scientific impact of  LEOsats:

the Rubin LSST Science Collaborations perspective

 

University of Delaware

Department of Physics and Astronomy

Biden School of Public Policy and Administration

Data  Science Institute

 

Rubin Legacy Survey of Space and Time

Science Collaboration Coordinator

Transients & Variable Stars Science Collaboration CoChair

 

federica bianco

Rubin Observatory LSST SCs

federica bianco fbianco@udel.edu

@fedhere

Science Collaborations

We aspire to be an inclusive, equitable, and ultimately just group and we are working with renewed vigor in the wake of the recent event that exposed inequity and racism in our society to turning this aspiration into action.

federica bianco fbianco@udel.edu

@fedhere

Rubin Observatory LSST SCs

Science Collaborations

federica bianco fbianco@udel.edu

@fedhere

Rubin Observatory LSST SCs

Science Collaborations

time-domain

static sky

Solar Sytem transients and moving objects

 

Galactic transients and variables

planets, flaring stars

 

extragalactic transients

for cosmology and astrophysics

SNe - GW - TDE -

federica bianco fbianco@udel.edu

@fedhere

Rubin Observatory LSST SCs

Science Collaborations

time-domain

static sky

Morphology

of galaxies and

galactic structures

 

Low Surface Brightness

science

Weakly coherent fields

Weak lensing

LSS

Solar Sytem transients and moving objects

 

Galactic transients and variables

planets, flaring stars

Galactic structures moving cohesively at the edge of detectability

streams

extragalactic transients

for cosmology and astrophysics

SNe - GW - TDE -

federica bianco fbianco@udel.edu

@fedhere

Rubin Observatory LSST SCs

Science Collaborations

time-domain

static sky

Solar Sytem transients and moving objects

 

Galactic transients and variables

planets, flaring stars

Galactic structures moving cohesively at the edge of detectability

streams

Morphology

of galaxy and

galactic structures

 

Low Surface Brightness

science

Weakly coherent fields

Weak lensing

extragalactic transients

for cosmology and astrophysics

SNe - GW - TDE -

federica bianco fbianco@udel.edu

@fedhere

Rubin Observatory LSST SCs

Science Collaborations

federica bianco fbianco@udel.edu

@fedhere

Time domain Rubin LSST science

1

  • streaks masking removes timestamps from time series : efficiency loss                                                                             
  • avoidance algorithms prevent scheduled observations : efficiency loss                                                            
  • compromises rapid follow-up                                                                                      
  • flares confuse variability measurements                                                                   
  • streaks correction at best decreases SNR and reliability of variablity metric                                       

Science Collaborations

federica bianco fbianco@udel.edu

@fedhere

Time domain Rubin LSST science

Science Collaborations

Iridium satellite number 35 lit up the predawn sky west of Boston at 5 a.m. EST on February 1, 1998, as Sky & Telescope senior editor Dennis di Cicco waited with his camera, taking a 10-minute exposure on Fujichrome 100 slide film through an 80-mm f/2.8 Hasselblad lens working at f/4.

Iridium satellite number 35 lit up the predawn sky west of Boston at 5 a.m. EST on February 1, 1998,  Sky & Telescope

Satellite flares

@fedhere

federica bianco fbianco@udel.edu

Time domain Rubin LSST science

can be mitigated:

- orientation of satellite,

- directing flares away from observer

- knowing coordinates to associate them to alerts

 

if not mitigate there would be bogus alerts and images ruined by saturating flares

 

Science Collaborations

 

Hainaut & Williams 2020

https://arxiv.org/abs/2003.01992

Science Collaborations

@fedhere

federica bianco fbianco@udel.edu

Time domain : the LSST observing strategy

fast/dense

regular/persistent

deep

wide

single-filter

obs density

 

color

 8oo img over 18,000 sq deg

 pairs of observations in <1hour to track asteroid (and get transient colors)

Tensions in strategy design

Deep Drilling Fields

Minisurveys

Science Collaborations

@fedhere

federica bianco fbianco@udel.edu

modification to planned schedule carry long lasting consequences on the program

 

ToO enabled for GW need to scan ~100 sq deg footprint upon trigger - will be compromised

Time domain : the LSST observing strategy

Astronomy’s Discovery Chain

Discovery Engine

10M alerts/night

@fedhere

Community Brokers

target observation managers

federica bianco fbianco@udel.edu

Science Collaborations

Time domain: the astronomy discovery chain

Science Collaborations

@fedhere

federica bianco fbianco@udel.edu

Spectrograph and Camera for Observations of Rapid Phenomena in the Infrared and Optical (SCORPIO)

designed for rapid and efficient follow up of LSST transients

8-channel imaging spectrograph currently in development for Gemini South.

 

dynamic queue scheduling software to optimize the planning and execution of all observations as new follow-up targets are triggered during the course of the night.  

follow up scheduling will have to include satellite locations 

time sensitive targets may be lost: e.g. GW

impact on follow-up

Time domain: the astronomy discovery chain

Science Collaborations

@fedhere

federica bianco fbianco@udel.edu

Time domain: unknown phenomena

our ability to discover unknown phenomena is compromised by gaps in observations

- get images in different filters within ~1hour

- get images in the same filter with log-uniform time gaps

 

Xiaolong Li, Fabio Ragosta, Will Clarkson, FBB

in prep

Observing strategy to be decided by end 2020

Lynne Jones 

Peter Yoachim

75 simulations of potential observing strategy

Science Collaborations

@fedhere

federica bianco fbianco@udel.edu

2

 

 

  • static sky depends on achieving ~800 images on ~18,000 sq degree.          LSST may need to be extended >10 years to achieve the science requirements     

                               

  • cross-talk introduces systematics

 

  • twilight observations may be impossible

cross-talk suppression

Tyson et al. 2020

https://arxiv.org/abs/2006.12417

 

Static sky Rubin LSST science

 

Science Collaborations

@fedhere

federica bianco fbianco@udel.edu

Static Sky: correlated noise and cross talk

Cosmology probes are systematic dominated

mitigation: simulation of the non-linear crosstalk to measure the effect on precision cosmology and effectiveness of removal algorithms

(image credit: Canada-France Hawaii Telescope)

Tyson et al. 2020

https://arxiv.org/abs/2006.12417

 

Science Collaborations

@fedhere

federica bianco fbianco@udel.edu

Static Sky: twilight observations 

Twilight observation programs are needed to calibrate the bright end of the color-magnitude diagram

We find that between 40 and 90% observations taken in twilight, depending on the number of satellites, have at least one trail.

LSST saturation limit: 17

Gaia magnitude limit: 17

 

Hainaut & Williams 2020

https://arxiv.org/abs/2003.01992

federica bianco fbianco@udel.edu

@fedhere

Solar System Rubin LSST science

3

Science Collaborations

2l/Borisov

  • twilight observations lead to
    • NEO discoveries
    • Comets discoveries
    • Interstellar objects

R. Seaman et al. 2018

federica bianco fbianco@udel.edu

@fedhere

Solar System Rubin LSST science

Science Collaborations

 

  • efficiency in NEO recovery peaks with images  20 minutes apart
  • any missed image would decrease detection efficiency even extending the 10-year timeline

Science Collaborations

@fedhere

federica bianco fbianco@udel.edu

Rubin observations: sliver lining and conclusions

if 10-year timeline is extended the proper-motion studies would benefit

 

some science would benefit from 2x15 second exposures vs 1x30-sec

(saturation limit is lower)

 

silver linings:

conclusions:

to quantify the extent of the impact of LEOsats on science requires simulations and analysis which requires significant resources that are currently not scoped by anyone ...

 

federica bianco fbianco@udel.edu

Scientific Impact of LEOsats:

the LSST Science Collaborations perspective

thank you!

satcon

By federica bianco

satcon

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