[SME-JP] UK involvement in the Vera C. Rubin Observatory‚ LSST (C)

UK involvement in the Vera C. Rubin Observatory‚ Legacy Survey of Space and Time

Organiser(s):

Bob Mann and Stephen Smartt, on behalf of the LSST:UK Consortium

Session type:

Regular

Description:

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory's Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) will be one of the major pillars of the UK astronomy programme for the next two decades. Its unprecedented combination of spatial, spectral and temporal coverage will enable it to probe the origins of a broad range of astrophysical phenomena, across all areas of astronomy, from Near-Earth Asteroids to the most distant quasars and the dark energy believed to drive the Universe's accelerating expansion. 

Several hundred UK researchers, drawn from every astronomy group in the country, are already engaged in scientific and technical preparation for the start of LSST operations, but with the UK's LSST Data Rights Agreement due to be signed in the next few months, NAM 2023 presents the ideal opportunity to broaden that UK involvement still further. The six slots of a key session will enable us not only to provide a detailed update for existing members of the LSST:UK Consortium (for which this will comprise its 2023 All-Hands Meeting) but also to engage with the wider community present at NAM to attract new members to the Consortium and bring them rapidly up to speed so that they participate in LSST:UK and in the international Rubin community. A particular focus will be on Early Careers Researchers, as the decade-long series of LSST data releases, and their longer-term follow-up, provide rich career-building opportunities, and now is the time for those in the early stages of their careers to consider how to take advantage of the availability of LSST data to develop their future research programmes. 

Sessions will include an overview of LSST science capabilities, the Rubin Observatory's plans for Commissioning and Early Science, and the training opportunities being provided by the Rubin Data Preview programme to help researchers prepare for the first LSST data. An introduction will be provided to the current work, and future plans, of each of the international Science Collaborations, along with guidance on how to join and participate in them. Invited speakers will outline the synergies between Rubin and a range of other facilities, placing the LSST in the context of the astronomical landscape of coming two decades. Further sessions will review the technical and scientific contributions being made by the UK to the LSST, both through the STFC-funded LSST:UK Science Centre (LUSC) programme and by those participating in the Science Collaborations as part of their personal research programmes. A balance will be struck throughout between invited talks, from the Rubin Observatory and LUSC team, and contributed talks, especially from Early Careers Researchers, reflecting the range of opportunities for engagement with LSST science, and encouraging all to become involved.

Topic:

Facilities