Call for Input on Maximizing Science in the Era of LSST: A Community-based Study of Needed US OIR Capabilities

We are seeking community input on the facilities and capabilities that will be needed to enable your science in the LSST era. Please provide your input by January 15 on this form.

Background.

The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) will be a discovery machine for the US astronomical community, revealing astrophysical phenomena from the Solar System to the outer reaches of the visible Universe. The LSST Science Book describes the broad range of science that LSST enables. While many discoveries will be made using LSST data alone, others will require OIR supporting capabilities, i.e., resources such as observing time on telescopes, instrumentation, software, computing and data management resources, access to archival data, etc. This study, funded by The Kavli Foundation and endorsed by NSF/AST, aims to quantify and prioritize the supporting capabilities needed to maximize the science enabled by LSST.

A workshop will be held in Tucson 2-4 May 2016 to bring together the results of the individual study groups and prioritize the needed capabilities. The ~40 workshop participants will be selected from among the study participants to include a broad range of science expertise and diverse points of view.

More information about the study’s goals, process and meeting is available at http://noao.edu/meetings/lsst-oir-study/