Astrophysics Research at Liverpool John Moores University: Consolidated Grant Renewal (2018-2021)
Lead Research Organisation:
Liverpool John Moores University
Department Name: Astrophysics Research Institute
Abstract
We will carry out work at the forefront of astrophysics using both observations and theory. The ARI's mission is to be a world-leading research centre at the highest international level of excellence. Our research uses the most advanced facilities and data analysis techniques and ARI staff are leading many of the new generation surveys. The projects in this case are technically demanding and require PDRA and other support to aid the delivery of the science.
Building on ARI's world-leading expertise in star formation (SF), we will investigate the connection between SF and gas physics in the Milky Way by: mapping the SF efficiency in 3-D and studying the connection between SF and the gas distribution close to the Galactic Centre. In a parallel study we will determine how very massive stars assemble by deriving properties of newly identified high mass pre-stellar cores in the Galactic Centre. Exploiting survey data from JCMT and Herschel and large allocations of time on the world's best mm observatory, ALMA, we will answer key questions about the connection between SF and the dense-gas physics, and the early growth of monster stars. We will also carry out simulations of the formation of stars in globular clusters. This will significantly extend previous work by incorporating realistic treatment of the precursor gas for the first time and provide a major step forward in understanding the formation of these systems.
In the area of stellar populations we will deliver a new perspective on the physical processes determining the formation and structure of the Milky Way, using extensive data from APOGEE-2, Gaia and WEAVE. These data will be used to determine orbital properties of Galactic stars and integrated with mock catalogues from models of galaxy formation, such as the EAGLE simulations.
In time-domain astrophysics we will perform an in-depth programme to study the properties of gamma-ray bursts, Supernovae Types: Ia, II and Ib/c, and their environments. We will establish the pathways to SNe Type Ia by measuring the size of a new class of Rapidly Recurring Novae in and beyond the Local Group. We will also partake in the new science of gravitational waves by searching for the electro-magnetic counterparts to coalescing binaries. We will use the most energetic transients as probes of the high-redshift Universe providing new estimates of the star-formation density at reionization. These activities capitalise on ARI's growing expertise in this field and exploit our privileged access to: (i) the SN detection surveys iPTF/ZTF; (ii) LIGO-Virgo EM follow-up experiments; (iii) the Swift-based SHOALS survey;
(iv) observations on a range of leading astronomical facilities including our own Liverpool Telescope (LT). Building on our lead in polarization measurements of transients, we will exploit the new time-domain polarimeter (MOPTOP) on the LT. We will thereby place new constraints on the magnetic field and physical geometries in extreme environments encountered in gamma-ray bursts, blazars and novae.
In galaxy evolution we will investigate the baryonic mass assembly in the Universe focussing on observations of low-luminosity galaxies and diffuse light in and around galaxies. This is essential to fully exploit the science from new facilities such as Euclid, eROSITA and LSST, in which the applicants have a strong investment. The ARI is at the forefront of developing realistic models of galaxy formation using the EAGLE and BAHAMAS simulations. Thus, through a parallel initiative to our observational work we will develop sophisticated virtual observations, delivering both ray-traced weak lensing maps and predictions of the faint stellar halo light for comparison with results from Gaia, Euclid and LSST.
To engage the public in STFC science we propose to develop a range of resources for 5 projects covering the areas i) life of a star ii) "big" and "open" data iii) astronomical and cosmological simulations.
Building on ARI's world-leading expertise in star formation (SF), we will investigate the connection between SF and gas physics in the Milky Way by: mapping the SF efficiency in 3-D and studying the connection between SF and the gas distribution close to the Galactic Centre. In a parallel study we will determine how very massive stars assemble by deriving properties of newly identified high mass pre-stellar cores in the Galactic Centre. Exploiting survey data from JCMT and Herschel and large allocations of time on the world's best mm observatory, ALMA, we will answer key questions about the connection between SF and the dense-gas physics, and the early growth of monster stars. We will also carry out simulations of the formation of stars in globular clusters. This will significantly extend previous work by incorporating realistic treatment of the precursor gas for the first time and provide a major step forward in understanding the formation of these systems.
In the area of stellar populations we will deliver a new perspective on the physical processes determining the formation and structure of the Milky Way, using extensive data from APOGEE-2, Gaia and WEAVE. These data will be used to determine orbital properties of Galactic stars and integrated with mock catalogues from models of galaxy formation, such as the EAGLE simulations.
In time-domain astrophysics we will perform an in-depth programme to study the properties of gamma-ray bursts, Supernovae Types: Ia, II and Ib/c, and their environments. We will establish the pathways to SNe Type Ia by measuring the size of a new class of Rapidly Recurring Novae in and beyond the Local Group. We will also partake in the new science of gravitational waves by searching for the electro-magnetic counterparts to coalescing binaries. We will use the most energetic transients as probes of the high-redshift Universe providing new estimates of the star-formation density at reionization. These activities capitalise on ARI's growing expertise in this field and exploit our privileged access to: (i) the SN detection surveys iPTF/ZTF; (ii) LIGO-Virgo EM follow-up experiments; (iii) the Swift-based SHOALS survey;
(iv) observations on a range of leading astronomical facilities including our own Liverpool Telescope (LT). Building on our lead in polarization measurements of transients, we will exploit the new time-domain polarimeter (MOPTOP) on the LT. We will thereby place new constraints on the magnetic field and physical geometries in extreme environments encountered in gamma-ray bursts, blazars and novae.
In galaxy evolution we will investigate the baryonic mass assembly in the Universe focussing on observations of low-luminosity galaxies and diffuse light in and around galaxies. This is essential to fully exploit the science from new facilities such as Euclid, eROSITA and LSST, in which the applicants have a strong investment. The ARI is at the forefront of developing realistic models of galaxy formation using the EAGLE and BAHAMAS simulations. Thus, through a parallel initiative to our observational work we will develop sophisticated virtual observations, delivering both ray-traced weak lensing maps and predictions of the faint stellar halo light for comparison with results from Gaia, Euclid and LSST.
To engage the public in STFC science we propose to develop a range of resources for 5 projects covering the areas i) life of a star ii) "big" and "open" data iii) astronomical and cosmological simulations.
Planned Impact
The ARI developed the National Schools' Observatory (NSO) to foster the study of science, technology and maths in young people. This major educational resource, funded by LJMU, supports over 3,000 primary & secondary schools to access the LT and has delivered more than 100,000 individual observations.
The major form of impact in this case will be centred upon Projects 2,5,6,7 and 9 (see Pathways to Impact and Section 4). These will benefit schools, amateur astronomers and the general public and will be particularly suitable for low Science Capital groups and hard-to-reach demographics (STFC Public Engagement Strategy 2016-2021). This will build on our considerable experience gained through the NSO and a suite of Distance Learning courses. It will provide opportunities for "active engagement" in the process of research, through online resources that will: (i) explore the ongoing research and (ii) allow anyone to work alongside researchers and make unique contributions.
In addition, there will be other more traditional forms of public engagement, through an ambitious programme of talks, workshops, presentations, panel discussions, Q&A sessions and articles. These will vary with respect to audience: schools (from primary upwards), amateur astronomy societies, lecture societies, WI, etc. We will also showcase the new research at events organised by the ARI (such as the annual Merseyside Astronomy Day) and others (e.g. Light Night Liverpool). The ARI has a track record of delivering provision off-the-beaten path. For example, in 2015 a visit to the Island of Yell (Shetland) which coincided with the partial solar eclipse, engaged with 200 students from 4 different schools during a 36-hour period. To provide additional resources for this type of outreach an STFC Public Engagement Awards application has been submitted.
Obviously, an exposure to current research can stimulate inquiry and interest in any audience. However, perhaps a more important benefit is to use that stimulation to promote an appreciation of science as a whole. This is particularly important for engagement with schools where astronomy has a vital role to play in promoting science and other STEM subjects as potential careers. Finally, we will encourage and support all researchers, particularly research students and PDRAs, to share their research to a variety of audiences, with our experienced Engagement team providing training and mentoring.
The ARI also carries out single outreach events, benefitting often hard to reach audiences through working with non-science organisations to enhance their work while bringing our research to previous unengaged audiences. This sort of impact is difficult to predict, as it is usually opportunistic, but examples are: (i) arts organisations and artists (cinemas, art galleries, musicians, theatre and dance companies, sculptors, photographers, writers) and (ii) organisations promoting access to education (e.g. Ogden Trust). One example of this agile approach was our development of a show garden for the 2015 Chelsea Royal Horticultural Society Show, under the theme of "Dark Matter". Our garden not only won a Gold Medal and "Best in Category" award, and had international TV coverage (estimated 211 million viewers worldwide), but also allowed us to discuss aspects of physics and cosmology with over 14,000 visitors. The garden is now on permanent display at STFC's Daresbury Laboratory in Warrington.
The University support astronomy-themed events as part of its Foundation for Citizenship Roscoe lecture series, including recently Professors Monica O'Grady (OU) and Nobel Laureate Brian Schmidt (ANU), who both attracted public audiences of nearly 1,000. In addition, the ARI organises public lectures to audiences of 200-300 in "hot" astronomy topics.
The major form of impact in this case will be centred upon Projects 2,5,6,7 and 9 (see Pathways to Impact and Section 4). These will benefit schools, amateur astronomers and the general public and will be particularly suitable for low Science Capital groups and hard-to-reach demographics (STFC Public Engagement Strategy 2016-2021). This will build on our considerable experience gained through the NSO and a suite of Distance Learning courses. It will provide opportunities for "active engagement" in the process of research, through online resources that will: (i) explore the ongoing research and (ii) allow anyone to work alongside researchers and make unique contributions.
In addition, there will be other more traditional forms of public engagement, through an ambitious programme of talks, workshops, presentations, panel discussions, Q&A sessions and articles. These will vary with respect to audience: schools (from primary upwards), amateur astronomy societies, lecture societies, WI, etc. We will also showcase the new research at events organised by the ARI (such as the annual Merseyside Astronomy Day) and others (e.g. Light Night Liverpool). The ARI has a track record of delivering provision off-the-beaten path. For example, in 2015 a visit to the Island of Yell (Shetland) which coincided with the partial solar eclipse, engaged with 200 students from 4 different schools during a 36-hour period. To provide additional resources for this type of outreach an STFC Public Engagement Awards application has been submitted.
Obviously, an exposure to current research can stimulate inquiry and interest in any audience. However, perhaps a more important benefit is to use that stimulation to promote an appreciation of science as a whole. This is particularly important for engagement with schools where astronomy has a vital role to play in promoting science and other STEM subjects as potential careers. Finally, we will encourage and support all researchers, particularly research students and PDRAs, to share their research to a variety of audiences, with our experienced Engagement team providing training and mentoring.
The ARI also carries out single outreach events, benefitting often hard to reach audiences through working with non-science organisations to enhance their work while bringing our research to previous unengaged audiences. This sort of impact is difficult to predict, as it is usually opportunistic, but examples are: (i) arts organisations and artists (cinemas, art galleries, musicians, theatre and dance companies, sculptors, photographers, writers) and (ii) organisations promoting access to education (e.g. Ogden Trust). One example of this agile approach was our development of a show garden for the 2015 Chelsea Royal Horticultural Society Show, under the theme of "Dark Matter". Our garden not only won a Gold Medal and "Best in Category" award, and had international TV coverage (estimated 211 million viewers worldwide), but also allowed us to discuss aspects of physics and cosmology with over 14,000 visitors. The garden is now on permanent display at STFC's Daresbury Laboratory in Warrington.
The University support astronomy-themed events as part of its Foundation for Citizenship Roscoe lecture series, including recently Professors Monica O'Grady (OU) and Nobel Laureate Brian Schmidt (ANU), who both attracted public audiences of nearly 1,000. In addition, the ARI organises public lectures to audiences of 200-300 in "hot" astronomy topics.
Publications
Davies B
(2020)
'On the red supergiant problem': a rebuttal, and a consensus on the upper mass cut-off for II-P progenitors
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Henshaw J
(2019)
'The Brick' is not a brick : a comprehensive study of the structure and dynamics of the central molecular zone cloud G0.253+0.016
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Bolin Bryce T.
(2020)
2020 OV1
in Minor Planet Electronic Circulars
Bolin B. T.
(2020)
2020 QG
in Minor Planet Electronic Circulars
Steele Iain A.
(2019)
2MASS J18455462-0039341 / Swift J1845.7-0037 is a double star
in The Astronomer's Telegram
Henshaw J. D.
(2019)
`The Brick' is not a brick: A comprehensive study of the structure and dynamics of the Central Molecular Zone cloud G0.253+0.016
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Liu H
(2018)
A 1.3 mm SMA survey of 29 variable young stellar objects
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Lam M
(2018)
A bottom-up and top-down approach to cloud detection
Lu ? X
(2019)
A Census of Early-phase High-mass Star Formation in the Central Molecular Zone
in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series
Prasit A
(2018)
A comparison of SOFA and NOVAS astrometric software libraries
Beasor E
(2018)
A critical re-evaluation of the Thorne-Zytkow object candidate HV 2112
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Evans C.
(2018)
A First Spectroscopic Census of the Dwarf Galaxy Leo P
in The Messenger
Salaris M
(2018)
A Gaia DR2 view of white dwarfs in the Hyades
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Liu T
(2018)
A Holistic Perspective on the Dynamics of G035.39-00.33: The Interplay between Gas and Magnetic Fields
in The Astrophysical Journal
De K
(2018)
A hot and fast ultra-stripped supernova that likely formed a compact neutron star binary.
in Science (New York, N.Y.)
Ip W. -H.
(2020)
A kilometer-scale asteroid inside Venus's orbit
in arXiv e-prints
Pastorello A
(2019)
A luminous stellar outburst during a long-lasting eruptive phase first, and then SN IIn 2018cnf
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Figura Charles
(2019)
A Morphological Study of High-Mass Star Forming Regions from the Red MSX Source Survey
in American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts #233
Neilson H
(2023)
A multiyear photopolarimetric study of the semi-regular variable V CVn and identification of analog sources
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Parsons Leigh J
(2020)
A national cross-sectional survey of public perceptions of the COVID-19 pandemic: Self-reported beliefs, knowledge, and behaviors.
in PloS one
Anderson J
(2018)
A nearby super-luminous supernova with a long pre-maximum & "plateau" and strong C II features
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Beasor E
(2020)
A new mass-loss rate prescription for red supergiants
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Saracino S.
(2019)
A panchromatic view of the bulge globular cluster NGC 6569
in arXiv e-prints
Saracino S.
(2019)
A panchromatic view of the bulge globular cluster NGC 6569
in arXiv e-prints
Darnley MJ
(2019)
A recurrent nova super-remnant in the Andromeda galaxy.
in Nature
Longmore Steven
(2018)
A review on the distribution of gas and young stars in the inner 500 pc of the Galaxy
in 42nd COSPAR Scientific Assembly
Martone R
(2019)
A robotic pipeline for fast GRB followup with the Las Cumbrés observatory network
in Experimental Astronomy
Darnley Matthew J.
(2019)
Accrete, Accrete, Accrete... Bang! (and repeat): The Remarkable Recurrent Novae
in arXiv e-prints
Wagner R. M.
(2018)
Additional Optical Spectroscopy of PNV J18040967-1803581 Indicates a Slow Fe II-type Classical Nova
in The Astronomer's Telegram
Lu ? X
(2020)
ALMA Observations of Massive Clouds in the Central Molecular Zone: Jeans Fragmentation and Cluster Formation
in The Astrophysical Journal Letters
Querejeta M
(2021)
ALMA resolves giant molecular clouds in a tidal dwarf galaxy
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Kruijssen J
(2018)
An uncertainty principle for star formation - II. A new method for characterizing the cloud-scale physics of star formation and feedback across cosmic history
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Haydon Daniel T.
(2018)
An uncertainty principle for star formation - III. The characteristic emission time-scales of star formation rate tracers
in arXiv e-prints
Haydon Daniel T.
(2018)
An uncertainty principle for star formation - III. The characteristic emission time-scales of star formation rate tracers
in arXiv e-prints
Haydon D
(2020)
An uncertainty principle for star formation - III. The characteristic emission time-scales of star formation rate tracers
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Hygate A
(2019)
An uncertainty principle for star formation - IV. On the nature and filtering of diffuse emission
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Hygate Alexander P. S.
(2018)
An uncertainty principle for star formation - IV. On the nature and filtering of diffuse emission
in arXiv e-prints
Haydon D
(2020)
An uncertainty principle for star formation - V. The influence of dust extinction on star formation rate tracer lifetimes and the inferred molecular cloud lifecycle
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Lam Marco C
(2020)
An update on the development of ASPIRED
in arXiv e-prints
Asa'd R
(2020)
Analysis of Red Supergiants in VDBH 222
in The Astrophysical Journal
Bersier D.
(2018)
ASAS-SN Transient Discovery Report for 2018-11-06
in Transient Name Server Discovery Report
Brimacombe J.
(2018)
ASAS-SN Transient Discovery Report for 2018-11-06
in Transient Name Server Discovery Report
Stanek K. Z.
(2018)
ASAS-SN Transient Discovery Report for 2018-11-09
in Transient Name Server Discovery Report
Bersier D.
(2018)
ASAS-SN Transient Discovery Report for 2018-12-04
in Transient Name Server Discovery Report
Bersier D.
(2018)
ASAS-SN Transient Discovery Report for 2018-12-11
in Transient Name Server Discovery Report
Bersier D.
(2019)
ASAS-SN Transient Discovery Report for 2019-01-10
in Transient Name Server Discovery Report
Description | General Astrophysics Investigation. Projects into: time domain astrophysics, galaxy evolution, stellar evolution and star formation, computational galaxy evolution and instrumentation. |
Exploitation Route | New projects or facilities may follow - e.g. development of £25m New Robotic Telescope; development of ecology project in game park reserves, flying astro 10 micron cameras on drones to preserve protected animal species. The ARI's project combining infrared astronomical instrumentation expertise with drone technology is impacting the way conservation agencies around the world (e.g. WWF) conduct animal surveys. The thermal-drone enables safe, routine, efficient and cost-effective monitoring and management of animal populations over large and inhospitable areas, with a factor of up to 200x increase in survey efficiency over existing methods. This provides conservation agencies greatly improved data needed to quantify and mitigate biodiversity loss. The thermal drone system is being used routinely to help local fire-fighting teams to find/extinguish annual peat fires in Indonesia which are a major contributor to anthropogenic CO2 emissions. The orders of magnitude improvement in fire extinction efficiency the system offers over existing methods will hopefully lead to substantial reduction in CO2 emissions -- a leading cause of climate change. |
Sectors | Education Environment Leisure Activities including Sports Recreation and Tourism Culture Heritage Museums and Collections |
URL | http://www.astro.ljmu.ac.uk |
Description | Substantial engagement activities across all levels - schools, public, parliamentary displays, highly-cited simulations papers. Two of our Outreach staff have fEC awards to carry out impact for two funded projects this grant. Under the directorship of Professor Steve Longmore, ARI has developed a major new research area connected to environmental impact, "Astro-ecology". Longmore and team are working with conservation agencies worldwide (e.g. WWF; Endangered Wildlife Trust; Wetland Wildlife trust; National Geographic; Borneo Nature Foundation; Indonesia National Parks; Chester Zoo; Knowsley Safari Park; Morecambe Bay Search and Rescue; several universities), flying infrared instrumentation developed for astronomical purposes on drones. Applications include: animal conservation in rain forests; peat fire detection in Indonesia and human rescue at sea. Starting with an internal LJMU startup award of £25k in 2016, this work has attracted more than £1m of external funding principally through two STFC/GCRF grant awards. The ARI's project combining infrared astronomical instrumentation expertise with drone technology is impacting the way conservation agencies around the world (e.g. WWF) conduct animal surveys. The thermal-drone enables safe, routine, efficient and cost-effective monitoring and management of animal populations over large and inhospitable areas, with a factor of up to 200x increase in survey efficiency over existing methods. This provides conservation agencies greatly improved data needed to quantify and mitigate biodiversity loss. The thermal drone system is being used routinely to help local fire-fighting teams to find/extinguish annual peat fires in Indonesia which are a major contributor to anthropogenic CO2 emissions. The orders of magnitude improvement in fire extinction efficiency the system offers over existing methods will hopefully lead to substantial reduction in CO2 emissions -- a leading cause of climate change. Overall income from this work has now surpassed £1.5m. |
First Year Of Impact | 2018 |
Sector | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Education,Environment |
Impact Types | Cultural Societal Economic Policy & public services |
Description | Astro-ecology with drones (2015-2020) |
Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
Impact | The ARI's project combining infrared astronomical instrumentation expertise with drone technology is impacting the way conservation agencies around the world (e.g. WWF) conduct animal surveys. The thermal-drone enables safe, routine, efficient and cost-effective monitoring and management of animal populations over large and inhospitable areas, with a factor of up to 200x increase in survey efficiency over existing methods. This provides conservation agencies greatly improved data needed to quantify and mitigate biodiversity loss. The thermal drone system is being used routinely to help local fire-fighting teams to find/extinguish annual peat fires in Indonesia which are a major contributor to anthropogenic CO2 emissions. The orders of magnitude improvement in fire extinction efficiency the system offers over existing methods will hopefully lead to substantial reduction in CO2 emissions -- a leading cause of climate change. |
URL | http://www.astro.ljmu.ac.uk |
Description | Astro-ecology: the solution from the skies to save Earth's biodiversity |
Amount | £411,988 (GBP) |
Funding ID | ST/R002673/1 |
Organisation | Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2018 |
End | 12/2021 |
Description | CO2 emission from peat fires in Indonesia |
Amount | £450,000 (GBP) |
Funding ID | ST/S00288X/1 |
Organisation | Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2019 |
End | 03/2022 |
Description | Developing automated detection and monitoring of peat fires in Indonesia with thermal infrared sensors under drones |
Amount | £361,615 (GBP) |
Funding ID | ST/S00288X/1 |
Organisation | Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2019 |
End | 03/2021 |
Description | Developing opportunities for in-depth citizen science using robotic telescopes |
Amount | £19,936 (GBP) |
Funding ID | BB/T017511/1 |
Organisation | Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2020 |
End | 05/2020 |
Description | Developing opportunities for in-depth citizen science using robotic telescopes |
Amount | £19,936 (GBP) |
Funding ID | BB/T017511/1 |
Organisation | Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2020 |
End | 04/2020 |
Description | Dissecting galaxies at the cosmic dawn |
Amount | £495,863 (GBP) |
Funding ID | ST/S004831/1 |
Organisation | Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2019 |
End | 09/2025 |
Description | Liverpool Telescope Operations 2020-2023 |
Amount | £854,175 (GBP) |
Funding ID | ST/T00147X/1 |
Organisation | Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2020 |
End | 03/2023 |
Description | Making Connections: Rapid follow-up of transients |
Amount | £20,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | Weizmann Institute of Science |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | Israel |
Start | 09/2018 |
End | 09/2021 |
Description | Measuring Dark Matter, Neutral Hydrogen and Neutrino Mass with Next Generation Weak Lensing and Radio Data |
Amount | £472,707 (GBP) |
Funding ID | ST/S004858/1 |
Organisation | Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 02/2020 |
End | 09/2021 |
Description | Novel extensions to state-of-the-art simulations of galaxy formation |
Amount | £434,000 (GBP) |
Funding ID | URF/R/191024 |
Organisation | The Royal Society |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 11/2019 |
End | 10/2022 |
Description | Using astronomy to create STEM clubs in schools in low science capital areas |
Amount | £14,870 (GBP) |
Funding ID | ST/T005610/1 |
Organisation | Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 04/2020 |
End | 04/2022 |
Description | Using drones to protect biodiversity and spur economic growth in Madagascar |
Amount | £574,038 (GBP) |
Funding ID | EP/T015403/1 |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2019 |
End | 03/2021 |
Description | Astro-ecology |
Organisation | World Wide Fund for Nature |
Country | Switzerland |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
PI Contribution | Various conservation agencies, e.g. WWF worldwide. |
Collaborator Contribution | Development of drone technology and IR data reduction techniques for various applications: rare animal species (rhino, lemur, orangutang etc..), peat fires in Indonesia; RNLI search and rescue |
Impact | Listed in publications |
Start Year | 2016 |
Description | International Research Collaboration 2015-2021 |
Organisation | California Institute of Technology |
Country | United States |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | The New Applicants Award and subsequent consolidated grants in 2015 and 2018 led to many international collaborations, for example: Harvard - Star Formation and PhD Exchange Programme. Caltech - supernovae and (iPTF/ZTF) transient surveys Virgo consortium membership in Cosmological Simulations - High Performance Computing SLOAN Digitised Survey - IV: UK Participation membership. Virgo-Ligo GW electromagnetic followup MPE, MPA Munch, Penn State, University of Tokyo, IAC Tenerife, and partners in the UK. |
Collaborator Contribution | Partners contribute through refereed papers (ARI publishes 200 p.a.) |
Impact | More than 200 refereed papers p.a. and £12m of external grant income. |
Start Year | 2015 |
Description | Exhibitions at national venues |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Special exhibitions and events at national venues including: Tate Liverpool, Foundation for Art and Creative Technology (FACT), the Science Museum, the London Design Biennale at Somerset House. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016,2017,2018,2019 |
URL | http://www.astro.ljmu.ac.uk/ |
Description | National Schools' Observatory |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | NSO continues as a major educational resource that supports access to the Liverpool Telescope by schools. The NSO has worked with over 5000 registered teachers (primary, secondary and FE), the website attracts around 1 million visits per year, and we have dealt with well over 10,000 observing requests in the last year. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015,2016,2017,2018,2019,2020 |
URL | http://www.astro.ljmu.ac.uk/ |
Description | National Schools' Observatory |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Local Schools, Exhibitions (Tate Liverpool, Chelsea Flower Show (audience 200 million) ; FACT; London Design Biennale |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014,2015,2016,2017,2018,2019,2020 |
URL | http://www.astro.ljmu.ac.uk/ |
Description | National Schools' Observatory |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | The NSO has 3,000 registered schools. More than 100,000 discrete observations with the LT have been returned to schools for projects within the classroom. Full evaluation of the impact of the NSO is currently underway. Two of the NSO staff team now have FeC on our renewed Consolidated Grant (2018-2021) |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2006,2007,2008,2009,2010,2011,2012,2013,2014,2015,2016,2017,2018,2019 |
URL | http://www.astro.ljmu.ac.uk/ |
Description | Remote Island Schools |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | The STFC-funded Astronomy for Remote and Island Schools project has funded two ARI academics to tour schools in remote areas of the UK; they have visited 81 schools in total (5236 pupils and 1053 community members), and a final report on the project is being written to evaluate the project, with a February 2020 completion date. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018,2019,2020 |
URL | http://www.astro.ljmu.ac.uk/ |