Jason Pinkney

Fall, 2025  

          Physics 1061 Stars and Galaxies.
          Physics 2321 Physics 2 (E and M, Optics)
          Physics 2341 Physics I Lab: Mechanics, Sound and Heat. Section 1
          Physics 2341 Physics I Lab: Mechanics, Sound and Heat. Section 2
          Physics 1091 Stars and Galaxies Lab (I/S)

Spring, 2024-2025  

          Physics 2311 Physics 1 (Mechanics, Thermodynamics), Section 4    
          Physics 2311 Physics 1 (Mechanics, Thermodynamics), Section 5    
          Physics 2341 Physics 1 Lab: Mechanics, Sound and Heat. Sections 4, 5, and 6    
         

Fall, 2024-2025  

          Physics 1051 Planetary Astronomy.    
          Physics 2311 Physics 1 (Mechanics, Thermodynamics), Section 2    
          Physics 2341 Physics 1 Lab: Mechanics, Sound and Heat. Section 4    
          Physics 3471 Introductory Astrophysics    
        

Spring, 2023-2024      

          Physics 1061 Stars and Galaxies
          Physics 1091 Stars and Galaxies Lab
          Physics 2341 Physics I Lab: Mechanics, Sound and Heat. Sections 4, 6
          Physics 2311 Physics I (Mechanics and Thermodynamics). Section 5.
         

RESEARCH  INTERESTS

Students at ONU have done serious research projects with me primarily in the area of supermassive black hole demographics, but also in clusters of galaxies. They work with data from the Hubble Space Telescope and from ground-based observatories like Magellan and the MDM observatory.

• An interactive poster from the January, 2020 AAS meeting.
• Comparison of Gas and Stellar Kinematics Measurements of Black Hole Masses for the Ellipticals NGC 4552 and NGC 4697
• Sample Research Posters with ONU students
• Refining Emission Line Fitting in NGC 4552 For Black Hole Mass Determination by Shota Hodono
• The Black Hole Mass in NGC 4258 from Gas Kinematics by David DeColibus
• Peculiar Velocities of Wide Angle Tailed Radio Galaxies in Galaxy Clusters by Tommy Steinberger
• Photometry and Redshifts of Radio Loud Clusters of Galaxies by DJ Pleshinger
• ONU Astronomy web pages.   Designed in collaboration with ONU students.
• ONU astrophotos 2023 update: this gallery was refurbished with the help of student Maxwell Phillips! Many new images added!
• Galaxies along the Hubble Sequence
• ONU Astronomy Observatory
• Some of my Publications
• Supermassive Black Holes
• The Black Hole Mass and Photometric Components of NGC 4826
• A Stellar Dynamical Measurement of the Black Hole Mass in the Maser Galaxy NGC 4258
• The Masses of Nuclear Black Holes in Luminous Elliptical Galaxies and Implications for the Space Density of the Most Massive Black Holes
• Kinematics of Ten Early-Type Galaxies from HST and Ground-Based Spectroscopy
• Kinematics and Black Hole Mass for the Narrow-Angle Tailed Radio Galaxy NGC 4061 [Poster]
•  A Relationship Between Nuclear Black Hole Mass and Galaxy Velocity Dispersion (Most highly cited)
• Substructure in Clusters of Galaxies
  
• Substructure in clusters containing wide-angle tailed radio galaxies. I. New redshifts
•   Evaluation of Statistical Tests For Substructure in Clusters of Galaxies (A chapter from my Ph.D. dissertation)
• X-ray Wakes in Galaxy Clusters
• X-ray Wakes in Abell 160

WHERE TO FIND 

• MAIL: Department of Physics and Astronomy, Ohio Northern University, 525 S. Main St., Ada, OH 45810
• E-MAIL: j-pinkney@onu.edu
• OFFICE: 419-772-2740, Rm 111, Science Annex
• OBSERVATORY:  419-772-4028
• OFFICE HOURS for  Fall 2025.

MY BACKGROUND

• 1984-1988 -- Macalester College
• 1989-1995 -- NMSU Graduate School in Astronomy
• 1995-1996 -- NMSU Postdoctoral research
• 1996-1997 -- Concordia College Visiting Assistant Professor
• 1997-1998 -- UNLV Visiting Assistant Professor 
• 1998-2002 -- U. Michigan Postdoctoral fellow with the NUKER team. 
• 2002-2004 -- Ohio Northern University Assistant Professor 
• 2010 (Oct) -- ONU Observatory Opens!
• 2004-2012 -- Ohio Northern University Associate Professor
• 2012-present-- Ohio Northern University Professor

Astronomy Links and Astronomy Outreach

ONU Astronomy Club  - Here are pictures of previous members having fun, fun, fun.
Lima Astronomical Society - Check out the historic Schoonover Observatory.
International Dark Sky Association - dark skies are an endangered species.
Universe Today - A Video on light pollution by the IDSA.
ONU's Astronomy Pictures - Images taken with ONU equipment.
ONU's Galaxy Gallery - Entitled "Galaxies across the Hubble sequence", this web gallery contains images from professional observatories. It was created with the help of our students.

Back to the ONU Physics Department Web page.