In addition to the main wide-fast-deep survey (roughly 18,000 deg2), 10-20% of observing time will be dedicated to other programs, including mini-surveys and intensive observation of a set of Deep Drilling Fields. Deeper coverage and more frequent temporal sampling (in at least some of the ugrizy filters) will be obtained for the Deep Drilling Fields than for typical points on the sky. The full Deep Drilling Field program will address a broad range of science topics, including Solar System, Galactic, and extragalactic studies.
The Project solicited white papers from the entire science community to help plan these aspects of the Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time survey strategy. Details are provided in the Call for White Papers on LSST Cadence Optimization. The dealine for white paper submission was 30th November 2018, submissions are no longer accepted. Stay tuned for the next call.
Resources posted on this page will inform the Community of issues related to LSST Deep Drilling fields.
The table below lists the four selected fields with approximate field center positions. Each field is approximately circular with diameter 3.5 degrees. Some observational dithering will likely be used (both in position angle and boresight location) to fill in CCD gaps, aid with artifact removal, etc. The details of the observing strategy are yet to be determined, including dithering and total number of visits.
| ELAIS S1 | XMM-LSS | Extended Chandra Deep Field-South | COSMOS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RA 2000 | 00 37 48 | 02 22 50 | 03 32 30 | 10 00 24 |
| DEC 2000 | -44 00 00 | -04 45 00 | -28 06 00 | +02 10 55 |
| Galactic l | 311.30 | 171.20 | 224.07 | 236.83 |
| Galactic b | -72.90 | -58.77 | -54.47 | 42.09 |
| Ecliptic l | 345.97 | 31.04 | 40.29 | 150.70 |
| Ecliptic b | -43.18 | -17.90 | -45.47 | -9.39 |
