RSAA Colloquia / Seminars / Feast-of-Facts: Thursday, 26 April 2018, 11:00-12:00; Duffield Lecture Theatre


John Tonry

"New Opportunities in All-sky Surveys"

Just as the entire world was first mapped in the 16th century, technology in the 21st century has opened the door to observing the entire sky all the time. Choices must be made about how to allocate resources to depth, cadence, and coverage, and we have initiated what we think is the most cost-effective survey of the variable sky, the "Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System, ATLAS". I will describe ATLAS, how it fits in with other ongoing or planned surveys, some of the data products that are emerging, and the scientific opportunities that emerge.