Announcements 2021

3 March 2021: The astronomical image archive from NSF’s NOIRLab has become interactive thanks to a new web application developed to explore the sky. Harnessing the power of the Aladin Interactive Sky Atlas, the app allows users to learn more about the images in a visual way, such as zooming out from an image to see the object’s location in space, zooming in to investigate the details of an image, selecting views of an object taken by different telescopes, or applying layers to view the subject in different wavelengths of light. This new interactive app can be found on the bottom-right side of each image’s webpage, where other information about the image (such as colors, filters, and coordinates) is provided. The NOIRLab image is overlaid on top of images from astronomical surveys, allowing the user to explore the celestial context of the astronomical object featured in the image. The Aladin Interactive Sky Atlas …

24 February 2021: The international Gemini Observatory, a Program of NSF’s NOIRLab, is constantly making new astronomical observations that provide deeper insights into the nature of our Universe. But how do those observations actually happen? What is required to turn an observing plan into data that reveal new cosmic secrets? NOIRLab Associate Astronomer André-Nicolas Chené, a member of the Gemini Science Users Support Department, worked with NOIRLab Information Systems Security Engineer Jerry Brower to create the Gemini Card Game as a fun way to demonstrate how observations are conducted with the twin 8-meter Gemini North and South telescopes (one located in Hawai‘i and one in Chile). Developed in 2018 as a physical game given out at science conferences (and available to all for printing), the Gemini Card Game has now been released as a virtual game that can be played online by anyone anywhere. In the game, two to four players work together …

23 February 2021: Project & Science News The Survey Cadence Optimization Committee (SCOC) has extended the deadline for the Cadence Notes Solicitation Call from March 15th to April 15th, 2021. The change is intended to provide the community additional time to evaluate the new simulations in v1.7 (in particular, the new and improved ‘rolling cadence’ simulations in this release). Additional documentation about all of the available simulations can be found with the v1.7 release announcement. More information about cadence optimization is also available on community.lsst.org (login required), and detailed technical discussions are also taking place on the Slack channel #sims-maf Rubin Observatory Auxiliary Telescope (AuxTel) observing runs continue on Cerro Pachón; the second run of 2021 wrapped up in mid-February. The observing team on the summit continues to benefit from real-time remote support provided by people in four countries, on three different continents. The integration of telescope hardware and software is progressing well, …

22 February 2021: Key components of the Gemini High-resolution Optical SpecTrograph (GHOST) instrument have arrived and are awaiting assembly at its home, Gemini South on Cerro Pachón in Chile [1]. GHOST is expected to play a key role in the research output of Gemini South in the 2020s. Gemini South is one of the twin 8-meter telescopes comprising the international Gemini Observatory, a Program of NSF’s NOIRLab. GHOST is built by a collaboration between Australian Astronomical Optics (including Macquarie University and the Australian National University) and the National Research Council of Canada’s Herzberg Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Centre. The three 20-foot-long containers used to transport key components of the GHOST spectrograph were dispatched from Canada by sea in early 2020. They were still at sea when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and once they arrived in Chile thanks to logistics support from AURA, pandemic restrictions required them to extend their stay at the Gemini …

9 February 2021: Project & Science News The Rubin Observatory Data Management (DM) team seeks input from the science community regarding which photo-z estimator(s) should be adopted to generate photometric redshifts (photo-z) for the LSST Data Release (DR) Object catalog. As part of DM's photo-z roadmap, which is summarized at this link, all are invited to join one or more of the monthly virtual photo-z drop-in discussions described on community.lsst.org (login required). The deadline for the Cadence Notes Solicitation Call from the Survey Cadence Optimization Committee (SCOC) has been updated from March 15th to April 15th, 2021. These Cadence Notes will provide feedback on the existing large set of survey cadence simulations to the SCOC. Additional details are available at this link. The first observing run of the Rubin Observatory Auxiliary Telescope (AuxTel) since the COVID-19 construction shutdown finished successfully; read details about this run and upcoming plans for AuxTel in this recent …

2 February 2021: Globe at Night is an international, online, citizen-science campaign, run by NSF’s NOIRLab to raise public awareness of the impact of light pollution by inviting citizen-scientists to measure and submit their night sky brightness observations. Globe at Night had a record year last year, and this February it is inviting people to participate in the second “Love the Stars” campaign. Last year Globe at Night reached a number of record milestones thanks to partnerships with different groups around the world. By September 2020, the project had exceeded its own record for the number of measurements made in a calendar year (previously 24,000) and at the end of 2020 it reached over 29,500 measurements from 96 countries. The large number of observations indicates the robustness, accessibility, and inclusiveness of the program to international participants. In 2020 Globe at Night was ranked #2 of 20 of the top most-shared projects in SciStarter, …

26 January 2021: Project & Science News Rubin Observatory participated in the first all-virtual American Astronomical Society Winter Meeting (AAS237) on January 11-16, 2021. Details about the Rubin Open House, exhibit booth, and special sessions can be found in this recent news item. On January 19th, the Rubin Observatory Auxiliary Telescope (AuxTel) team resumed on-sky observations for the first time since the summit construction shutdown in March 2020. Observing Specialist Alysha Shugart, who joined Rubin Observatory in November 2020, participated in this observing run. Craig Lage was also part of the summit team after recently relocating to Chile. The onsite observers were supported by a remote team, allowing minor issues to be identified and solved in real time. Telescope pointing and imaging have now been re-verified and the team has begun to obtain spectral data. See a recent AuxTel image here. The AURA Base Facility in La Serena, Chile, has been completed after …

22 January 2021: The second (January 2021) edition of the NOIRLab Mirror newsletter is now available. This new, twice-yearly, newsletter focuses on news for the NOIRLab community, and showcases the science, technology, and developments across the five NOIRLab Programs: Community Science and Data Center (CSDC), Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO), Gemini Observatory, Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO), and Vera C. Rubin Observatory Operations. This issue features articles on recent scientific results and technical developments from the NOIRLab Programs, perspectives on the peer review process, inclusion and diversity in astronomy, and an overview of current outreach events including the recent SATCON1 workshop on the impact of satellite constellations on astronomy. The NOIRLab Mirror builds on the traditions of its predecessors, the Gemini Focus newsletter and the NOAO Newsletter. NOIRLab Mirror is free and notifications of the release of future electronic issues can be requested here. A free subscription for printed copies can also be …

13 January 2021: Scientists and science communication professionals from a collection of institutes, including the National Science Foundation (NSF), NSF’s NOIRLab, NASA, AURA, and various European observatories, have published a white paper detailing best practices for science communication on behalf of large, multi-institutional collaborations. The biggest breakthroughs in science have always relied on collaboration, and the scale and complexity of astronomical collaborations have increased as astronomers set more and more complex goals. From the Event Horizon Telescopes’s worldwide network of 13 telescopes to the LIGO Scientific Collaboration, big science is increasingly done by large, international, multi-institutional collaborations. This plurality of scientists, instruments, and collaborations enables unprecedented scientific discoveries but also makes communicating results difficult. Communicating breakthroughs from collaborators scattered across the globe poses a formidable challenge in timing, cooperation, and coordination. Scientists and astronomy communication professionals from around the world gathered to address these challenges at a summit in November 2019. Drawing on …

12 January 2021: From 5 to 9 October 2020, more than 950 people took part in an online Workshop on Dark and Quiet Skies for Science and Society. Drawing on this event, a report is now available online which describes the impact of human activities on the visibility of the starry sky and the progress of the science of astronomy. Crucially, the document makes recommendations for actions that local governments can take to preserve dark and quiet skies. These topics will be explored further in the SATCON2 workshop in Spring 2021 as well as in an in-person follow-up of the Conference “Dark and Quiet Skies for Science and Society” tentatively scheduled for next autumn in La Palma, Spain. The report addresses three classes of interference: Artificial Light At Night (ALAN), radio wavelength emission and Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite trails. Incorporating suggestions from participants in the workshop, the report has been prepared by …

12 January 2021: Measurements of the Universe’s darkness performed with NASA’s New Horizons probe reveal an unexplained glow to the Universe. These results are presented at the January 2021 meeting of the American Astronomical Society.[1] NOIRLab’s facilities focus on ground-based astronomy, but NOIRLab scientists also use data from space telescopes to answer their astronomical questions — and sometimes even use space probes designed to visit other planets. A team of astronomers led by NOIRLab scientist Tod Lauer, which included other members of the New Horizons science team and Marc Postman from the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), used the New Horizons spacecraft [2] to answer a fundamental question — how dark is the Universe? “The Universe is dark, but not as dark as we thought,” said Lauer. This measurement — known as the cosmic optical background — is the visible equivalent of the well-known cosmic microwave background. “While the cosmic microwave background tells …