I am a postdoctoral researcher at the Argelander-Institut für Astronomie (AIfA), working in the stellar astrophysics group led by Prof. Norbert Langer. My research involves studying the effects of massive stars on their environment, using theoretical and computational models. Use the links above to read more.

I am involved in our group's project, "Effects of Massive Stars on their Surroundings," supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) priority program 1573, Physics of the Interstellar Medium. I am co-supervising a PhD student, Dominique Meyer, whose work is also part of this project.

Before I came to Bonn I completed my PhD at the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, working with Dr. Andrew Lim. I used computational models to investigate the formation and evolution of massive pillars of gas and dust, such as the Eagle Nebula pillars shown at right. These pillars, also known as elephant trunks, are observed at the boundaries of H II regions and are often active sites of star formation. As part of this research we developed a magnetohydrodynamics code with ray-tracing to track photoionising radiation.

Contact Details

Argelander-Institut für Astronomie,
Universität Bonn,
Auf dem Hügel 71,
D-53121 Bonn, Germany.

Phone: +49 (0)228 733783
Email: jmackey@astro.uni-bonn.de
WWW: http://www.astro.uni-bonn.de/~jmackey/

My research is funded by a postdoctoral fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.