Hertfordshire Astronomy

Lead Research Organisation: University of Hertfordshire
Department Name: Science and Technology RI

Abstract

The Centre for Astrophysics Research carries out observational programmes spanning the wavelength range from X-ray up to the radio - supporting this by extensive computer modelling, theoretical studies and instrument development. Our research ranges from theoretical modelling of the highest energy process in the Universe through to inventing our own instruments to detect planets outside our Solar System. In between these extremes, we carry out the largest multi-wavelength surveys conducted to date to understand the properties of stars, galaxies and their evolution. Our research makes use of observations from all of the main European and international astronomical observatories, including ground-based observatories at optical, radio and submillimetre wavelengths, and space observatories at wavelengths ranging from the far infrared to gamma rays. We also use computer simulations to obtain a better understanding of the physical processes detected in our observations. Below is a brief description of our research in each of these areas.

We perform searches of nearby stars to discover planets. We especially target low mass M stars since they are the dominant type of star in the Universe and have not yet been searched. We focus on detection through Doppler wobble and by looking for planets periodically eclipsing their parent star. During the period of the grant we expect to make the first detections of Earth-mass planets in the habitable zones of the closest stars. We also discover, follow-up and model the properties of the coolest brown dwarfs whose temperatures overlap with those of planets. These studies aim to clarify the population of brown dwarfs and to establish how their modes of formation fit in with those of their brethren of different masses, ie. heavier (stars) or lighter (planets).

The Milky Way is our home galaxy. The material in the form of gas is the raw material for the formation of stars and planetary systems. At the end of stellar lives some of this material remains locked up in stellar remnants but much of it is returned in late superwind phases and supernova explosions. This cycle is responsible for the chemical enrichment of the gaseous medium and is important for its dynamics, because of the thermal and mechanical energy injected into the gas. By using large area mainly imaging surveys, our research looks at this gas in the Milky Way and its satellites. Our surveys of the Milky Way will span the optical to sub-mm domains tracing extinction, molecular clouds, their dust properties and associated star formation. We thus study the relationship between star formation, dust and molecular cloud properties.

In the nearby Universe it is possible to appraise how stars form and evolve in different environments, from small dwarf galaxies to the very outer regions of galaxies like our own. Our research focuses on the gas content of galaxies, which provides the material for star formation, and links this to stellar populations and the locations of star formation in the full range of local galaxies. By understanding the processes that trigger star formation and its evolution in the nearby Universe, we can begin to apply this understanding to the very earliest galaxies and the formation of stars in the distant Universe.

A new generation of surveys is mapping out the most distant galaxies, and allows us to investigate what links the processes of star formation and the growth of supermassive black holes. We also use detailed X-ray and radio observations to measure the energy injected by jets ejected from supermassive black holes into distant galaxies and clusters of galaxies, affecting star formation and gas properties, and having a long-term role in their evolutionary history. Understanding the particle composition, magnetic field properties, dynamics and energetics of these relativistic jets is essential in order to get a complete picture of star formation and of galaxy evolution.

Planned Impact

(a) INDUSTRY Pinfield (UH) leads ROPACS, an EU "Initial Training Network". Although EU funded, scientific input for the ITN bid was supported by STFC grants & STFC facilities are used extensively for associated observing programmes. The ITN trains 15 young researchers across 6 EU institutes & carries out R&D for "Rocky Planets Around Cool Stars". Astrium, is a partner in RoPACS, & through this RoPACS is exploring the potential for future ESA missions to study exoplanets (EXPs) as part of "Cosmic Vision 2015-2025". Astrium provide training for the young researchers, including raising awareness that their cognitive abilities are needed in an industrial context & helping them to understand how academia can be closely inter-twined with high technology manufacturing.
The RoPACS-Astrium team provided input on "technology readiness" issues to an ESA-commissioned report laying out an EXP roadmap (EPRAT), giving a welcome level of communication between industry & academia. A UH research student was directly involved in an industrially-led system definition study, feeding into a future mission science-led proposal (EXP Characterisation Observatory - ECHO). This yields many tangible commercial benefits, including a competitive advantage for any future missions & a strengthened national commitment if there is a strong UK science component. ESA has now selected ECHO for an initial Assessment Phase.
As part of the collaboration, we are exploring how science mission "spin-out" across industry can lead to wealth creation. Astrium has important influence on government, recently providing evidence to UKSA on "technology benefits from science missions" & "the impact of space science missions on engineering & the economy" to help make the case for science in the 2010 CSR. The Astrium report concluded that space science missions have a very strong impact on space engineering as they are always pushing technological & engineering limits which can then be used on commercial satellites.
(b) OTHER SCIENCE COMMUNITIES: ATMOSPHERIC PHYSICS - A PPARC grant enabled the construction of a highly-sensitive polarimeter (PlanetPol) to detect reflected light from EXPs. It has a polarization sensitivity of 1 ppm, by far the highest ever achieved for a polarimeter on a telescope. During one set of WHT observations, some stars were found to have polarizations an order of magnitude larger than previously observed. This coincided with a Saharan dust event over the island & it was concluded that the polarization was produced by dichroic absorption in the dust & that the dust was oriented vertically, not horizontally as expected from aerodynamic forces. Detailed calculations showed that the observed effect must result from the presence of electric fields, most likely generated by the dust itself. This has implications for atmospheric models (hence climate modelling) & for the accurate retrieval of data from ground and space observations. The behaviour of mineral aerosol is one of the least understood of atmospheric components.
(c) SCHOOL TEACHERS- The University Observatory, with optical & radio telescopes, is used extensively as a key part of the East of England Science Learning Centre (SLC) based on the same site, & CAR researchers frequently deliver parts of the PDP for school teachers. Our "Hydrogen to Humans" resource was a primary element in the National SLCs being awarded a £1 million grant by RCUK.
(d) THE PUBLIC - Six Open Evenings are held at the University Observatory each year attracting 400+ paying visitors/night, featuring hands-on interactive laboratory experiments, access to all telescopes, and talks by researchers. Most events are based around a CAR research theme. Feedback is very positive & many visitors attend sessions over several years. We attract many young people who are clearly enthused by the opportunity to look through telescopes, to talk to the many astronomers who support the events, & to take part in the many experiments.

Publications

10 25 50
 
Description Over 90 percent of the IPHAS imaging and stellar photometry survey of the northern Milky Way was placed in the public domain through a first major data release in the summer of 2014 (a final release, completing the survey is due in 2019). Data releases of its southern counterpart VPHAS+ are under way, with just one remaining. The VIDEO near-infrared public survey of the high-redshift Universe, executed on VISTA, is fully complete.

The UKIDSS near-infrared survey, and more recently the VISTA and WISE surveys, have been mined successfully for the coolest failed stars (T dwarfs, a type of brown dwarf - Jupiter in the Solar System is a similar type of object). Searches for 'benchmark' binaries including these objects have continued.
Exploitation Route Our large digital-photometric surveys are the first of their kind serving the astronomical community now and providing legacies for the future - our wide-area optical/infrared sky surveys have provided measurements on well in excess of 100 million celestial objects and these are made available to the world astronomy community via the Vizier Service (http://vizier.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/VizieR) run by CDS in Strasbourg: data from the UKIDSS/GPS, IPHAS and VPHAS photometric surveys are accessed 10-50 thousand times per month, indicating good take up of the results. The low-mass star/brown dwarf work provided important underpinning for ongoing work on the discovery of exoplanets - members of the Herts group went on to participate in the discovery of the planet around Proxima Centauri.
Sectors Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software)

Education

Culture

Heritage

Museums and Collections

 
Description Since the project start in 2012, our work has fed directly into our outreach programme centered on Bayfordbury Observatory public open nights. Some PhD students working in areas related to the grant and benefitting from the data associated, have taken the high-level 'big data' mining and management skills they have acquired, into the UK commercial sector.
First Year Of Impact 2012
Sector Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Education,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections
Impact Types Cultural

Economic

 
Description Member of ESA Astronomy Working Group
Geographic Reach Asia 
Policy Influence Type Participation in a guidance/advisory committee
 
Description STFC UK SKA Science Committee
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Participation in a guidance/advisory committee
 
Description Hertfordshire 2015-18 consolidated grant
Amount £2,164,850 (GBP)
Funding ID ST/M001008/1 
Organisation Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 03/2015 
End 09/2018
 
Description Marie Curie International Outgoing Fellowship
Amount € 379,665 (EUR)
Organisation European Commission 
Sector Public
Country European Union (EU)
Start 09/2014 
End 09/2017
 
Description RadioNet Research Network funding scheme
Amount € 3,000 (EUR)
Organisation Radionet 
Sector Charity/Non Profit
Country Global
Start 04/2014 
End 05/2014
 
Title Catalogue of bright (K<9) M dwarfs (Frith+, 2013) 
Description Using the Position and Proper Motion Extended-L (PPMXL) catalogue, we have used optical and near-infrared colour cuts together with a reduced proper motion cut to find bright M dwarfs for future exoplanet transit studies. PPMXL's low proper motion uncertainties allow us to probe down to smaller proper motions than previous similar studies. We have combined unique objects found with this method to that of previous work to produce 8479 K < 9 M dwarfs. Low-resolution spectroscopy was obtained of a sample of the objects found using this selection method to gain statistics on their spectral type and physical properties. Results show a spectral-type range of K7-M4V. This catalogue is the most complete collection of K < 9 M dwarfs currently available and is made available here. 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2014 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact Comprehensive M dwarf targets for exoplanet hunting using RV and transit techniques. 
URL http://vizier.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-3?-source=J/MNRAS/435/2161/table3&-out.max=50&-out.form=HT...
 
Title IPHAS DR2 
Description 219-million line catalogue presenting r/i/H-alpha uniformly-calibrated digital photometry of stars in the northern Galactic Plane, to a faint limit of 20th magnitude. The data obtained are drawn from a sky area of 1800 sq.deg. 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2014 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact The catalogue has been ingested by CDS Strasbourg to make it world-accessible (linked): it is now being accessed there by the world community >10000 times per calendar month. Some users also access data on the IPHAS website (www.iphas.org). 
URL http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/Cat?II/321
 
Title NCJM catalog of M dwarfs (Cook+, 2016) 
Description Locating ultracool companions to M dwarfs is important for constraining low-mass formation models, the measurement of substellar dynamical masses and radii, and for testing ultracool evolutionary models. We present an optimized method for identifying M dwarfs which may have unresolved ultracool companions. We construct a catalogue of 440 694 M dwarf candidates, from Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer, Two Micron All-Sky Survey and Sloan Digital Sky Survey, based on optical- and near-infrared colours and reduced proper motion. With strict reddening, photometric and quality constraints we isolate a subsample of 36 898 M dwarfs and search for possible mid-infrared M dwarf + ultracool dwarf candidates by comparing M dwarfs which have similar optical/near-infrared colours (chosen for their sensitivity to effective temperature and metallicity). We present 1082 M dwarf + ultracool dwarf candidates for follow-up. Using simulated ultracool dwarf companions to M dwarfs, we estimate that the occurrence of unresolved ultracool companions amongst our M dwarf + ultracool dwarf candidates should be at least four times the average for our full M dwarf catalogue. We discuss possible contamination and bias and predict yields of candidates based on our simulations. 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2017 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact Spectroscopically identified UCD companion in the brown dwarf desert around an M dwarf. 
URL http://vizier.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-3?-source=J/MNRAS/457/2192&-out.max=50&-out.form=HTML%20Ta...
 
Title UKIDSS (GPS) 
Description The UKIDSS Galactic Plane Survey covered most of the northern Galactic Plane and some extensions into the south: the data included is deep, high angular resolution (<1 arcsec), near-infrared point-source photometry. 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2015 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact This state-of-the-art survey is an underpinning resource for Galactic astronomy: it is now world-accessible and is used widely within the relevant academic community. 
URL http://wsa.roe.ac.uk/dr10plus_release.html
 
Title VISTA 
Description This database contains astronomical data products from the VIDEO and VVV ESO public surveys made accessible via the ESO Science Archive. 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2012 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact Both databases are frequently accessed by the astronomical community through the Science Archive. 
URL http://archive.eso.org/
 
Description Collaboration with Dr Stas Shabala, University of Tasmania 
Organisation University of Tasmania
Country Australia 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution We are collaborating on a series of papers that are exploiting mJIVE-20 (The mJy Imaging VLBA Exploration) survey. mJIVE-20 is the largest 20 cm VLBI imaging campaign undertaken to date. Using filler time on the Very Long Baseline Array, it is imaging hundreds of fields containing a strong calibrator source and using the the multi-field capability of the DiFX software correlator to image dozens of fainter sources within the primary beam. Over 30,000 radio sources from the FIRST survey have been targeted and more than 5000 new VLBI sources with flux densities from 1 to 100 mJy have been detected. The papers are combining mJIVE-20 with SDSS and GALEX to probe the role of AGN and mergers in regulating star formation in the low redshift Universe. I have written two first-authored papers within this effort and have another one planned this year.
Collaborator Contribution Dr Stas Shabala has provided AGN models and general radio expertise within this effort. He is also leading a paper which has been submitted to MNRAS (and will hopefully be accepted in the summer 2016).
Impact S. Kaviraj et al., 2015, MNRAS, 454, 1595K http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2015MNRAS.454.1595K S. Kaviraj et al., 2015, MNRAS, 452, 774 http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2015MNRAS.452..774K
Start Year 2014
 
Description GAIA benchmark brown dwarf group 
Organisation Astrobiology Center (CAB)
Country Spain 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution A collaboration exploiting GAIA for benchmark brown dwarf science. 20 collaborators across 9 institutes in 5 countries. Includes membership of the GAIA Data Processing and Analysis Consortium (CU8 and CU3 on Astrophsyical/UCD characterisation, and astrometry) from CAR itself and other institutes. CAR leads ongoing International telescope time proposal initiatives in this work. We also maintain a spectroscopic database being used for quality assurance of the Gaia results especially at the faint end where other ground based comparison datasets are limited.
Collaborator Contribution A collaboration exploiting GAIA for benchmark brown dwarf science. 20 collaborators across 9 institutes in 5 countries. Includes membership of the GAIA Data Processing and Analysis Consortium (CU8 and CU3 on Astrophsyical/UCD characterisation, and astrometry) from CAR itself and other institutes. CAR leads ongoing International telescope time proposal initiatives in this work. We also maintain a spectroscopic database being used for quality assurance of the Gaia results especially at the faint end where other ground based comparison datasets are limited.
Impact Telescope time from joint proposals. Refereed papers resulting from this time and our collaborative work.
Start Year 2015
 
Description GAIA benchmark brown dwarf group 
Organisation Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands
Country Spain 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution A collaboration exploiting GAIA for benchmark brown dwarf science. 20 collaborators across 9 institutes in 5 countries. Includes membership of the GAIA Data Processing and Analysis Consortium (CU8 and CU3 on Astrophsyical/UCD characterisation, and astrometry) from CAR itself and other institutes. CAR leads ongoing International telescope time proposal initiatives in this work. We also maintain a spectroscopic database being used for quality assurance of the Gaia results especially at the faint end where other ground based comparison datasets are limited.
Collaborator Contribution A collaboration exploiting GAIA for benchmark brown dwarf science. 20 collaborators across 9 institutes in 5 countries. Includes membership of the GAIA Data Processing and Analysis Consortium (CU8 and CU3 on Astrophsyical/UCD characterisation, and astrometry) from CAR itself and other institutes. CAR leads ongoing International telescope time proposal initiatives in this work. We also maintain a spectroscopic database being used for quality assurance of the Gaia results especially at the faint end where other ground based comparison datasets are limited.
Impact Telescope time from joint proposals. Refereed papers resulting from this time and our collaborative work.
Start Year 2015
 
Description GAIA benchmark brown dwarf group 
Organisation National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Department NASA Ames Exploration Center
Country United States 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution A collaboration exploiting GAIA for benchmark brown dwarf science. 20 collaborators across 9 institutes in 5 countries. Includes membership of the GAIA Data Processing and Analysis Consortium (CU8 and CU3 on Astrophsyical/UCD characterisation, and astrometry) from CAR itself and other institutes. CAR leads ongoing International telescope time proposal initiatives in this work. We also maintain a spectroscopic database being used for quality assurance of the Gaia results especially at the faint end where other ground based comparison datasets are limited.
Collaborator Contribution A collaboration exploiting GAIA for benchmark brown dwarf science. 20 collaborators across 9 institutes in 5 countries. Includes membership of the GAIA Data Processing and Analysis Consortium (CU8 and CU3 on Astrophsyical/UCD characterisation, and astrometry) from CAR itself and other institutes. CAR leads ongoing International telescope time proposal initiatives in this work. We also maintain a spectroscopic database being used for quality assurance of the Gaia results especially at the faint end where other ground based comparison datasets are limited.
Impact Telescope time from joint proposals. Refereed papers resulting from this time and our collaborative work.
Start Year 2015
 
Description GAIA benchmark brown dwarf group 
Organisation National Institute for Nuclear Physics
Department National Institute for Nuclear Physics - Torino
Country Italy 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution A collaboration exploiting GAIA for benchmark brown dwarf science. 20 collaborators across 9 institutes in 5 countries. Includes membership of the GAIA Data Processing and Analysis Consortium (CU8 and CU3 on Astrophsyical/UCD characterisation, and astrometry) from CAR itself and other institutes. CAR leads ongoing International telescope time proposal initiatives in this work. We also maintain a spectroscopic database being used for quality assurance of the Gaia results especially at the faint end where other ground based comparison datasets are limited.
Collaborator Contribution A collaboration exploiting GAIA for benchmark brown dwarf science. 20 collaborators across 9 institutes in 5 countries. Includes membership of the GAIA Data Processing and Analysis Consortium (CU8 and CU3 on Astrophsyical/UCD characterisation, and astrometry) from CAR itself and other institutes. CAR leads ongoing International telescope time proposal initiatives in this work. We also maintain a spectroscopic database being used for quality assurance of the Gaia results especially at the faint end where other ground based comparison datasets are limited.
Impact Telescope time from joint proposals. Refereed papers resulting from this time and our collaborative work.
Start Year 2015
 
Description GAIA benchmark brown dwarf group 
Organisation National University of Distance Education
Country Spain 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution A collaboration exploiting GAIA for benchmark brown dwarf science. 20 collaborators across 9 institutes in 5 countries. Includes membership of the GAIA Data Processing and Analysis Consortium (CU8 and CU3 on Astrophsyical/UCD characterisation, and astrometry) from CAR itself and other institutes. CAR leads ongoing International telescope time proposal initiatives in this work. We also maintain a spectroscopic database being used for quality assurance of the Gaia results especially at the faint end where other ground based comparison datasets are limited.
Collaborator Contribution A collaboration exploiting GAIA for benchmark brown dwarf science. 20 collaborators across 9 institutes in 5 countries. Includes membership of the GAIA Data Processing and Analysis Consortium (CU8 and CU3 on Astrophsyical/UCD characterisation, and astrometry) from CAR itself and other institutes. CAR leads ongoing International telescope time proposal initiatives in this work. We also maintain a spectroscopic database being used for quality assurance of the Gaia results especially at the faint end where other ground based comparison datasets are limited.
Impact Telescope time from joint proposals. Refereed papers resulting from this time and our collaborative work.
Start Year 2015
 
Description GAIA benchmark brown dwarf group 
Organisation Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Country China 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution A collaboration exploiting GAIA for benchmark brown dwarf science. 20 collaborators across 9 institutes in 5 countries. Includes membership of the GAIA Data Processing and Analysis Consortium (CU8 and CU3 on Astrophsyical/UCD characterisation, and astrometry) from CAR itself and other institutes. CAR leads ongoing International telescope time proposal initiatives in this work. We also maintain a spectroscopic database being used for quality assurance of the Gaia results especially at the faint end where other ground based comparison datasets are limited.
Collaborator Contribution A collaboration exploiting GAIA for benchmark brown dwarf science. 20 collaborators across 9 institutes in 5 countries. Includes membership of the GAIA Data Processing and Analysis Consortium (CU8 and CU3 on Astrophsyical/UCD characterisation, and astrometry) from CAR itself and other institutes. CAR leads ongoing International telescope time proposal initiatives in this work. We also maintain a spectroscopic database being used for quality assurance of the Gaia results especially at the faint end where other ground based comparison datasets are limited.
Impact Telescope time from joint proposals. Refereed papers resulting from this time and our collaborative work.
Start Year 2015
 
Description GAIA benchmark brown dwarf group 
Organisation University of California, San Diego (UCSD)
Country United States 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution A collaboration exploiting GAIA for benchmark brown dwarf science. 20 collaborators across 9 institutes in 5 countries. Includes membership of the GAIA Data Processing and Analysis Consortium (CU8 and CU3 on Astrophsyical/UCD characterisation, and astrometry) from CAR itself and other institutes. CAR leads ongoing International telescope time proposal initiatives in this work. We also maintain a spectroscopic database being used for quality assurance of the Gaia results especially at the faint end where other ground based comparison datasets are limited.
Collaborator Contribution A collaboration exploiting GAIA for benchmark brown dwarf science. 20 collaborators across 9 institutes in 5 countries. Includes membership of the GAIA Data Processing and Analysis Consortium (CU8 and CU3 on Astrophsyical/UCD characterisation, and astrometry) from CAR itself and other institutes. CAR leads ongoing International telescope time proposal initiatives in this work. We also maintain a spectroscopic database being used for quality assurance of the Gaia results especially at the faint end where other ground based comparison datasets are limited.
Impact Telescope time from joint proposals. Refereed papers resulting from this time and our collaborative work.
Start Year 2015
 
Description GAIA benchmark brown dwarf group 
Organisation University of Toledo
Country United States 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution A collaboration exploiting GAIA for benchmark brown dwarf science. 20 collaborators across 9 institutes in 5 countries. Includes membership of the GAIA Data Processing and Analysis Consortium (CU8 and CU3 on Astrophsyical/UCD characterisation, and astrometry) from CAR itself and other institutes. CAR leads ongoing International telescope time proposal initiatives in this work. We also maintain a spectroscopic database being used for quality assurance of the Gaia results especially at the faint end where other ground based comparison datasets are limited.
Collaborator Contribution A collaboration exploiting GAIA for benchmark brown dwarf science. 20 collaborators across 9 institutes in 5 countries. Includes membership of the GAIA Data Processing and Analysis Consortium (CU8 and CU3 on Astrophsyical/UCD characterisation, and astrometry) from CAR itself and other institutes. CAR leads ongoing International telescope time proposal initiatives in this work. We also maintain a spectroscopic database being used for quality assurance of the Gaia results especially at the faint end where other ground based comparison datasets are limited.
Impact Telescope time from joint proposals. Refereed papers resulting from this time and our collaborative work.
Start Year 2015
 
Description Numerical modelling 
Organisation Max Planck Society
Department Max Planck Institute For Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE)
Country Germany 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution CPU time, radio galaxy physics expertise, coding
Collaborator Contribution Numerical modelling expertise
Impact 2 refereed publications, one submitted
Start Year 2012
 
Description Transition discs 
Organisation Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA)
Country Global 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Analysis of imaging polarimetric data on transition discs
Collaborator Contribution Modelling expertise
Impact Published journal paper. STFC student project (PhD awarded 2016).
Start Year 2012
 
Description WEAVE 
Organisation Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands
Country Spain 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution 2 Hertfordshire staff members (Smith and Drew) lead WEAVE survey strands. WEAVE is a massively-multiplexed multi-object spectrograph in construction for deployment on the William Herschel Telescope from 2019. It will be used to conduct a pan-optical 5+ year survey of the northern sky.
Collaborator Contribution The WEAVE project scientist is based in Groningen, and the whole project is spread across the astronomy communities in the UK, The Netherlands, Spain, France and Italy. The more prominent and active institutions contributing to this strand are identified.
Impact So far, none. Commissioning of the instrument is planned for 2019
Start Year 2014
 
Description WEAVE 
Organisation National Institute for Astrophysics
Department Padova Observatory
Country Italy 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution 2 Hertfordshire staff members (Smith and Drew) lead WEAVE survey strands. WEAVE is a massively-multiplexed multi-object spectrograph in construction for deployment on the William Herschel Telescope from 2019. It will be used to conduct a pan-optical 5+ year survey of the northern sky.
Collaborator Contribution The WEAVE project scientist is based in Groningen, and the whole project is spread across the astronomy communities in the UK, The Netherlands, Spain, France and Italy. The more prominent and active institutions contributing to this strand are identified.
Impact So far, none. Commissioning of the instrument is planned for 2019
Start Year 2014
 
Description WEAVE 
Organisation Nice Observatory
Country France 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution 2 Hertfordshire staff members (Smith and Drew) lead WEAVE survey strands. WEAVE is a massively-multiplexed multi-object spectrograph in construction for deployment on the William Herschel Telescope from 2019. It will be used to conduct a pan-optical 5+ year survey of the northern sky.
Collaborator Contribution The WEAVE project scientist is based in Groningen, and the whole project is spread across the astronomy communities in the UK, The Netherlands, Spain, France and Italy. The more prominent and active institutions contributing to this strand are identified.
Impact So far, none. Commissioning of the instrument is planned for 2019
Start Year 2014
 
Description WEAVE 
Organisation Nice Observatory
Country France 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution 2 Hertfordshire staff members (Smith and Drew) lead WEAVE survey strands. WEAVE is a massively-multiplexed multi-object spectrograph in construction for deployment on the William Herschel Telescope from 2019. It will be used to conduct a pan-optical 5+ year survey of the northern sky.
Collaborator Contribution The WEAVE project scientist is based in Groningen, and the whole project is spread across the astronomy communities in the UK, The Netherlands, Spain, France and Italy. The more prominent and active institutions contributing to this strand are identified.
Impact So far, none. Commissioning of the instrument is planned for 2019
Start Year 2014
 
Description WEAVE 
Organisation University of Cambridge
Department Institute of Astronomy
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution 2 Hertfordshire staff members (Smith and Drew) lead WEAVE survey strands. WEAVE is a massively-multiplexed multi-object spectrograph in construction for deployment on the William Herschel Telescope from 2019. It will be used to conduct a pan-optical 5+ year survey of the northern sky.
Collaborator Contribution The WEAVE project scientist is based in Groningen, and the whole project is spread across the astronomy communities in the UK, The Netherlands, Spain, France and Italy. The more prominent and active institutions contributing to this strand are identified.
Impact So far, none. Commissioning of the instrument is planned for 2019
Start Year 2014
 
Description WEAVE 
Organisation University of Groningen
Country Netherlands 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution 2 Hertfordshire staff members (Smith and Drew) lead WEAVE survey strands. WEAVE is a massively-multiplexed multi-object spectrograph in construction for deployment on the William Herschel Telescope from 2019. It will be used to conduct a pan-optical 5+ year survey of the northern sky.
Collaborator Contribution The WEAVE project scientist is based in Groningen, and the whole project is spread across the astronomy communities in the UK, The Netherlands, Spain, France and Italy. The more prominent and active institutions contributing to this strand are identified.
Impact So far, none. Commissioning of the instrument is planned for 2019
Start Year 2014
 
Description WEAVE 
Organisation University of Oxford
Department Department of Pharmacology
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution 2 Hertfordshire staff members (Smith and Drew) lead WEAVE survey strands. WEAVE is a massively-multiplexed multi-object spectrograph in construction for deployment on the William Herschel Telescope from 2019. It will be used to conduct a pan-optical 5+ year survey of the northern sky.
Collaborator Contribution The WEAVE project scientist is based in Groningen, and the whole project is spread across the astronomy communities in the UK, The Netherlands, Spain, France and Italy. The more prominent and active institutions contributing to this strand are identified.
Impact So far, none. Commissioning of the instrument is planned for 2019
Start Year 2014
 
Description Bayfordbury 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Type Of Presentation Workshop Facilitator
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Bayfordbury open evenings are held 6x a year and are usually attended every time by 300+ members of the public, of all ages. We entertain them with talks, planetarium shows, and offer the chance to look through our telescopes, and engage in hands-on activities. The last of these are particularly targeted at school-age children, In addition, group visits are arranged for other evenings as requested -- these groups include school visits.

We host a website, and have participated in BBC outreach events. We are known in the area through these events, and get asked from time to time by local radio for interviews touching on astronomy news.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity Pre-2006,2006,2007,2008,2009,2010,2011,2012,2013,2014,2015,2016,2017
URL http://www.herts.ac.uk/bayfordbury