona that are otherwise impossible with current ground- and space-based observatories.
My research has frequently focused on inferring the electron temperature distribution throughout the corona using narrowband imaging of ionic emission lines. Additionally, I have extracted the K-corona (electron scattering) and F-corona (dust scattering) components of the continuum emission using a spectroscopic method, and I have quantified the magnetic field structure of the corona utilizing broadband white-light imaging. I also work with imaging and spectroscopic data sets from both spacecraft and ground facilities, particularly the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope.
Other than solar astronomy, I have worked in both cometary astronomy and musical acoustics. During my graduate studies, I inferred the global size distribution and population size of long-period comets by bias-correcting data from the Pan-STARRS telescopic survey. And as an undergraduate, I investigated the coupled resonant modes between the heads and internal air cavities of drums with Dr. Rand Worland.