July 2, 2018 – LSST@Europe3 drew approximately 150 participants to Lyon, France on June 11-15 for presentations, tours, and informal opportunities for networking between members of the LSST Project and the European science community. Zeljko Ivezic, LSST Project Scientist and co-chair of the meeting’s Scientific Organizing Committee, enthusiastically noted the high level of participation from younger scientists at this meeting, an indication that excitement for LSST is building among those just beginning their science careers.
LSST@Europe3 featured formal plenary talks as well as informal science collaboration workshops and data sprints, in which participants explored processes for querying large astronomical data sets. Highlights of the meeting included the development of new science cases for LSST, reports on the detailed preparations for LSST science that are underway in Europe, and new suggestions for modifications of the LSST observing strategy.
Participants also had the opportunity to become more familiar with LSST's Science Platform during a tutorial of the LSST software stack, and to contribute to discussions about synergies between LSST and other data-driven projects like Gaia, Euclid, and 4MOST.
Tours of the nearby IN2P3 Computing Center (CC-IN2P3) and the Advanced Materials Laboratory (LMA) facilities were also offered during the week. CC-IN2P3 will process 50% of LSST’s raw data in preparation for annual data releases, and will host a copy of both raw and reduced data (images and catalogs) for the lifetime of the LSST Survey. LMA, which has been involved with LSST since 2007, is developing an optical bench to measure the spectral response of the LSST camera filters.
LSST@Europe3 was the third in a series of meetings intended to promote European participation with the LSST Project; the next meeting will take place in Rome, Italy, in 2020.
Financial support for Rubin Observatory comes from the National Science Foundation (NSF) through Cooperative Support Agreement No. 1202910, the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science under Contract No. DE-AC02-76SF00515, and private funding raised by the LSST Corporation. The NSF-funded Rubin Observatory Project Office for construction was established as an operating center under management of the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA). The DOE-funded effort to build the the Rubin Observatory LSST Camera (LSSTCam) is managed by the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC).
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an
independent federal agency created by Congress
in 1950 to promote the progress of science. NSF supports basic research and people to create knowledge that transforms the future.
NSF and DOE will continue to support Rubin Observatory in its Operations phase. They will also provide support for scientific research with LSST data.
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