Cassiopeia Newsletter – Winter solstice 2020
- angabela
- Dec 21, 2020
- 42 min read
Updated: Aug 23, 2025
Date: December 22, 2020
In this Issue:
President’s Message
ALMA Matters
Atelier AstroComm 2021 Workshop Première annonce – First Announcement
BRITE-Constellation Mission Update
Canadian Gemini Office News
Update on CASTOR
CATAC Update on the Thirty Meter Telescope
Update from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA)
DAO Telescope News
Graduate Student Highlights
News from the JCMT and Canadian Observing Opportunity
ngVLA Update
Long Range Plan 2020
LSST Canada Update
SKA Update
SPICA Update
Editor: Joanne Rosvick
Cassiopeia is CASCA’s quarterly Newsletter, published on or near the solstices and equinoxes (March 21, June 21, September 21 and December 21).
To submit a contribution please email cassiopeia.editors@gmail.com. All submissions must be received at least one week in advance to be published in the next edition. I accept plain text and Word documents. Note that the formatting of your document will not be preserved. Please include any images as attachments in your email, not embedded in the text. Please include URLs in parentheses next to the word or phrase that you wish to act as link anchors.
President’s Message
By Sara Ellison (CASCA President)(Cassiopeia – Winter 2020)
The Long Range Plan is out! This final report represents two years of effort in our community to examine the state of our professional activities and ambitions from both a scientific and societal perspective. Hundreds of people in our community have contributed in a variety of ways to the generation of this finished product, ranging from co-authoring white papers, attending town hall meetings and dedicated AGM sessions, to providing feedback to the panel along the journey. A broad message of gratitude is therefore due to the entire community for your engagement and collaboration. As a Society, we owe our greatest thanks to the LRP panel for the immense undertaking of leading this process: Pauline Barmby, Matt Dobbs, Bryan Gaensler, Jeremy Heyl, Natasha Ivanova, David Lafreniere, Brenda Matthews and Alice Shapley. The French version of the LRP, as well as the typeset version with full figures and design and hard copies, are expected early in the new year.
As alluded to in my last President’s message, the next challenge in the LRP process is its implementation, and the Board (with input from the current LRPIC, as well as LRP co-chairs) has been laying out the strategy for this next step. Oversight and monitoring of both existing and future facilities will remain in the remit of our current CASCA committees: the Ground-based Astronomy Committee (GAC, currently chaired by Stefi Baum) and the Joint Committee on Space Astronomy (JCSA, currently chaired by Locke Spencer). In order to tackle the broad ranging community-based LRP recommendations, CASCA will create a new committee, the LRP Community Recommendations Implementation Committee (LCRIC), whose portfolio will encompass the societal-level aspects of the plan, including equity, indigenous matters, outreach and sustainability. The LCRIC will work to generate an actionable implementation plan from the LRP’s recommendations, working with existing CASCA committees and striking new working groups as needed to convert the recommendations into reality over the next decade. We are just beginning the first steps in establishing this new LCRIC, but I am delighted to announce that Christine Wilson (McMaster University) has agreed to be the inaugural Chair. Given their remit, the new LCRIC, in partnership with the GAC and JCSA, will replace the previous LRPIC – I thank John Hutchings and his team for their wisdom and tireless efforts over many years.
The top (unfunded) large facilities in the LRP are the SKA and CASTOR. As discussed in my September message, the SKA is reaching a critical point with the IGO expected to take over the project imminently. Securing membership and funding for Canada has been at the top of CASCA’s agenda of effort over the last few months. I have been working closely with Kristine Spekkens (Canadian SKA Science Director) and Gilles Joncas (AACS Chair) to prepare the ground for the Coalition’s lobbying activities. These activities are now well underway with a positive first meeting with officials from ISED, and more in the planning stages. In collaboration with ACURA, the AACS has also mobilized its university connections, with several VPR briefings already completed across the country. I encourage you to look at the Canadian SKA webpage, which hosts a wealth of material on the project, its science aspirations, industry connections and societal impacts. In particular, I point you to a handy 4-page summary of the project in the Canadian context, in case you have the opportunity to discuss the project in your broader networks.
With an anticipated launch in the late 2020s, there is also significant on-going progress on planning for the CASTOR space telescope. A more complete report is provided by Pat Côté in this Edition, but the long-awaited CSA technical study request for proposals (STDP RFP) has now been issued (and, by the time you read this, closed), representing a significant step in the preparatory process. CASTOR is one of seven “Priority Technologies” in this call, and there are five different work packages within the CASTOR study. The CSA has also started working a mission development plan for CASTOR: i.e., a summary of timelines, budget requirements, milestones and action items that mark the path towards launch later this decade. CASTOR represents a truly unique and exciting component in Canada’s astronomy portfolio – the potential for a Canada-led UV-optical space telescope will not only bring terrific science returns, as well as showcasing and supporting our national expertise in several technology domains, but it will generate tremendous excitement and pride in the general public, inspiring the next generation of budding scientists and engineers.
On the digital infrastructure side, the New Digital Research Infrastructure Organization (NDRIO) is ramping up to eventually replace Compute Canada. Unlike Compute Canada, NDRIO is funded directly by ISED, and CASCA is an Associate Member (as is CADC). NDRIO held its first AGM at the end of September, at which the inaugural Researcher Council (RC) was announced. Erik Rosolowsky (U of A) was one of approximately 20 appointees on the new RC. Despite this success, it is the responsibility of our broader community to engage with NDRIO and communicate our needs. Notably, astronomy represents ~5% of Compute Canada users but uses ~20% of its resources. Our success as a field therefore critically relies on effective and appropriate DRI. NDRIO has outlined several steps in its initial consultation process on needs assessment within the broader community. Several white papers are under preparation within our astronomy community in response to the first step in this call. A user survey is also expected in the near future – please take the time to complete this survey when it comes your way!
Preparations for the CASCA 2021 AGM (May 10-14) continue apace – since CASCA was founded in 1971, this will be our 50th birthday party! The SOC and OOC have developed an exciting scientific and social program for CASCA 2021. With the release of the LRP, and the broad reaching issues it has assessed, the SOC has chosen a theme that will align with the LRP2020’s goals: “Canadian Astronomy: Dialing It Up To 11”. The SOC has selected a roster of invited speakers and the invitations will have been sent by the time you read this. The organizing committees have scored quite the coup with securing recent Nobel laureate Professor Andrea Ghez to present the Helen Sawyer Hogg Public Lecture. Two other ‘evening’ events have been planned. There will be a games night featuring the popular game ‘Among Us’ and the CASCA Banquet will feature “CASCA Has Talent” – a chance for CASCA members to demonstrate their non-astronomy skills. The OOC is also working on integrating daily social interactions; it won’t be quite the same as being together in Penticton, but it sounds like it will be a lot of fun nonetheless! Watch this space in the new year for more details and registration.
ALMA Matters
From Gerald Schieven (ALMA)(Cassiopeia – Winter 2020)
Return-to-Operations Status
ALMA has been shut down since 18 March 2020 due to COVID-19. The observatory was closed with all antennas and receivers powered down, with only the master timing maser remaining powered up via solar-charged batteries and a backup generator. A caretaker team remained on site to inspect the site and ensure safety and security. Employees in Santiago were in a work-from-home mode.
The Santiago offices opened for a maximum of 10 essential personnel on September 28 and with limited occupancy (max. 25) on November 9. A review for an occupancy of up to 50 people was scheduled for Dec 11.
At the Operations Support Facility (OSF), preparations for re-occupation began October 1, with the first power generator restarted October 6, having been offline for 199 days. On October 21 limited staff moved back into the Residencia for cleaning, opening the data centre, beginning cafeteria services, and establishing stable utilities (power, water, water treatment). First re-occupancy by staff was at the end of October. Work is progressing well, and staff morale remains high.
The first phase of the planned return to the high site (the Array Operations Site or AOS) began on December 10. The status of critical equipment other than the maser was unknown at the time of writing. The goal for the next phase is to recover enough antennas (10-15) so that science operations can begin and a basic system checkout. There are significant technical risks remaining, e.g. powering up the correlator, the central local oscillator, infrastructure such as power and water, plus a backlog of maintenance.
If all goes well, the majority of the recovery would be completed by the end of January. ALMA would then enter its normal February maintenance shutdown (weather is too poor for significant observing in February), and PI science could resume in early March 2021, after a nearly full year hiatus. Cycle 7 observing will then resume until the end of September 2021, with Cycle 8 commencing on October 1.
Cycle 8 Call for Proposals
In mid-December, the ALMA Observatory is expected to issue its Cycle 8 Pre-announcement, which will include the key dates for the Cycle 8 Call for Proposals (CfP), plus a list of the new capabilities to be offered, including single field polarization with the ACA, 7-m Array spectral scans, VLBI of faint targets, and other new observing modes. The CfP is expected in mid-March, 2021, with the deadline for proposal submission in mid-April.
ASAC Membership
For several years, Christine Wilson (McMaster University) has represented Canada on the ALMA Science Advisory Council (ASAC). ASAC, made up of distinguished scientists from North America, Europe, East Asia, and Chile, provides scientific advice to the ALMA Board on the scientific operation of the ALMA project, as representatives of the wider astronomical community. At the end of this year, Christine will be retiring from ASAC. In her place, Erik Rosolowsky (University of Alberta) has been appointed to the council. We wish to thank Christine for her long standing service representing Canadian scientists on the ASAC, and to wish Erik well.
Atelier AstroComm 2021 Workshop First Announcement
by Nathalie Ouellette (Université de Montréal)(Cassiopeia – Winter 2020)
Communication skills are an important part of astronomers’ toolkits. We need to use them to share our research with our peers, advocate for our science, obtain funding from agencies and connect with the public and the next generation of scientists.
In this spirit, the Centre for Research in Astrophysics of Quebec (CRAQ) plans to organise an interactive virtual workshop in English on science communication, AstroComm 2021.
Date: June 16, 2021Time: 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm (Eastern Time)Location: OnlineOpen to all interested astronomers, from undergraduate students to professorsFree registration
The workshop will be delivered by Nathalie Ouellette (Université de Montréal), Julie Bolduc-Duval (Discover the Universe) and other instructors to be announced later.
The purpose of this first announcement is to gauge the interest of the Canadian astronomical community in this workshop. Here are a few topics that could be covered during the workshop:
public speaking for various audiences
scientific writing
creation of visual content
media interviews
social media
inclusive communication
hands-on activities for youth
… and more!
Participants will be required to submit a scientific communication piece (e.g. article, video, presentation slideshow, etc.) prior to the workshop that will help the instructors better target the training content. Submitted pieces do not need to be created for the workshop; they can be from previous science communication activities.
If you are interested in this activity, we invite you to .
Your answers will allow us to adapt the workshop according to the needs of the community. An announcement with more details will be sent to the CASCA distribution list in early 2021. For more information, visit astrocomm-2021-workshop. If you have any questions, please contact Nathalie Ouellette.
BRITE-Constellation Mission Update
By Catherine Lovekin (Canadian PI for BRITE)(Cassiopeia – Winter 2020)
BRITE-Constellation is an international space astronomy mission consisting of a fleet of 20x20x20 cm nanosatellites dedicated to precision optical photometry of bright stars in two photometric colours. The mission continues in full science operations, with 45 datasets available in the public domain from the BRITE public archive. As of April of 2020, all data is made public as soon as decorrelation is complete, with no proprietary period.
The BRITE mission is a collaboration between Canadian, Austrian and Polish astronomers and space scientists. The Canadian partners represent University of Toronto, Université de Montréal, Mount Allison University, Royal Military College of Canada, University of British Columbia, and Bishop’s University. The mission was built, and the Canadian satellites operated by, the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies Space Flight Lab (UTIAS-SFL). The Canadian Space Agency funded the construction of the Canadian satellites, and continues to support their day-to-day operations.
Operations
There are five BRITE satellites in the Constellation, which work together to obtain well-sampled, long term continuous (~6 months) light curves in both red and blue band passes across a variety of sky fields.
As this issue of Cassiopeia went to press, the assignments of the BRITE nanosats was:
BRITE Toronto (Canada): This satellite observes with a red filter. It is currently observing the Orion/Taurus III field, revisiting this field for the third time.
BRITE Lem (Poland): Lem observes with a blue filter, but is currently idle due to unresolved stability issues.
BRITE Heweliusz (Poland): Heweliusz observes with a red filter. It is currently observing the Vela/Pictorus V field.
BRITE Austria (Austria): BRITE Austria observes with a blue filter. It is currently observing the Orion VII field.
UniBRITE (Austria): Currently out of order.
The BRITE Constellation observing program is currently set through November of 2021. Details of the observing plan are available on the BRITE photometry Wiki page.
Recent Science Results
This study investigates the pulsational and magnetic field properties of β Cas, as well as the star’s apparent fundamental parameters and chemical abundances.
Based on photometric time series obtained from three different space missions (BRITE-Constellation, SMEI, and TESS), we conduct a frequency analysis and investigate the stability of the pulsation amplitudes over four years of observations. We investigate the presence of a magnetic field and its properties using spectropolarimetric observations taken with the Narval instrument by applying the least-squares deconvolution and Zeeman-Doppler imaging techniques.
The star β Cas shows only three independent p-mode frequencies down to the few ppm-level; its highest amplitude frequency is suggested to be an n = 3, ℓ = 2, m = 0 mode. Its magnetic field structure is quite complex and almost certainly of a dynamo origin. The atmosphere of β Cas is slightly deficient in iron peak elements and slightly overabundant in C, O, and heavier elements.
Atypically for δ Scuti stars, we can only detect three pulsation modes down to exceptionally low noise levels for β Cas. The star is also one of very few δ Scuti pulsators known to date to show a measurable magnetic field and the first δ Scuti star with a dynamo magnetic field. These characteristics make β Cas an interesting target for future studies of dynamo processes in the thin convective envelopes of F-type stars, the transition region between fossil and dynamo fields, and the interaction between pulsations and magnetic field.
Conferences, Resources, and Social Media
Conferences
The BRITE team did not host any conferences this year. The proceedings from the 2019 conference “Stars and their Variability Observed from Space” has now been published and all papers are available at brite.camk.edu.pl/pub/index.html.
The mission Wiki (including information on past, current and future fields) can be accessed here.
BRITE Constellation is on Facebook, at @briteconstellation.
The BRITE International Advisory Science Team
The BRITE International Advisory Science Team (BIAST), which consists of BRITE scientific PIs, technical authorities, amateur astronomers, and mission fans, advises the mission executive on scientific and outreach aspects of the mission. If you’re interested in joining BIAST, contact Konstanze Zwintz, the chair of BEST at konstanze.zwintz@uibk.ac.at.
Canadian Gemini Office News
By Stéphanie Côté (CGO, NRC Herzberg)(Cassiopeia – Winter 2020)
DRAGONS Data Reductions Made Easy
DRAGONS, Data Reduction for Astronomy from Gemini Observatory North and South, is the new Python-based official data reduction software for Gemini instruments. The current version is so far available only for imaging modes. Our colleagues at the US NGO have developed data reduction tutorials for DRAGONS as well as the Gemini IRAF packages. The new github repository for DRAGONS contains Jupyter notebooks, written using the DRAGONS Python API, with data reduction examples for imaging modes using Flamingos2, GMOS, GSAOI, and NIRI. There are also extended help files with detailed instructions on how to download the notebooks, install the necessary Python packages, download the raw data from the Gemini Observatory Archive, and run the procedures. The Gemini/IRAF repository contains examples of data reduction scripts of GMOS long-slit spectroscopy with the Hamamatsu and e2v CCDs. New notebooks will become available as new data reduction modes are included in the next DRAGONS software updates. Details can be found here.
MAROON-X Has a New ITC
Maroon-X is a long-term Visiting instrument at Gemini-North. It is a high-resolution (R~80,000) optical (500-920nm), bench-mounted, fiber-fed echelle spectrograph designed to deliver 1 m/s radial velocity precision for M dwarfs down to and beyond V = 16. It now has a new ITC, which can output counts and SNR versus wavelength for selected magnitude, spectral type and observing conditions. In the future, it will also (among other things) give RV precision estimates! The ITC is currently based on the commissioning data from Dec 2019 that has been recalibrated with the more recent data from May and Sep 2020, and will continue to improve. It is available here.
Recent Canadian Gemini Press Releases
A White Dwarf’s Surprise Planetary Companion
On September 14th 2020 an international team of astronomers led by Andrew Vanderburg (University of Wisconsin-Madison) and including Lorne Nelson (Bishop’s University), Bjorn Benneke and Patrick Dufour (University of Montreal), released a Nature paper presenting the first detection of a giant exoplanet orbiting close to a white dwarf star. Normally any close-orbiting planets will be engulfed by its host star during the its red giant phase, but more distant planets can survive this phase and remain in orbit around the resulting white dwarf. Some white dwarfs show evidence for rocky material floating in their atmospheres, in warm debris disks, which has been interpreted as the debris of rocky planets that were scattered inwards and tidally disrupted. For the first time a Jupiter-sized planet, WD1856b, orbiting the white dwarf WD1856+534, was found to have survived intact in or near the white dwarf habitable zone, using GNIRS at Gemini-North. This can give us a small hope that our Solar System might be able to survive our Sun’s demise into a white dwarf in a few billion years from now. The press release can be found here and the Nature paper here.
Join the thousands and thousands of Gemini Observatory followers on Facebook: @GeminiObservatory and Twitter: @GeminiObs
Update on CASTOR
By Patrick Côté, John Hutchings (NRC Herzberg Astronomy & Astrophysics Research Centre)(Cassiopeia – Winter 2020)
Since the message in the last Cassiopeia, we have the following progress to report.
The CSA technical study request for proposals (STDP RFP) has had several months of delay due to COVID and consequent backlogs. However, the RFP has now been issued, with a due date of December 8. Given time for review and award of the contract, this work may not begin until March 2021. The technical work to be performed is significant and important, and the community looks forward to working with the contractors.
The long-awaited Phase 0 study (which was first recommended in the 2015 MTR) has also not moved forward, but we are hopeful it will overlap with the STDP work. It is expected that this study will incorporate science teams from Canada and proposed partners. In view of the significant design and technical work already devoted to CASTOR, the Phase 0 may run quicker than usual.
An optimistic launch date is late 2027, depending on agreements on international partnerships and a commitment by the Government. To that end, two informational pamphlets for CASTOR have been produced and are available for lobbying efforts by the Coalition for astronomy and promotion activities by members of the CASTOR science team. The Space Advisory Board has also been approached and informed. We are hopeful that the work may be seen as part of a post-COVID stimulus initiative that high-tech industry may need, in addition to the mission’s exciting scientific capabilities.
CSA has sent a formal letter to ISRO to instigate discussions on a significant partnership in the mission. This has prompted the Canadian and Indian teams to outline mission components and options for sharing among the partners. The CSA-ISRO discussions are expected to begin within the next few weeks. It is our aim to ensure Canadian leadership in the mission but to have significant savings over the full cost to Canada.
CATAC Update on the Thirty Meter Telescope
By Michael Balogh (CATAC Chair)(Cassiopeia – Winter 2020)
The recently published Canadian LRP2020 recommends, as its top priority for large ground-based facilities, “that Canada participate in a very large optical telescope (VLOT), and that this participation be at a level that provides compelling opportunities for Canadian leadership in science, technology and instrumentation”. The report notes further that this access is best implemented through “continued participation in TMT, either at the currently proposed Maunakea site or at the scientifically acceptable alternative of Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos”. This is consistent with past recommendations and reaffirms the importance of VLOT access for the Canadian optical/infrared astronomy community in the coming decades. The leadership opportunities provided by TMT (or any VLOT) depend to some degree on the final share, governance model and construction timeline. CATAC expects that there will be more certainty about those factors over the next year, but with the information available today we agree that participation in TMT (at either site) represents the best route to fulfill the goals of the LRP.
LRP2020 also recommends developing and adopting “a comprehensive set of guiding principles for the locations of astronomy facilities and associated infrastructure in which Canada participates. These principles should “be centred on consent from the Indigenous Peoples and traditional title holders who would be affected by any astronomy project”. CATAC is aware that many Canadians are very concerned about how TMT construction in Hawai’i can be consistent with these principles, and that there has been important discussion within Canada about this. CATAC has raised these concerns with the Board. Our recommendation for continued support of TMT is based in part on the following considerations:
First and foremost, CATAC reaffirms our position that the decision about whether or not TMT is built in Hawaii should be entirely in the hands of the Hawaiian community, and that they are the only ones who should be responsible for defining what consent means within their own constituency.
CATAC awaits the full development of the guiding principles recommended by the LRP, which we hope and expect will be consistent with the previous point.
Recent developments have led to an opportunity for renewed dialogue within Hawai’i, that CATAC believes is consistent with the views expressed in our LRP, and the white papers on Indigeneous rights submitted to that process. These discussions are taking place among diverse groups, and involve not only TMT but all astronomy on Maunakea, as well as many broader issues of Hawaiian society. We describe some of these developments below, and note there are more details in our recent report to the CASCA Board, which is available on our website. It is vitally important to give these discussions the time and space they need. They are connected to concerns that are much broader than TMT, or astronomy.
Telescope Site, Partnership and Construction Timeline
On August 13, in response to the initial planning proposal for the US Extremely Large Telescope Program (ELTP), the US National Science Foundation (NSF) announced the initiation of an informal outreach process to engage people and groups interested in the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) project. Hawai’i House Speaker Saiki issued a press release about this on Aug 18. This outreach is a precursor to an NSF decision about whether or not to accept the ELTP proposal and formally join the project.
This engagement on the part of the NSF is welcomed by the TMT International Observatory (TIO) Partners, and brings a new opportunity for a Hawaiian consultation process and formal review, led by a widely respected body. It also establishes a timeline of events that will take place over the next 12-18 months, each of which will provide increasing clarity over the future viability of TMT:
The US Astro2020 process is anticipated to release their public report in mid-2021. A top ranking in this report is essential for NSF engagement and the viability of the project. The report may make other recommendations relevant to TMT.
Should the NSF accept the ELTP proposal, this will trigger a federal Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), which will take about three years to complete. Included as part of this review would be the important Section 106 process of the National Historical Protection Act. This would have the significant effect of leading to a federally recognized record of the importance of Maunakea to Hawaiians. Information from the public consultation phase of this process will shed further light on the situation as the review progresses. We note that a federal EIS may also be required at La Palma if the NSF is a partner.
Upon acceptance of the proposal, NSF will also conduct an in-depth Preliminary Design Review, likely in late 2021. This is a comprehensive review of all aspects of the project, including operations and a detailed costing.
Assuming TMT construction cannot begin until the EIS has completed (which may not be the case), construction might not start before 2023. An estimate of seven years construction and three years commissioning would mean first science in 2033 or later. The main competition for TMT is the ESO Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) project. The ELT is currently under construction, and current planning anticipates technical first light (TFL ) by the end of 2025, though the COVID-19 pandemic may add some delay. It is planned that all four first-light instruments would be commissioned within two to three years after TFL. Assuming no delays to that project, the gap to TMT science could be six years. But, at this point, there is enough uncertainty in the timeline of both projects that the gap could be larger, or smaller.
In parallel with these NSF-led consultations, there are several other important discussions and activities underway in Hawaii. These include:
In May, 2020, the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) launched an independent review of the University of Hawaii (UH) management of Maunakea as part of the Master Lease renewal process. The independent Hawaiian consultation group Ku`iwalu, has been engaged to evaluate the effectiveness of the UH and the OMKM in its implementation of the Comprehensive Management Plan (CMP). Some information about the process underway is available at their website. At the time of launch, the review was expected to conclude by the end of 2020, though this may be delayed.
An important part of Governor Ige’s proposed path forward for TMT on Maunakea is the decommissioning of “as many telescopes as possible”. This process is underway, through the OMKM. Decommissioning is a lengthy process, as it involves its own Environmental Assessment and DLNR permit preceding the physical removal of the facility and complete restoration of the site. Decommissioning of the UH-Hilo teaching telescope, Hoku Kea is expected to be completed in 2023. The Caltech Submillimeter Observatory decommissioning is anticipated to be completed in 2022.
Multiple groups in Hawaii are meeting to discuss broad issues such as housing, education and land ownership, including the role of astronomy. Among these groups are the Hawai’i Executive Collaborative and the ‘Aina Aloha Economic Futures. Participants in these meetings include TMT opponents. Canadians associated with TMT have also been invited to participate in some of these discussions, though the travel restrictions associated with the pandemic have significantly affected this effort.
Instrumentation Update
The TMT Exoplanet Roadmap Committee is considering the prioritization of desired exoplanet capabilities for planned second-generation TMT instruments: PSI, MICHI and HROS. The prioritization would be a function of the various instrument modes (imaging, spectroscopy, polarimetry) and their implementation (resolution, IFU, choice of wavelengths/bands). Input from the Canadian community is welcome, before mid-January. A short summary of proposed capabilities together with an Excel template for feedback are available on the CATAC web page.
Project Office Update
Dr. Gary Sanders, who has led the TMT Project as Project Manager with distinction since its inception, will retire at the start of 2021. Deputy Project Manager Fengchuan Liu, who has worked closely with Gary and co-directed the project for the last five years, will assume the Project Manager (acting) position while TMT searches for a permanent project manager.
Update from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA)
By Denis Laurin (Senior Program Scientist, Space Astronomy, Space Exploration Development, Canadian Space Agency)
My last contribution to Cassiopeia was pre-COVID-19. With practically all CSA employees in telework since then we continued, in virtual presence, to achieve our objectives, support the scientific community and industry with on going projects, missions and plan for future opportunities in space sciences. Below is a summary of recent developments relevant to space astronomy.
New Management
In September 2020 the CSA welcomed its new President, Ms Lisa Campbell, following the five year term of the previous president Mr. Laporte. Prior to this position Ms Campbell was Associate Deputy Minister, Veterans Affairs Canada, and prior to this she was Assistant Deputy Minister, Defence and Marine Procurement, leading the organization procuring Canada’s military and marine equipment. A short biography is available on the CSA webpage.
On-Going Missions
JWST
The launch of JWST is now planned for 31 Oct 2021. The CSA continues to make preparations for the operations and will support the scientific community expecting to obtain on average 5% of observation time throughout the mission. The Cycle 1 AO closed recently and results of applications are available (having a good response from Canadians). The CSA will provide grant support to the selected Canadian PIs, as well as the Early Release Science proposals. The MOU with NRC to support science operations, as well as support to Université de Montréal will be extended to launch and commissioning.
ASTROSAT
ISRO and the Astrosat team has recently celebrated 5 years of operations. Many Canadian astronomers have benefited and produced results using this unique multi-wavelength observatory. The NUV detector of UVIT continues to be unavailable, but the FUV and VIS channels are still performing well. Contact Joe Postma, University of Calgary, for details for UVIT data processing and analysis issues or for assistance in preparation of proposals. Canadian researchers that have obtained observing time during earlier cycles have been awarded grant support from the CSA (contact person for ASTROSAT grants program at CSA is Jean Dupuis). We encourage Astrosat grant recipients to inform CSA of their resulting or upcoming publications, as well as any related media releases.
The CSA Astrosat support is undergoing a mission extension review to evaluate merit of continued support of data reduction and science grants for 2 more year. The JCSA has recommended continuation of CSA support. A decision will be made in January.
NEOSSat Guest Observer Program
NEOSSat is Canada’s own space telescope: a 15 cm telescope with a high performance baffle it is able to observe at low sun angles. Launched in 2013 to discover near-Earth asteroids, the telescope has been available to researchers for photometry and asteroid follow ups. The CSA posted AOs for a guest observer program, cycle 1 in Sept 2019 and cycle 2 in July 2020, with Cycle 3 planned for early 2021. We appreciated the services of CanTAC for Cycle 2 proposal reviews. There is no grant funding associated with the AOs and the data is public (on CSA FTP and CADC). An announcement will be sent to CASCA members when the Cycle 3 is open. Information about the previous Cycle is available here including the list of approved guest observers.
XRISM
The JAXA X-ray telescope XRISM, to be launched in 2022, is a follow-up of the Hitomi mission that ended prematurely in 2016. CSA contributed to support the tests of the Resolve instrument. With CSA grant support, Dr Luigi Gallo (SWG) at St-Mary’s University and Dr Brian McNamara (Resolve) at University of Waterloo are members of the teams. Once in operation, and possibly for the PV phase, members of Canada’s astronomy community will be able to compete for guest observer time.
BRITE
The CSA has been supporting the operations of the Canadian nanosat (“BRITE-Toronto”) at the University of Toronto Space Flight Laboratory since launch in 2013. At the time of this writing, BRITE is undergoing a CSA mission extension review. The JCSA has recommended continuation of the CSA support. A decision will be made in January.
Investing in the Future
The Long Range Plan
The CSA is pleased to see the release of the completed LRP2020 document by CASCA. It represents a comprehensive set of priorities of the community following extensive cross-country consultations and reviews. We’d like to congratulate the LRP co-Chairs and the Panel for this tremendous effort. As in the past, the LRP is primary reference for the CSA in guiding investments in space astronomy.
Space Technology Development Program (STDP)
In the last Cassiopeia update, I provided a short description of the studies completed (2017-2019) that targeted future opportunities: CASTOR, LiteBIRD, Colibri and two exoplanet micro-mission concepts PEOP and EPPE. The studies identified technology roadmaps to advance the feasibility of these concepts. To that end the STDP selected priority technologies related to the payload of CASTOR and the two exoplanet concepts as part to the RFP currently open on the PSPC government tendering website.
Prior STDP contracts targeted payload elements for the SPICA and LiteBIRD missions. These contracts are on going until this summer. Note however that because ESA cancelled the SPICA opportunity under the Cosmic Vision Program (M5), the SPICA targeted technology will nevertheless continue as more generic technology advancements for cryogenic FTS instrumentation; this will allow maintaining industrial competitiveness for future opportunities.
CASTOR
Identified as the top priority in the LRP 2020 for a very large space astronomy mission, CASTOR investments continues in the short term with an important technology development planned over two years. This follows a comprehensive science study completed in 2019 that refined the science objectives and derived the requirements of the instruments. As part of the currently posted RFP up to $2.25M are available to CASTOR payload elements technology advancements.
A Phase 0 study should follow that will provide detailed baseline design of the mission including full cost estimation and a development plan. Such a large mission will require a special budget request from the government as it is outside the operational budget of the CSA. Continued and broadly expressed community support will be essential to realize these objectives.
The CSA is exploring the interests of potential partners, and in close collaboration with NRC HAA to define a plan forward. (See also John Hutchings’ contribution in this issue.)
LiteBIRD
JAXA selected LiteBIRD as their next Large-class mission and early developments are on-going with international partners. Canada was welcomed as potential contributor several years ago to provide the warm readout electronics for the large array of cryogenic bolometers needed for this CMB Pol mission. CSA has invested technology developments over several years, including a current STDP work with McGill University until Nov 2021 to advance this unique technology. These investments are aligned with the LRP priorities that marked LiteBIRD contribution the top priority for a large scale contribution in this decade. CSA is discussing progress with JAXA and other partners of the mission. A concern remains to be resolved following the withdrawal of the US contribution that would have provided the detectors.
Co-Investigator (Co-I) Grants – Supporting Canadian Researchers on International Missions
The Co-I program was described in the Sept 2019 Cassiopeia issue. CSA plans to make this a regular annual AO with the next issue to appear early 2021. The Jan 2019 Co-I AO is still viewable on the CSA website for background information.
FAST Grants AO
The FAST 2019 AO awarded a total of 36 grants. The CSA is planning to issue the next FAST opportunity in the summer of 2021. Note that the total budget and grant categories can vary from year to year.
The complete list of awards of the FAST 2019 grants is available here.
The following are the 2019 awards related to space astronomy:
In the $300K category:
Université Laval, Quebec City, Quebec, “HiCIBaS II – High-Constrast Imaging Balloon System – Adaptive Optics at High Altitude” (Dr. Simon Thibault)
University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, “Flights for Precision Calibration for Dark Energy, Microwave Astronomy, and Atmospheric Physics” (Dr. Justin Albert)
University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, “A superpressure balloon flight of the SuperBIT telescope” (Dr. Barth Netterfield)
In the $100K category:
University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba “High-throughput, high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy” (Dr. Samar Safi-Harb)
Western University, London, Ontario, “Selecting the extrasolar Earth analogues most amenable to atmospheric characterization” (Dr. Stanimir Metchev)
Consultations
The JCSA Consultation Committee
The current membership comprises:
Locke Spencer, U. of Lethbridge (co-Chair)
Denis Laurin, CSA (co-Chair)
Jason Rowe, Bishop U.
Renée Hlozek, U. of Toronto
Chris Willott, NRC Herzberg
Daryl Haggard, McGill U.
Jeremy Heyl, UBC
The last “summer” meeting was virtual on 4 and 5 June 2020 normally held at the CASCA Meeting venue. The “winter” meeting was just concluded 10 and 11 Dec 2020. The CSA Committees are shown on the CSA webpage and will be updated soon with additional information as the Terms of Reference are currently being updated. Two members will be rotating off as they end their terms; researchers with space astronomy experience interested in the membership may express their interest to the JCSA members or the co-Chairs.
—————Wishing everyone a good winter and a much better spring!Denis Laurin
DAO Telescope News
By David Bohlender (NRC Herzberg Astronomy & Astrophysics Research Centre)(Cassiopeia – Winter 2020)
Unlike many telescopes around the world, the DAO 1.2-m and 1.8-m telescopes operated without interruption throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Our ability to keep observing was thanks to the late-2019 implementation of robotic operation for the venerable 1.8-m Plaskett Telescope when configured for direct imaging. Robotic operation of the 1.2-m telescope and McKellar spectrograph has been available for more than 15 years. Since it has been a number of years since we have reminded Cassiopeia readers about the capabilities of the DAO Telescopes, it seems timely to do so now.
Both telescopes are scheduled on a relatively agile quarterly basis, with proposal deadlines on the first of December, March, June, and September or approximately one month before the start of each calendar quarter. They are well suited to monitoring programs and surveys requiring observations on various timescales including long individual observing runs, or programs scheduled monthly, quarterly or annually. Student projects are particularly encouraged.
The 1.8-m Plaskett Telescope offers imaging, spectroscopic, and spectropolarimetric capabilities. The imaging camera has a field of view of 24’ x 11’ with normal 2-pixel binning of the 2K x 4K E2V-1 CCD providing 0.62” pixel scale appropriate for the 2” seeing typical for the site. Robotic operation of the telescope (again, currently available only for imaging observations) is controlled by a text file containing the desired sequence of observations for a single night that the observer provides telescope staff.
The Cassegrain spectrograph has interchangeable gratings that provide spectral dispersions (resolutions) from 120Å/mm (R = 1,250) to 10Å/mm (R = 15,000). Wavelength coverage is currently limited by the 26mm length of the SITe-2 CCD. A polarimeter module, dimaPol, installed in place of the normal entrance slit to the spectrograph can provide Stokes I+V spectropolarimetry with a resolution of 15,000 for a spectral region centered on the H line. At the current time, spectroscopy and spectropolarimetry programs can only be carried out in person, although potential applicants should note that changes in the COVID-19 restrictions may restrict such operation for the next few quarters. A very modest amount of service observing support might be available based on other staff commitments.
The 1.2-m Telescope and two Coudé spectrographs permit spectroscopic observations with dispersions (resolutions) from 40.9Å/mm (R = 2,500) to 2.4Å/mm (R = 45,000). Again, the wavelength coverage is limited by the 61.4mm detector length, which in this case is the SITe-4 CCD. One of three sets of Coudé mirrors can be selected based on the spectral region of interest. For several years, approximately 70% of the scheduled observations on the 1.2-m telescope have been conducted in an unattended robotic mode. In good weather and seeing conditions, objects as faint as V = 10 can be observed. Data can be quickly processed for users if desired.
Data acquired on both of the DAO telescopes are available within minutes through the CADC’s Advanced Search interface. More than 700,000 digital datasets dating back to 2001 are currently available in the archive and older data are being added to the collection as time permits. If there are digital spectroscopic archival data of interest to users, we can readily process 1.2-m and 1.8-m spectra for them. The archive also includes a catalogue of photographic plates obtained with both telescopes, dating back to the first plate obtained with the Plaskett Telescope on 6 May 1918.
HAA staff are currently designing a new imaging camera for the Plaskett Telescope. This instrument will include a 6K x 6K drift-scan CCD as the detector and will increase the imaging field of view by a factor of approximately 4.5. The new camera will also benefit public outreach activities at the Observatory since visitors will be able view in real-time stars, nebulae, and galaxies passing through the telescope’s field of view instead of the usual static images.
Over the past year, the NRC has been conducting assessments of the current state of all of its laboratory facilities. As part of this process, an external panel carried out reviews of both DAO Telescope facilities in September. Our hope is that these reviews will make it possible for us to enhance the capabilities and operation of both DAO Telescopes by securing a modest amount of funding to upgrade spectrographs on both telescopes, enable robotic operation of the Plaskett Telescope for both imaging and spectroscopy, implement queued service observing, and perhaps even consider joining the Las Cumbres Observatory’s global network of telescopes if such access would be of interest to the Canadian community.
We would be delighted to hear your thoughts on possible future upgrades of the DAO Telescopes. In the meantime, anyone interested in applying for time on the DAO Telescopes can easily contact me at david.bohlender@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca to obtain additional information and a LaTeX template for their proposals.
Graduate Student Highlights
By Carter Rhea (Chair, CASCA Graduate Student Committee)(Cassiopeia – Winter 2020)
Each month, the GSC highlights the work of an outstanding Canadian graduate student by sharing their work with our members. Since the launch in February of 2020, we have highlighted several students from around the country. In this issue, we share the highlights of new students since the last issue of Cassiopeia.
Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook under the handle casca_gsc.
Mainak Singha — University of Manitoba
Mainak’s research investigates how weakly accreting ‘Active Galactic Nuclei’ (AGN) can drive galaxy evolution processes. Most successful galaxy evolution models require the AGN to launch galactic scale outflows to drive the galaxy evolution processes. In order to trace the signs of outflows, he uses spectroscopic data (spectra) from SDSS (Sloan Digital Sky Survey). The emission lines from these spectra pin-point the evidences of ionization caused by the photons from the AGN accretion disks or the shocks from the AGN. Any asymmetry in the emission line profiles indicates the gas moving towards / moving away from us which are the signatures of outflows.
Figure 1 is a standard BPT diagram from SDSS DR7. The radio galaxy J142041+025930 lies in the LINER (Low Ionization Nuclear Emission Line Region) region suggesting it to be a Low Excitation radio galaxy (LERG).
Vivian Tan — York University
Vivian’s research is on the galaxies that reside within massive clusters at redshifts 0.25 < z < 0.6, in the Hubble Frontier Fields. Clusters are dynamic environments where galaxies interact and quench, which means transitioning from star-forming to quiescent. Quenching processes alter a galaxy’s morphology, which we want to measure not just with their light profiles but through their stellar mass distribution. Mapping where the stellar mass is in a galaxy is usually difficult at z > 0, but the Frontier Fields have deep multiband Hubble photometry. This means resolved stellar mass maps are possible even for galaxies as small as 108 solar masses. Galaxies with such low stellar masses have not been studied in a resolved way at z > 0. Because we can analyze morphology with resolved stellar mass maps, we found that quiescent galaxies which are less massive than 109.5 solar masses are more likely to be disk-dominated (Sersic index ~ 1 to 2), but quiescent galaxies are bulge-dominated above that mass limit (Sersic index of 4 or more). This was only found in clusters but not in the less dense “field” environments. This means different quenching processes must have occurred to transform these galaxies, and these quenching processes depend both on the galaxy’s mass and their environment.
Figure 2
Figure 2 shows the process of creating the resolved stellar mass maps through a process called SED-fitting. The galaxy is broken up into spatial bins, and a SED is fitted to photometric flux from multiple bands in each of the bins. The fitted SED can reveal what the stellar mass of that region of the galaxy is and putting it all together results in a resolved stellar mass map. Sersic index measurements for the stellar mass are obtained via parametrically fitting a 2-D Sersic profile directly to the map of stellar mass using GALFIT.
Jessica Campbell — University of Toronto
Jessica’s research focuses on the multiphase nature of our Galaxy’s magnetic field and how it connects between different phases of the interstellar medium (ISM). Whether it is the turbulent warm ionized medium (WIM) that fills much of the Galaxy or the cold neutral medium (CNM) often found in sheets and filaments, this complex ISM is permeated with high energy cosmic rays and magnetic fields. When accelerated by the magnetic field, these cosmic rays emit radio synchrotron radiation that is strongly linearly polarized. As this polarized emission passes through the foreground ISM, thermal electrons and magnetic fields in the WIM rotate the plane of polarization, an effect called Faraday rotation. These cosmic rays can also penetrate and ionize the densest regions of the ISM, causing even the predominantly neutral medium to be coupled to the magnetic field via linear 21 cm HI structures called ‘HI fibers.’ Despite the wealth of magnetic field information about the WIM and CNM, very little is known about how they relate to one another. Do the diffuse ionized and cold clumpy media share a common magnetic field? If so, how often does this occur, and under what circumstances? These are the questions driving Jessica’s research.
Figure 3
Figure 3 shows Planck dust emission at 353 GHz, where the coloured image is the total (unpolarized) intensity and the textured lines indicate the magnetic field orientation. The dust emission clearly contains the same knee and fork morphologies, and the overall field orientation is roughly parallel to the polarized filaments F1 and F3.
Robert Bickley — University of Victoria
Robert’s research focuses on the intersection between observational astronomy and machine learning, specifically, using machine vision techniques to identify galaxies that have recently undergone a merger with another galaxy. Mergers often leave behind a distinct visual signature, giving rise to unusual morphologies and leaving behind displaced streams of stars. To identify mergers using machine vision, he trains Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) on examples of mergers and non-mergers taken from a simulation (IllustrisTNG) and modified to look like real observations. He can then use the simulation data to identify where the CNNs are successful, and where they struggle.
Figure 4
Figure 4 shows how well a CNN identifies mergers and non-mergers as a function of the environment. If a galaxy has a neighbor very close by, it will have a small r_1 value. If there are no nearby neighbors, r_1 will be very large. The top panel shows the total number of post-mergers and controls (blue and orange histograms, respectively), further broken down as correctly and incorrectly classified (fp, brown: controls classified as post- mergers; tn, purple: correctly-classified controls; fn, red: post-mergers classified as controls; tp, green: correctly-classified post-mergers). The bottom panel shows the fraction of post-merger and control galaxy images correctly identified by the model.
The figure demonstrates that the model retains much of its ability to distinguish between mergers and non-mergers with a close neighbor down to 10 kiloparsecs, below which the visual degeneracy becomes prohibitive. However, such close neighbors are rare in both the simulation and the real Universe, and therefore do not present a significant source of contamination.
News from the JCMT and Canadian Observing Opportunity
By Chris Wilson (McMaster University, JCMT Board Member for Canada)(Cassiopeia – Winter 2020)
Canadian PI Proposals Return for 2021
Five Canadian universities (McMaster, Alberta, Queen’s, Manitoba, and Montreal) are contributing some funds towards JCMT operations in 2021. ACURA has also contributed some funding and HAA has a separate contract to purchase observing time in 2021. As a result, researchers at all Canadian universities are once again eligible to apply as PIs for observing on the JCMT.
The special 2021A call in the fall led to a healthy oversubscription rate. The 2021B call for proposals will be released in February with proposals due in March 2021. Band 5 weather contains to remain undersubscribed and counts as “free” in the time-allocation process and so I especially encourage proposals that can use this weather band.
The replacement 230 GHz receiver called Namakanui has been made available for shared-risk observing as of semester 2020B. This receiver is on loan from ASIAA (Taiwan) and is the spare receiver for the Greenland Telescope. It is a 3-band receiver design; the 230 GHz-band cartridge is known as U’u.
Please note that I expect semester 2021B to be the last time that Canadians will be able to apply as PIs for regular observing proposals. After that time, Canadians will be able to access PI time by collaborating with our colleagues in the U.K. or the EAO partner regions (China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan) to see if they would be interested to partner on a proposal. Band 5 weather contains to remain undersubscribed and counts as “free” in the time-allocation process.
The fact that the CADC continues to host the JCMT data archive is maintaining our access to JCMT large programs. Several new large programs were approved and began collecting data in 2020. Descriptions of the approved large programs are available here.
Observing
The JCMT was shut down for just over two months from mid-March to end of May due to COVID-19. However, since that time the observatory has returned to more or less normal operations. This has been facilitated by the fact that the JCMT has been observing fully remotely (from a control room in Hilo) since November 2019. I anticipate the observers and students will once again be welcome to visit to observe from Hilo and to visit the telescope at the summit once the pandemic is under control.
Science
There have been a number of high-profile results from PI programs on the JCMT over the past several months. Probably the result to get the most press coverage was the publication of evidence for phosphine in the atmosphere of Venus (Greaves et al. 2020, Nature Astronomy). The original observations were carried out with the JCMT and were followed up with ALMA. The importance is that phosphine in this instance provides hints of life in Venus’s atmosphere; however, subsequent papers looking at the ALMA data have called the detection into question. Perhaps something that JCMT can follow up with the new, more sensitive U’u receiver in the near future?
A second very interesting result from the Event Horizon Telescope team shows that the shadow of the black hole in M87, Powehi, seems to be wobbling on a timescale of ten years (Wielgus et al. 2020, ApJ). The crescent-like feature that was imaged in 2017 seems to be persistent, which implies it is a real effect caused by light bending from the black hole. The wobble gives us information on how gas is flowing around the black hole.
Finally, JCMT observations of the star Betelgeuse have revealed that its recent unprecedented dimming was most likely not due to a passing dust cloud but to the development of signicant starspots which affected its brightness (Dharmawardena et al., 2020, ApJL). This prominent star in the constellation Orion began to decrease in brightness in October 2019, and ultimately became roughly 3 times (1 magnitude) fainter than normal until it eventually returned to its original brightness. The JCMT images showed that Betelgeuse became 20% dimmer at submillimetre wavelengths, inconsistent with a foreground dust cloud but consistent with lower-temperature starspots covering 50-70% of its surface.
No Success with CFI for New 850 Micron Camera
A team of Canadian universities led by McMaster submitted a proposal for the CFI 2020 Innovation Fund competition to seek to contribute funding to constructing a new 850 micron camera for the JCMT. Unfortunately, this proposal was not successful. However, the observatory is still moving ahead with the development of this new camera, which is planned to have 20 times faster mapping speed than SCUBA-2 with dual-polarization capabilities.
ngVLA Update
By Erik Rosolowsky (U Alberta), Joan Wrobel (NRAO)(Cassiopeia – Winter 2020)
The next-generation Very Large Array (ngVLA) Project was pleased to learn that it was one of two new projects prioritized in LRP2020 for Canadian investment in future facilities. LRP2020 recommended that Canada seek engagement with the ngVLA to guarantee a ~6% share of observing time. With this article, we are inaugurating a regular feature intended to keep Canadian stakeholders informed about ngVLA progress. If you would like to receive more updates on the ngVLA project, sign up for the ngVLA-Canada mailing list by sending a note to James DiFrancesco.
While we await the results of the US Decadal review, there have been several developments from the ngVLA Project office. For FY2021, the US National Science Foundation (NSF) continues to support the design and development effort through its funding of the ngVLA cooperative agreement. Approximately US$10M has been made available to continue work on key ngVLA subsystems including antennas, electronics and computing, almost doubling the annual expenditures from the preceding three years. Working closely with the NSF, the ngVLA Project Office is developing plans for the next three years of design and development, leading to a shovel-ready project in the mid-2020s.
In collaboration with National Research Council Canada and other international and industrial partners, the ngVLA Project has conducted five conceptual design studies for the ngVLA 18-m antenna. These studies have resulted in four alternative concepts that meet the key requirements while employing differing innovative technical solutions.
As part of the conceptual design selection, the Project has released a request for proposals for the final design and prototype of the 18m antenna. Proposals were submitted in early December, with an anticipated decision in early 2021. The proposals will be evaluated on a best-value basis, considering the estimated and modelled performance of the antenna concept to the full Project scientific and operational requirements, the costs of the design and prototype effort, and the anticipated total lifecycle costs for the ngVLA Project.
The Project office has also released a notional Envelope Observing Program, a prediction of how the community might use the facility during a typical year of full science observations. The Program adopts values for the availability of science time and antennas that are more taxing than the Project’s goals. It thus represents an upper envelope on what might actually be demanded from the facility. The Program will be used to inform studies of computing loads and design options.
Long Range Plan 2020
From Pauline Barmby, Bryan Gaensler (LRP2020 co-chairs PLT2020)(Cassiopeia – Winter)
On behalf of Matt Dobbs, Jeremy Heyl, Natasha Ivanova, David Lafrenière, Brenda Matthews and Alice Shapley, we are pleased to present the final report of CASCA’s 2020 Long Range Plan for Canadian Astronomy (LRP2020). The unformatted version of the report is now available on the CASCA website. A professionally-designed version and a French translation are in progress and are expected to be available early in 2021.
We thank everyone who contributed to the LRP process by writing a white paper, attending a town hall, participating in consultations, or answering our many requests for information. We would especially like to recognize the very hard work of the LRP2020 panel members over the past twenty months. We are also grateful to the agencies whose financial support enabled the LRP2020 process, and to the CASCA Board for entrusting us with the leadership of this exercise.
This will be our last Cassiopeia update. The LRP2020 section on the CASCA website contains links to all of the submitted white papers and reports as well as a summary of the process. The designed and translated versions of the report will be available there once complete.
LSST Canada Update
By JJ Kavelaars (LSST Canada collaboration)(Cassiopeia – Winter 2020)
LSST Canada reports on our continued efforts to secure national level membership for Canada in the Legacy Survey of Space and Time on the Vera C. Rubin Observatory.
As some of you have undoubtedly heard, the Canadian LSST Advanced Science Platform (CLASP) proposal to CFI was not selected for funding. The CLASP CFI proposal was to develop the significant software and hardware infrastructure that would be needed by the Canadian (and other) astronomers interested in exporting cross links between LSST alert observations and available archival datasets. The CLASP proposal received strong reviews but, as always, access to CFI funds is highly competitive and our project was not selected for funding.
Although the CLASP CFI proposal, combined with an NRC funded public archive, would have fully realized Canada’s proposed in-kind contributions to achieve LSST membership, the CFI funding was not LSST Canada’s only funding approach. The project continues to benefit from strong desire within the community and is supported by LRP2020 as a recommended ground based facility. In-kind contribution avenues continue to be pursued, including direct support from institutional partners within Canada (including University of Toronto/Dunlap Institute and University of Waterloo) and an NRC supported Public Archive for LSST operated by the Canadian Astronomy Data Centre.
We will continue to keep the community informed of our progress toward LSST membership. Canadian astronomers interested in receiving updates or in becoming LSST Canada members should subscribe to the Canadian LSST email list by sending an email to all+subscribe@lsst.groups.io.
Additionally, all astronomers interested in LSST are encouraged to join the LSST Community forum.
Square Kilometre Array (SKA) Update
By Kristine Spekkens (Canadian SKA Science Director)(Cassiopeia – Winter 2020)
There have been exciting developments in the SKA in recent months, and the project proceeds apace despite the challenges imposed by the pandemic across partner countries. LRP2020 has reaffirmed the SKA as a top priority for the Canadian astronomical community for the next decade, recommending participation in SKA1 construction and operations, in its network of regional data centres, and in the project’s governance. Up-to-date information regarding Canada and SKA science, technology, industry and societal impacts are available on the SKA Canada website.
Following the completion of SKA1 System CDR at the end of last year, several external reviews of the project have confirmed its readiness to proceed to the construction phase. In combination with significant post-CDR closeout activities by the project office, these efforts resulted in the endorsement of the SKA1 Construction Proposal and the Observatory Establishment and Delivery (ie. operations) Proposal by the SKA Organisation Board of Directors in September 2020. This endorsement represents the culmination of 10 years of development work and a major milestone for the project. SKA1 is ready for construction, which is slated to begin in July 2021.
With SKA1 construction set to begin on a timescale of months, project governance will soon transition from the design-phase SKA Organisation to the SKA Observatory, the intergovernmental organization (IGO) that will oversee construction and operations. The IGO is on track to come into force in early 2021 and to take over the project a few months later. Canada will be an Observer to the IGO Council, but until a commitment to the construction and operations phase is made there is no mechanism for us to provide input. Moreover, Canada’s provisional allocation of the SKA1-Mid correlator, one of the largest and more desirable construction packages across the project and a significant source of economic return on investment, will be jeopardized unless a commitment is made before construction starts. There is therefore an urgent need for a Canada to commit to the SKA by the middle of 2021, and NRC is preparing the requisite documentation for the government to make its decision in this regard. Raising awareness about the SKA within government and universities is an important part of the process, and work in this regard is well underway within ACURA and the Coalition for Canadian Astronomy.
The next SKA Science Meeting, “A Precursor View of the SKA Sky”, is scheduled for 15-19 March 2021. It will be held fully virtually, with a suite of pre-recorded talks that can be viewed any time as well as synchronous activities across a variety of time zones. The virtual format provides an excellent opportunity for Canadians to showcase their research to a global audience, learn about SKA science, get the latest project updates and engage with researchers around the world. Registration details will be circulated to the community through the CASCA exploder as soon as they are available.
As SKA1 construction ramps up, a large number of scientists, engineers, software designers, and support and administrative personnel will be hired, in the UK as well as in the host countries (South Africa and Australia). Those interested should keep an eye on this space, which includes a “job alert” tool to set up personalized emails filtered by field of expertise, location, duration and employment type (permanent, contract, secondment, etc.). Watch this space for opportunities throughout 2021.
For more information and updates on the SKA:
subscribe to the Canadian SKA email list by sending a blank email to all+subscribe@skacanada.groups.io
visit the Canadian SKA website
SPICA Update
From David Naylor, SPICA Canadian HoN and Co-I, University of Lethbridgeand Doug Johnstone, SPICA Science Team, NRC-Herzberg(Cassiopeia – Winter 2020)
As most astronomers already know, in October the SPICA project ended abruptly. To explain the situation, on October 7th we sent the following letter to the Canadian SPICA supporters.
We regret to report that today we received official word that ESA and JAXA have concluded that the SPICA mission is no longer viable, since, somewhat belatedly, the mission has been deemed to exceed their budgetary envelopes. Thus, the SPICA mission has now been officially withdrawn from the M5 competition. This result is especially surprising given that SPICA recently passed its Mission Consolidation Review (MCR) and was to have faced the Mission Selection Review in Spring 2021.This news is a huge disappointment. In 2008 Canada, led by David Naylor (Lethbridge) and with support from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), became a founding member of the SPICA/SAFARI consortium and played a key role in developing the high-resolution spectrometer for this instrument, a Fourier Transform Spectrometer (FTS) essential for a significant fraction of the far infrared science case. Since 2015, Doug Johnstone (NRC-Herzberg) has been actively involved in science program development and over 30 astronomers across Canada expressed their support for the SPICA mission as part of the recent Long Range Plan 2020 process.The FTS is widely regarded as a Canadian signature technology, having strengths in both the industrial and academic sectors. Furthermore, results obtained from the prototype cryogenic FTS, developed by ABB, have been well received by the SAFARI consortium, demonstrating Canada’s capability to successfully deliver this critical instrument component.Despite this significant setback, the future of infrared space astronomy is well understood and will involve either a large aperture, cold telescope or an interferometric concept. The Origins Space Telescope, presented to the US Decadal Report panel as one of five NASA flagship mission possibilities, is an example of the former. Presently, an interferometer concept has been contemplated for the next ESA large mission competition, but this may well change given the loss of the SPICA mission. Either of these mission concepts will require a cryogenic FTS and Canada’s investment on behalf of the SAFARI instrument will assuredly make us the partner of choice to deliver such an instrument to the next far infrared space astronomy mission.We thank the CSA for their 12 years of support for SPICA, the Canadian community for their continued, and growing, desire for access to the far-infrared universe, and the LRP 2020 panel for prioritizing the importance of Canada as a contributing partner to far-infrared space-based missions.Over the last 12 years Canada has formed deep bonds with the international far-infrared space astronomy community and leaves the SPICA project as a highly respected partner.
In the two months since this devasting news, there has been a high level of action within the Canadian and International astronomical communities to ensure that the promise of SPICA lives on.
Within Canada, discussions with the Canadian Space Agency and the Joint Committee on Space Astronomy have focused on ensuring that the on-going technology development activities, related to a cryogenic high resolution spectrometer for a far-infrared space telescope, are able to reach their objectives. This commitment recognizes that a successor to SPICA is necessary to fill the infrared gap that exists between JWST and ALMA and by continuing this instrument development work Canada is well positioned to join such efforts.
In addition, we would like to acknowledge the editors of the 2020 Long Range Plan who were able to modify, on a very short timeline, the text of the document, to ensure that the goals of SPICA, rather than the specific mission opportunity, remain strongly endorsed by the Canadian community. Thus, the final version of the LRP document refers to the need for Canadian involvement in a future “Cooled infrared space telescope”.
On the international scene, the larger aperture Origins Space Telescope opportunity submitted to the US Decadal Report, expected to be released in mid-2021, takes on a much larger importance. The instrumentation proposed for Origins would benefit significantly from the Canadian technology developed for the SPICA/Safari instrument. Within the European community discussions on a successor mission are being explored.
The manner in which the SPICA mission was cancelled has raised significant concerns among the astronomy community. In a rare occurrence, Nature agreed to publish a letter expressing the community’s concern about the lack of transparency in the decision making process. The abridged version of the letter can be found here; the full letter here. The letter has now garnered over 500 signatures from leading scientists around the world.
Many of us will be pleased to see 2020 recede into the past. As we look forward to the next decade, those of us championing SPICA within Canada intend to continue to work with our international colleagues to make a cooled infrared space telescope a reality, with Canada playing a leadership role in instrumentation and science direction.
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