Summer AAS Meeting Events

With the 236th AAS meeting going virtual, these events will be held online, within the virtual format being planned for the meeting.

Dara Norman

Plenary Presentation: The Inclusion Revolution

Dara Norman, NOIRLab

Abstract: The field of Astronomy has seen major changes in the last couple of decades. There have been discoveries that have evolved our understanding of the Universe. The development of new methods and gathering of datasets have expanded topical areas of the field in profound ways. We have even seen the community begin to recognize and understand that the health and well-being of the workforce cannot be ignored if we intend to continue with scientific breakthroughs. In this talk I will highlight some growing trends toward more diversity and inclusion in the field, the importance of access to decision making and research opportunities to advancing these trends, as well as some of the structural changes needed to usher in an Astronomical inclusion revolution.

Special Session: The NASA-NSF Exoplanet Observational Research (NN-EXPLORE) Program at the WIYN Observatory

The NASA-NSF partnership for Exoplanet Observational Research (NN-EXPLORE), which seeks to advance the understanding of exoplanets and exoplanetary systems, supports community use of the open-access share of the WIYN 3.5-m telescope. To highlight the instrumentation and capabilities available to the community in support of the NN-EXPLORE program, the WIYN Observatory will hold a Special Session at the Summer AAS Meeting.

The session will include descriptions of science results and capabilities of WIYN’s new precision radial-velocity spectrometer NEID (NN-explore Exoplanet Investigations with Doppler spectroscopy). First offered in the 2020A semester, NEID is designed for high-precision radial velocity measurements of exoplanet host stars, with a goal of achieving 27 cm/s precision per measurement. The instrument provides open-access to measurements that enable the study of Earth- and super-Earth-mass planets orbiting bright host stars over a wide range of spectral types.

The special session will also feature the science results and capabilities of other WIYN instruments that can be used for exoplanet research. These include the NASA Exoplanet Star (and) Speckle Imager (NESSI), the multi-object fiber-fed spectrograph Hydra, the WIYN High Resolution Infrared Camera (WHIRC), and the One Degree Imager (ODI). Observers interested in learning how WIYN can enhance their exoplanet research are encouraged to attend.