Happy New Year. A brief update on SSSC (Solar System Science Collaboration) happenings over the past several months. A more detailed version will be sent out to the SSSC collaboration
SCOC Cadence Notes - Rubin’s Survey Cadence and Optimization Committee (SCOC) has issued a called for Cadence Notes due March 15th.
Save the Date for Virtual SSSC Cadence Mini-Workshops - To respond to the SCOC Cadence Note Call, we’ll be hosting a virtual SSSC Cadence Mini-Workshop on Thursday January 28th 7-10pm GMT/2-5pm EST/11am-1pm PST and Tuesday February 2nd 6-7pm GMT/1pm EST/10am PST. SSSC members please save the date/time in your calendar.
Early Career Representative - the motion to create an Early Career Representative position within the SSSC leadership has passed. The collaboration charter and publication policy have been updated accordingly. Nominations for the position is now open until 11pm PST on February 5th.
Data Management (DM) Updates: In the Autumn, the Rubin Observatory/LSST Solar System Processing team held a joint data exchange challenge with the Minor Planet Center (MPC). Simulated realistic solar system observations and were handed off to the MPC, and they were able to fit orbits and correctly associate the observations. DM approved the Solar System data scheme developed by Mario Juric with input from the SSSC and it is now formally in the LSST Data Products Definition Document.
SCOC Report - A summary of survey strategy and cadence choices, evaluated by the Rubin Observatory LSST Scheduler Team, has been prepared for Rubin’s Survey Cadence and Optimization Committee (SCOC). This report was released in August. Lynne Jones (head of the Scheduler Team and SSSC member) has been posted plots and some preliminary assessment/interpretation of these cadence simulation results here.
SSSC Commissioning Notes - The Rubin Observatory Commissioning Team invited the community to submit informal notes that would propose observations that would help to (1) demonstrate the scientific capability of the as-built system and (2) inform early operations. Thanks to the effort of the collaboration during the mini-workshop and in November, the SSSC’s commissioning notes were submitted on December 4th.
Rubin Observatory Construction restart - On September 28th, construction efforts resumed. These activities included installing the remaining dome panels and cladding.
First SSSC Architects and Nomination Form - The SSSC leadership has approved the first set of collaboration Architects. Congratulations to Mikael Granvik, Lynne Jones, and Mario Jurić. Further details about SSSC Architect status can be found in the SSSC publication policy. The call is rolling and the nomination form is still open.
Completed LSST Camera - In September, it was announced that the LSST camera had successfully taken its first images in the lab. More details can be found here.
The Rubin Observatory Community engagement team gave a recorded presentation from their bilingual session from their discussion series. You can watch the video here.
LSSTC enabling science 2020 broker workshop - In late October, Mike Kelley gave a talk on the SSSC needs/wants for alert brokers. The talk slides and video are available online.