This proposal is written in response to the letter from Sandra J. Weiss, Associate Vice Provost for Research, dated April 5, 1996, asking for proposals from the Multi-Campus Research Units in an area of science and technology to use a $50,000 gift received by the Office of Research. This proposal comes from the INPAC (Institute for Nuclear and Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology) MRU.
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Principal Investigator |
David Caldwell, University of California, Santa Barbara, Director, INPAC |
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Co-Principal Investigators |
Galen Gisler, Los Alamos National Laboratory |
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Kim Griest, University of California, San Diego |
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Phil Lubin, University of California, Santa Barbara |
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Carl Pennypacker, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory |
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Saul Perlmutter, University of California, Berkeley |
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Mike Seiffert, University of California, Santa Barbara |
We propose to begin the development of a major astronomy program focusing on transient phenomena that will benefit not only University of California researchers but also public schools and the general public. The funds requested here will place a small telescope on the Internet for research and educational access, and will be a pilot for the larger program.
The development of sophisticated tools for scientific research usually provides only indirect benefits to society at large. Astrophysics is in a fortunate position in this regard, both because it is a very public science (there are many amateur practitioners, and public curiosity and interest remain extremely high) and because much forefront research can be done with very inexpensive equipment. We propose to install a small telescope, which we may call ``REACT'' (Research and Education Automatically Controlled Telescope), in a favorable location, supply it with equipment for completely automating its use, and provide hardware and software for connecting it to the Internet and for the automatic distribution of the data it produces. This REACT telescope will do important fundamental astronomical research, and it will also be available for use by classrooms in public schools, and by the public at large for a variety of research and educational programs. This is designed to be a pilot program for a more ambitious and innovative new observatory system, whose research goals could include the discovery, identification, and monitoring of transient phenomena, including active galactic nuclei, novae and supernovae, gamma-ray burst optical counterparts, variable stars, microlensing events, comets and asteroids. It is hoped that amateurs and students will contribute strongly in many of these areas. The allocation of time at this observatory will be done not by the night, as is traditional at astronomical observatories, but by project priorities, and the mechanism for doing this allocation will assure that projects will receive useful data. This scheme for time allocation will be pioneered on the REACT telescope, and will be extended to other components of the observatory as they come on line. Computer control is essential to achieve this, and must be built in from the ground up.
Research Aims: The detection, monitoring, and identification of transient sources will be accomplished by an array of optical and other telescopes located at a favorable site, and equipped with communications capabilities for remote control and data acquisition. This proposal is for one small component of such an integrated array, to get the larger project started, gain experience, and build momentum. Through its use, we plan to increase our fundamental understanding of certain types of transient phenomena in the Universe.
The Multi-wavelength Observatory for Transient Astronomy (MOTA) will be developed as a major new facility. This will be an impressive array of automatic telescopes assembled to focus specifically on time-varying phenomena, particularly relating to questions of fundamental importance for understanding the parameters of the Universe. A few components of this array are already in place, and others will follow. The various components can be located at different sites, depending on required observing conditions and infrastructure needs, as long as good data links are available.
The present modest proposal is for a pilot project to install a small automated telescope at a dark site and connect it to the Internet, as a component of MOTA. This REACT telescope will conduct a modest program of research, focussing specifically on optical counterpart identification of transient sources discovered at higher energies, while also performing routine observations in the service of certain long-term projects of detection and monitoring of optical transients. Both of these research aims will afford opportunities for educational involvement.
There is a real need in the astronomical community for a new scheme of time allocation on telescopes. Traditionally, time on a telescope is allocated to researchers by the night, which was appropriate when all astronomical observations were conducted in a hands-on, non-automatic fashion. Planning for a specific night was carried out weeks or months in advance, the observer showed up at the observatory, and was out of luck if the night was cloudy. Even in good weather, the observer's project might involve objects widely spread across the sky, or might require repeated observations of specific objects over a period of time. In either of these cases, the traditional time allocation scheme does not work very well.
Our pilot project will involve a new scheme in which time will be allocated by the project and not by the night. Time on the REACT telescope will be scheduled by time-sharing among several projects. UC and Laboratory scientists would apply for time for a project, and an INPAC committee would rank-order the applications and set priorities for receiving time. The accepted projects could include transient alert follow-ups, long-term monitoring of certain known optical variables, and programmed searches for new sources. These projects would be carried on simultaneously, interleaved with one another, according to the availability of appropriate sky conditions (darkness, transparency, and seeing), and subject to over-rides by high-priority alerts. Scheduling would be performed by an expert system running on a computer connected to the telescope. Educational institutions and amateurs having interests in the various projects would coordinate with participating scientists to make use of the gathered data.
Eventually this scheduling scheme could be applied to the whole of MOTA, which will consist of telescopes at complementary wavelengths or of different apertures and fields-of-view. Projects could simultaneously make use of several complementary telescopes at once, if the science goals require multi-band observations, for example.
Educational Aims: Modern technological society demands unprecedented levels of literacy and sophistication in the use of mathematical, statistical, scientific, and computational tools. It has been amply demonstrated that a most effective way to communicate these skills is through active participation by the students. In the Hands-On-Universe (HOU) project and the Remote Access Astronomy Project (RAAP), with which this project already has close ties, middle- and high-school level students have used the Internet and remote telescopes to build their technological and scientific skills, while at the same time providing a valuable service to the research community. Both of these projects are based in the University of California system, have been continuing for over five years and therefore have an established educational base. Some high school students have even achieved publications in international scientific journals through this approach; this prospect is clearly a strong motivational factor.
Los Alamos National Laboratory has strong education and outreach programs through its Science Education and Outreach office and its Community Involvement and Outreach offices, including programs for students and teachers throughout the K-12 curriculum, and programs for the general public as well. These offices are keenly interested in developing new programs in astronomy as the appropriate infrastructure, such as REACT, becomes available. A variety of local student and teacher programs will be developed in coordination with the RAAP and HOU programs to use the REACT telescope to provide unique learning opportunities for astrophysics projects. For example, teachers could spend summers participating in research, creating projects that students could conduct remotely during the academic year, and schools could collaborate on projects with other schools, using INPAC and UC as brokers. Scientists involved in projects using REACT would be encouraged to include an educational component in the data gathering and analysis.
In coupling research and educational goals, we are exploiting the natural synergy that exists between astronomical research and education. Many astronomical research projects require routine gathering of large quantities of data and subsequent analysis by techniques that are relatively easily taught. Educators and students typically have great interest in astronomy, and a need to acquire proficiency in the logical, mathematical, and statistical techniques used to analyze data. Both the research community and the students benefit from the relationship. Finally, there is the motivation provided by the thrill of discovery of new phenomena, or the greater understanding of old phenomena. A more general benefit to society is the enticement of students into careers in science and technology.
This project represents an opportunity for teachers and students to enhance their knowledge of fundamental astronomy concepts and principles and their skills in collecting information for use in problem solving. Using programs such as HOU and RAAP, coupled with Laboratory and University researchers who act as subject matter experts, the teachers and students can participate in a variety of meaningful science experiences that allow hands-on discovery.
Transient phenomena in astrophysics are among the most interesting and enigmatic subjects of study in the entire Universe. Yet, with the notable exceptions of the wide-field satellite experiments BATSE, EGRET, and ALEXIS, present astrophysical research programs sample the world of transients only haphazardly. It can be argued that we sample the time domain much more poorly than we do the spectral or the spatial domains. It is our ultimate aim to provide a University of California facility, MOTA, that is dedicated to the study of transient phenomena. The REACT telescope funded by this proposal will be part of this MOTA facility.
We include here a list of examples of transient phenomena, to which we hope that MOTA will eventually contribute. The REACT telescope will sample a subset of this list.
The most energetic phenomena known are Active Galactic Nuclei and Quasars. These emit radiation at almost every frequency we have been able to observe, from very long wavelength radio waves to very high energy (TeV) gamma rays, and are variable on time scales from sub-seconds to years. We do not understand these objects very well, though we believe they are powered by the accretion of matter onto million-solar-mass (or bigger) black holes. The transient phenomena observed in these sources could be associated with the accretion process, or more generally with the dynamics of matter in the vicinity of the black hole. More observations of flaring and variability, preferably coordinated over many wavelengths, would give us valuable new information as to the nature and character of these fascinating objects. A program for monitoring the changing brightness of these objects requires repeated observations, as can be provided by the allocation scheme we propose for the REACT telescope.
Supernovae are the explosions of stars at the end of their lives, and are most often seen in distant galaxies, frequently outshining the entire galaxy. They are as yet unpredictable, and are best discovered through a regular program of monitoring a large number of candidate galaxies. Besides their intrinsic interest, they function as standard candles for the measurement of the scale, age, and evolution of the Universe.
Gamma-ray bursts were discovered by the Department of Energy VELA satellites in the 1960's, and their cause remains completely unknown. Even their distances from us are undetermined, with estimates ranging from just beyond the solar system to the edge of the Universe. No counterparts at other wavelengths have been detected, mainly because their locations on the sky are poorly known, and the short time scale and unpredictable nature of the phenomenon prevents simultaneous observations at other wavelengths. Alerts are now provided by the BACODINE (BATSE Coordinate Distribution Network) system from the CGRO satellite, and will also be provided by the Milagro TeV gamma-ray telescope now under construction. Transients at other wavelengths are also detected by satellites, and similar alerts can be provided.
Microlensing events are examples of the phenomenon of the bending of light by gravitational mass, predicted by Einstein's General Theory of Relativity. Since most of the mass of the Universe apparently does not shine by its own light, it must be detected indirectly, by the effect that it has on the light of distant stars. The study of microlensing events, of which about 100 have already been observed, can tell us much about the location and physical characteristics of the dark matter, and therefore about the main constituent of the Universe.
Variable stars have fascinated humans since the dawn of our species, and while we know much about how many of them work, we still do not understand all the different types of variability, and how stars become variable, or cease variability. Certain types of variable stars are also standard candles for measuring cosmological distances.
Comets and Asteroids, temporary visitors to our part of space, have long been subjects of human fascination, dread and fear. The thrill of discovery has motivated many thousands of amateurs to spend long hours sweeping the heavens with modest equipment. Some of these people have been rewarded with objects bearing their own names, yet the population and size distribution of these objects is still poorly known. The mounting evidence that such objects may have been responsible for some of the mass species extinctions on Earth, and the recent observation of a comet's demise in the atmosphere of Jupiter, has heightened interest in the task of thorough characterization of those Solar System objects that might someday be a threat to life on Earth.
The University of California has long been active in the study of all of these transient phenomena in astrophysics and it is therefore appropriate to continue and complement that work by the development of an integrated observatory for transient phenomena. The REACT telescope that is the subject of this proposal is a single small telescope that will serve as a pilot instrument to assess techniques that will be applicable to the eventual goal of MOTA. This telescope will specifically concentrate on the identification of counterparts to gamma-ray bursts and other high-energy transients, and will pursue other projects according as interests and opportunities allow.
The University of California, with its RAAP and HOU projects, has been instrumentally involved in bringing together research interests and science education interests. With support from the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy, these projects have developed and piloted educational programs that enable high school students to request observations from professional observatories. Students download CCD images to their classroom computers and use image processing software to visualize and analyze their data.
These curricula integrate mathematics, science and technology in the context of exciting astronomical explorations. They address many of the goals for mathematics and science education standards by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and the National Research Council. Through the investigation of the solar system, galaxies, variable stars, and supernovae students develop problem-solving techniques and critical thinking skills.
A strength of our proposing team is that we can capitalize on the experience of both the HOU and the RAAP projects in designing and installing the REACT telescope. Much of the technology that has been used for the automated telescopes used by HOU and RAAP will work for REACT. We intend to work together with these projects and share capabilities with them, while maintaining the unique strength of REACT, which is the fast follow-up to transient alerts.
An array of telescopes, coordinated with each other and operating at complementary wavelengths, fitted with high-speed communications to the outside world, and integrated into educational institutions, would serve to advance the needs of both research scientists and society at large. This is the eventual goal of MOTA. We would imagine having air and water Cherenkov detectors for very high energy gamma ray detection, links to satellite platforms for gamma-ray, x-ray, ultraviolet, and infrared detection, and ground-based optical and radio telescopes. Many of these will share a common site and infrastructure, while others will be situated elsewhere to take advantage of optimum observing conditions.
We envision the optical complement of MOTA having a minimum of four telescope systems. One of these is an optical monitor that constantly observes most of the overhead night-time sky, with a modest angular resolution of at best a fraction of a degree. The second of these is a fast-slew telescope of small aperture (10 to 18 inches), a field of view of 1/2 degree or so, and a resolution of 1-10 seconds of arc. The third would be a large array of small telescopes to survey the entire visible night-time sky with angular resolution of 1-2 seconds of arc. The fourth would be a large-aperture telescope (3 meters or so), field of view of minutes of arc, with spectroscopic capability and resolution of sub-arcsecond quality, depending upon the site characteristics.
What we have referred to as REACT, the subject of this proposal, is one component of the optical part of such a system, namely the small-aperture fast-slew telescope. Other components of the MOTA system either already exist, are in the process of fabrication, or are being proposed elsewhere. The array of small telescopes, known as the Transient All-sky Optical Survey (TAOS) could be composed of telescopes like REACT, and therefore our pilot program will also act as a testbed for TAOS.
We propose to obtain the components necessary to install, connect, and operate the REACT telescope from off-the-shelf technology available from various vendors, with the following rough estimates:
Available from other sources (see below):
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Telescope |
$10k |
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Appropriate Fittings and Encoders |
$10k |
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Site Preparation (Leveling, Foundation, Pier) |
$20k |
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CCD Camera and Filter Wheel |
$ 8k |
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Computer and Integrated Weather Station |
$ 6k |
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Protective Shelter (Dome or Roll-Off, automated) |
$18k |
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UC undergraduate and graduate student salaries |
$18k |
For the REACT telescope, we will use an existing site,namely Fenton Hill in the Jemez Mountains of Northern New Mexico, where the Los Alamos National Laboratory is constructing (and already operates, in prototype mode) the Milagro water-Cherenkov telescope for ultra-high-energy gamma rays. This site is at 8700 ft. altitude, is equipped with a T1 communications link, and has roads, water and utilities. It is a very dark site, and while its optical characteristics are not well known, it is undoubtedly good enough for the small-aperture REACT telescope. If this proposal is funded, the costs of site preparation (leveling, concrete foundation, and pier if needed) will be borne by the Los Alamos branch of INPAC, which will also be responsible for obtaining the appropriate fittings and encoders to the telescope and dome, overseeing the installation, and providing maintenance to the system as needed, once it is installed. Graduate students will be strongly involved in these aspects of the project.
Significant leverage to the requested $50,000 is given by the existing facilities at the site, and the other support provided by Los Alamos, and the telescope which has been provided on indefinite loan by TERC (Technical Education Resource Center, of Cambridge MA). Further leverage comes from the experience of both the RAAP and HOU programs in the automation of telescopes of similar design and aperture to REACT. All this enables the requested funds to achieve far more than would otherwise be possible. Additional help comes from the existence of other scientific instruments on-site, and the students, scientists, and technicians who work with them, most particularly those associated with the Milagro gamma-ray telescope.
The Milagro telescope will be the ultra-high-energy component of the integrated array. This is a water-Cherenkov air-shower detector that has a low energy threshold for gamma rays of 200 GeV. Milagro is being built by a collaboration consisting of Los Alamos, U.C. Irvine, U.C. Santa Cruz, U.C. Riverside, U.C. Santa Barbara, the University of Maryland, George Mason University, and New York University. Siting REACT adjacent to Milagro provides numerous advantages, one of which is that when Milagro observes a significant transient (such as a gamma-ray burst), the system will command the fast-slew telescope to point to that location in the sky (if conditions are appropriate, i.e. night-time, not cloudy). Other gamma-ray triggers could come from the existing BACODINE (BATSE Coordinated Distribution Network) system for notification of gamma-ray bursts from the BATSE telescope on the GRO satellite and from the soon to be launched HETE satellite (in which Los Alamos plays a significant role). An X-ray component of the integrated array will be the Los Alamos ALEXIS satellite, which downlinks its data to a ground station at the Laboratory twice daily. This could also provide a trigger to the REACT optical telescope.
A small-aperture radio telescope will be added to MOTA later, and we are presently involved in other proposals that will help to design and install the optical monitor and the large-aperture optical telescope.
The pursuit of transients from these various triggers would occupy a small fraction of the REACT's time (10% or less). The remainder of the time will be allocated to projects from the list in the previous section, such as supernova searches, or asteroid/comet searches. We will use the Internet to announce the telescope's availability, and will solicit participation by UC scientists, and educators from around the country and around the world. The interests and skills of these participants will determine the mix of observing programs chosen for the telescope. Decisions on program allocation and data distribution will be made by a person or committee designated by INPAC. It is expected that UC astrophysicists will play prominent roles as guides to the educators involved in this program. Undergraduate and graduate student involvement in the research aims of REACT (and eventually of MOTA) will be strongly encouraged, and these students will in turn communicate their knowledge and enthusiasm to the education and outreach efforts that form a vital part of this proposal.
Initially we will focus the education and outreach efforts on the American Southwest, in particular Northern New Mexico, where the REACT facility will be situated. This area is populated largely by Native Americans (Pueblo Indians, Jicarilla Apaches, and Navajos) and land-grant Hispanics. The presence of the Laboratory has provided some benefits to these populations, but much more could be done to improve the educational and economic vitality of the region. Enhancing these opportunities will help the University of California fulfill the mandate that is likely to become part of the management contract for the DOE labs regarding benefits to the counties of Northern New Mexico.
Because of the lack of communications and computer infrastructure in part of this region, the initial outreach must differ significantly in approach from the Hands On Universe. Programs to bring teachers to our site for training in fundamentals of astronomy and in research skills will be followed by programs of field trips for students and parents. Eventually the local school districts must be helped to obtain the infrastructure needed for connectivity, but the motivation will arise from trained teachers and parents.
The telescope proposed here is a prototype tool to serve the needs of society at large as well as the scientific community. We would imagine a future in which middle- and high-school students are routinely given the opportunity to participate in significant fundamental research in the astrophysical sciences, building their analytical, logical, and technical skills as well as their self-esteem, while helping the research community deal with the vast quantities of data that are necessary for us to understand the Universe in which we live, and to help us as a species establish our place, and our long-term future, in it.
The REACT facility that we establish with this money will be the first step towards a facility, MOTA, that will exist indefinitely into the future, and will continue to return both educational and research benefits as long as it can be supported to operate. As an automated facility that requires very little maintenance, security, or power, the REACT telescope could be operated indefinitely on a small budget. Being part of a much larger facility on the same site means that the security and power costs can be shared with other projects, and we anticipate that funding to continue operations will be available from research, educational and philanthropic sources, as long as public interest in astronomy endures.
As we continue to develop the other components of MOTA, the lessons learned from REACT will prove extremely valuable. According to our experience with REACT, we may wish to install similar telescopes in other places around the world, as part of an integrated research/educational effort. The scheduling scheme that we develop for REACT and apply to the other components of MOTA should make a substantial difference in the efficiency with which astronomical projects obtain data, and the distribution and education system that we develop will vastly increase the level of public participation in, and appreciation of, astronomical research. Moreover, our understanding of some of the most interesting and exciting aspects of our Universe will increase by leaps and bounds.