Nidia Morrell

For her passion for astronomy, her dedication to mentoring students, and the enormous amount of observational data she has gathered, the international conference Massive Stars and Supernovae was held in celebration of her 65th birthday. The event took place from 5 to 9 November 2018 in Bariloche, Argentina, with the institutional support of the National University of Río Negro (UNRN), the UNLP Faculty of Astronomical and Geophysical Sciences, the Argentine Astronomy Association [es] , the Carnegie Institution for Science, and the Municipality of Bariloche.

In 2014 she was one of the leaders in the detection of a possible hybrid star or Thorne–Żytkow object, which had been a theoretical postulate for years. This discovery involved the Magellan Telescopes. The chemical characteristics of this star, HV 2112, were studied using spectroscopy techniques, in which Morrell is an expert.

In 2009, she appeared in the documentary video El silencio de las Campanas made by Ricardo Benítez, which follows the daily activity of astronomers at a high-level observatory.

Since 2008, Morrell has also participated in Chilean Observation Time Assignment Committees, contributing her knowledge about instruments and procedures for astronomical observation.

In 2006 she settled in La Serena, Chile to continue her research. Among her most outstanding observations, she participated in the discovery of ASASSN-15lh, the brightest supernova ever detected.

In late 2002, Morrell joined the scientific team at Las Campanas Observatory and, later, the Carnegie Supernova Project (as a part-time researcher), while continuing to collaborate on massive star studies. She was also a visiting professor at the National Autonomous University of Honduras and the National Autonomous University of Nicaragua.

In La Plata, Morrell was a member of the Massive Stars research group led by Virpi Niemelä. She and Niemelä were part of the Hubble Heritage Project, which generated widely disseminated educational resources. From 1996 to 2001, Morrell was a representative of Argentina and a scientific advisor to the Gemini South Observatory.

Nidia Morrell studied astronomy at the National University of La Plata (UNLP), obtaining a licentiate in 1977 and a doctorate in 1984. She received a postdoctoral fellowship (1989–1990) sponsored by the National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET) to conduct research in the United States, advised by Helmut Altrichter [de] at the Kitt Peak National Observatory. Back in Argentina, she researched and taught at the UNLP Faculty of Astronomical and Geophysical Sciences.

Nidia Irene Morrell (born 3 July 1953) is an Argentine astronomer who is a permanent staff member at the Las Campanas Observatory in La Serena, Chile. She was a member of the Massive Stars research group led by Virpi Niemelä and the Hubble Heritage Project. Professionally, she is known for her numerous contributions related to the astrophysics of massive stars. She participates in the systematic search for variations of brightness in stellar objects, including the observation of a candidate for the Thorne–Żytkow object. She was also a member of the team that discovered the supernova ASASSN-15lh.