Conference: Workshop on LEO satellite impacts on ground-based optical astronomy: LSST

This workshop will focus on the impacts of Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites on Rubin Observatory images. Rubin is NSF's newest large telescope. It will image the whole sky above Chile every few nights.

The telescope makes use of the largest camera ever built. The data will have a profound impact on all areas of astronomy. However, the data will also be negatively affected by LEOs passing through the foreground of the images.

This workshop at University of California-Davis will bring together experts to discuss ways in which these impacts can be limited. Modifications to satellite design and operations will be discussed, as will methods for observing and reducing data.

Rubin's Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) will image the entire southern sky hundreds of times over a 10-year period, starting in 2025. Rubin is NSF’s flagship optical-infrared (OIR) observatory. The data from this survey are expected to have a profound impact on almost all areas of astronomy.

However, the impact on the survey of the growing number of LEOs orbiting the Earth is yet to be fully appreciated. The goal of the meeting is to focus on specific deliverables - implementable engineering parameters and revised strategies for observing and analyzing Rubin data - that will allow satellite operators and observatories to mitigate these impacts.

The workshop will concentrate on impacts to Rubin LSST data, using Rubin as the “bounding case” for astronomy in general. The rapid proliferation of LEO satellites could profoundly affect the future of astronomy by restricting research innovation, limiting funding opportunities, and discouraging future generations of scientists. The proposers will mitigate these effects by collaborating with the satellite industry to seek novel means of coexistence and building lasting relationships that can rapidly react to new challenges.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.