Education and Public Outreach

The Education and Public Outreach (EPO) programs for the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) are as ambitious as the telescope itself. We intend to engage the public in an investigation of the fundamental nature of energy, matter, space, and time, by building on the unique aspects of the telescope: the wide field of view, the opening of the time domain, and the extreme depth of field in the stacked images.

LSST data will be open to the public; anyone with a web browser will be able to access and analyze images, data products, tools, and educational materials. With its unique capability of frequent, deep imaging of the entire visible sky, the LSST will forever change the way we view the heavens.

Partners

The LSST EPO efforts are led by Suzanne Jacoby in the LSST Corporate Headquarters, Tucson, AZ. Various individuals and organizations participate, bringing proven strengths and experience to the project

LSST EPO Team Members:
Lucy Fortson, Karen Carney (Adler)
Steven Croft, Steve Pompea, Rob Sparks (NOAO)
Jordan Raddick (JHU/SDSS/NVO)
Ken White, Scott Bronson (BNL)
Dick Farnsworth (LLNL)
Orsola De Marco (AMNH)
Carl Pennypacker (LBL/ HOU)
Kirk Borne (GMU/NASA/LSST/NVO)
Mike Woods, Martin Perl, Neil Calder (SLAC)
Suzanne Jacoby (LSSTC)
Julia Olsen (LSSTC)
Oskar Holm (UC Davis)
Zeljko Ivezic (UW; Solar System)
Mike Wood-Vasey (Harvard; Supernovae)
Carol Christian (STScI)
Vivian Hoette (Yerkes Observatory)
Doris Daou (NASA/IPAC)
Aaron Price (AAVSO)
Umesh Thakkur (NCSA/UIUC)

Plan

The LSST EPO Team is currently exploring ideas in four areas:

1. Visualizing LSST observations in science centers and planetaria across the nation
The use of LSST precursor data in an informal museum or science center setting represents an ideal opportunity to expose large numbers of people to the magnificence of the vast LSST data set. However, the large amount of data will require new approaches to scientific visualization and display, a specialty of experts in the field of visualization from the American Museum of Natural History and Adler Planetarium. NOAO will work to adapt these programs and images into other small science centers such as the Kitt Peak Visitor Center.
2. Exploring real scientific data and demystifying its meaning in formal education venues
LSST data can become a key part of projects emphasizing student-centered research in the classroom, similar to the nationally recognized TLRBSE at NOAO and the Hands On Universe (HOU) Project at Lawrence Hall of Science. The LSST Education Program will design and develop a small number of student research projects for a large audience in conjunction with a teacher professional development program. The effective use of LSST data by students, teachers, and the public will make use of Internet-based approaches developed by the project partners. The team will focus on evaluating data processing tools suitable for use by teachers and students and moving these into formal education settings. Training will be developed so that the tools can be used almost immediately after limited initial training.
3. Creating partnerships of public, amateur, and professional astronomers to broaden participation in the cutting-edge research enabled by LSST
It is estimated that the LSST will generate tens of thousands of alerts a night of moving or changing objects. This will expand the volume of discoveries requiring confirmation and follow-up to gigantic proportions. Creative partnerships involving the interested public, the amateur community, and professional astronomers could participate in the follow-up of these discoveries.
The Las Cumbres Observatory Telescope Network will be instrumental in providing some of the necessary telescopes for follow-up observations. We are working with the AAVSO to explore ways of effectively engaging amateur astronomers in this aspect of the project.
4. Using internet-based technology to empower the public's participation in scientific investigations of the nature of our universe.
When LSST data begins to flow in 2014, technology unfamiliar to most of us now will be commonplace. Custom web portals and portable devices for two-way interaction with text, graphics, data and video will be routine, but there will still be a bandwidth challenge. The data rates required by LSST to bring the universe into home and school environments are achievable. Color JPEGS at 0.4 arcsecond resolution of the static deep sky will require only 180GB, downloadable in 30 minutes on a 1GB link. Dynamic graphics overlays from metadata (time varying or moving objects) require little bandwidth, and tools for public query of the LSST dynamic sky database will be provided. The LSST Outreach efforts will make use of the powerful technology of the future, facilitating the investigation and appreciation of the dynamic universe by everyone.