UK Gaia CU9: Delivering Gaia to the Community: 2019-2024
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Cambridge
Department Name: Institute of Astronomy
Abstract
Gaia is the cornerstone ESA mission which provides the first astrometric census of the sky. More than two billion sources will be surveyed; allowing major advances in Galactic structure and evolution, stellar evolution, solar system dynamics, exo- planetary systems, cosmology and fundamental physics. Gaia is launched in autumn 2013, with the Gaia Data Release 2 in Apr 2018, representing the first major release of full astrometry for over 1.3 billion sources.. Its huge data set will revolutionise much of astrophysics, provided astronomers can access and understand the data. This proposal is to support the UK leadership roles in Gaia data delivery to users, especially in archive design, science requirements specification, documentation, and support for public-access interface software.
Planned Impact
While the primary motivation for Gaia is to revolutionise our understanding of our Universe, Gaia is also a software and technology mission. Gaia UK technology development has two aspects. Industrial developments, for example of new classes of CCDs, ESA-funded at e2v, are already proving of wider importance, have earned the UK the Euclid contract, and are generating other new international markets. Precision control systems, and on-board real-time image processing systems (Astrium Stevenage) are intended to be applied much more widely. There are many ESA-UK industry-UK academic partnerships built on Gaia. The first Gaia data releases have underpinned significant outreach activities. The Gaia data are underpinning a range of deep learning investigations, and are being used in PhD training programmes, for instance the STFC funded CDT network in Cambridge.
The majority of development however involves fast complex processing of huge data volumes, and the development of tools to allow fast public access to huge and complex data sets. This naturally builds on and expands the Big Data and virtual observatory developments of late. The Cambridge developments in very large database systems (Spark/ Hadoop) have been adopted mission-wide, illustrating one more area of technical leadership. Gaia is the next `big beast` in data volumes, with Gaia learning experience showing applications to astronomy (Euclid/ PLATO) and wider implications for science and aspects of the digital economy. Big Data problems generically involve gathering subsets of the data for further exploration and visualising those data in some fashion. The techniques already in use in TOPCAT provide some important software approaches, and the developments to be driven by this work will be applicable to other fields, for example visualising remote sensing data monitoring crop rotation, relevant to areas such as the STFC Food network.
The majority of development however involves fast complex processing of huge data volumes, and the development of tools to allow fast public access to huge and complex data sets. This naturally builds on and expands the Big Data and virtual observatory developments of late. The Cambridge developments in very large database systems (Spark/ Hadoop) have been adopted mission-wide, illustrating one more area of technical leadership. Gaia is the next `big beast` in data volumes, with Gaia learning experience showing applications to astronomy (Euclid/ PLATO) and wider implications for science and aspects of the digital economy. Big Data problems generically involve gathering subsets of the data for further exploration and visualising those data in some fashion. The techniques already in use in TOPCAT provide some important software approaches, and the developments to be driven by this work will be applicable to other fields, for example visualising remote sensing data monitoring crop rotation, relevant to areas such as the STFC Food network.
Organisations
- University of Cambridge (Lead Research Organisation)
- Leiden University (Collaboration)
- STFC DiRAC Data Analytic Cluster (HPC Facility Cambridge) (Collaboration)
- National Institute for Astrophysics (Collaboration)
- British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) (Collaboration)
- European Space Agency (Collaboration)
- Airbus Group (Collaboration)
Publications
Amaral L
(2019)
White dwarf and subdwarf stars in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 14
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Antoja T
(2021)
Gaia Early Data Release 3: The Galactic anticentre
Carrasco J
(2021)
Internal calibration of Gaia BP/RP low-resolution spectra
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Evans D
(2020)
Gaia Photometric Catalogue: the calibration of the DR2 photometry
in Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union
Gaia Collaboration
(2021)
Gaia Early Data Release 3: The Galactic anticentre
Gaia Collaboration
(2020)
Gaia Early Data Release 3: The Gaia Catalogue of Nearby Stars
Hodgkin S
(2021)
Gaia Early Data Release 3: Gaia photometric science alerts
Hodgkin S
(2021)
Gaia Early Data Release 3 Gaia photometric science alerts
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Kostrzewa-Rutkowska Z
(2020)
Electromagnetic counterparts to gravitational wave events from Gaia
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Description | IRIS: Expanding Data Lake Access Services at CASU / IRIS hardware allocation grant for FY20 for IoA, Cambridge University |
Amount | £150,000 (GBP) |
Funding ID | ST/V006231/1 |
Organisation | Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 12/2020 |
End | 03/2021 |
Title | Gaia Catalogue of Nearby Stars - GCNS |
Description | VizieR online Data Catalogue associated with article published in journal Astronomy & Astrophysics with title 'Gaia Early Data Release 3: The Gaia Catalogue of Nearby Stars.' (bibcode: 2021A&A...649A...6G) |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2021 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/A+A/649/A6 |
Title | Gaia Data Release EDR3 |
Description | The photometry and astrometry for Gaia DR3 |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2020 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | Gaia is the most productive space astronomy mission ever. EDR3 data were accessed by over 500,000 queries in the first week. |
URL | https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/early-data-release-3 |
Title | Gaia Early Data Release 3 photometric passbands |
Description | VizieR online Data Catalogue associated with article published in journal Astronomy & Astrophysics with title 'Gaia Early Data Release 3: Photometric content and validation.' (bibcode: 2021A&A...649A...3R) |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2021 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/A+A/649/A3 |
Title | Gaia Photometric Science Alerts |
Description | VizieR online Data Catalogue associated with article published in journal Astronomy & Astrophysics with title 'Gaia Photometric Science Alerts.' (bibcode: 2021A&A...652A..76H) |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2021 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/A+A/652/A76 |
Title | MC structure and properties |
Description | VizieR online Data Catalogue associated with article published in journal Astronomy & Astrophysics with title 'Gaia Early Data Release 3: structure and properties of the Magellanic Clouds.' (bibcode: 2021A&A...649A...7G) |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2021 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/A+A/649/A7 |
Title | Updated radial velocities from Gaia DR2 |
Description | VizieR online Data Catalogue associated with article published in journal Astronomy & Astrophysics with title 'Gaia Early Data Release 3. Updated radial velocities from Gaia DR2.' (bibcode: 2021A&A...653A.160S) |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2022 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/A+A/653/A160 |
Description | Cambridge DiRAC |
Organisation | STFC DiRAC Data Analytic Cluster (HPC Facility Cambridge) |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | state of the art hardware system which provided expertise and experience to support Cambridge's DiRAC leadership role. |
Collaborator Contribution | experience with security of a real large data system |
Impact | knowledge |
Start Year | 2016 |
Description | European Space Agency - ESA |
Organisation | European Space Agency |
Country | France |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | define, develop and implement the spectro-photometric, spectroscopic and crowded imaging data processing system for the ESA Gaia mission; discover and publish science alerts from Gaia data; manage the data release documentation system, design (aspects of ) the archive structure |
Collaborator Contribution | manage the Gaia mission, host and operate the public data access system through ESAC |
Impact | during 2018 over 800 science papers were published from public Gaia data |
Description | Gaia Data Processing and Analysis Consortium (Gaia DPAC) |
Organisation | Leiden University |
Department | Leiden Observatory |
Country | Netherlands |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | The UK team is a major member of the Gaia DPAC and is responsible for (Spectro)Photometric processing and contributions to the ESA Gaia data delivery. See https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/dpac/consortium for details of the DPAC. |
Collaborator Contribution | See https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/dpac/consortium for details of the DPAC. Note that Leiden University is listed as the partner. This is the host institute of the current Chair of the DPAC Executive. The consortium is composed on institutes from many countries. |
Impact | The DPAC is responsible for the delivery of the data products from the ESA Gaia mission - see https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/data |
Start Year | 2006 |
Description | Gais-ESO Public Spectroscopic Survey |
Organisation | National Institute for Astrophysics |
Department | Arcetri Observatory |
Country | Italy |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | co-leads |
Collaborator Contribution | co-leads |
Impact | 450-person collaboration, 96 Institutes, over 70 papers so far. This is the biggest large-telescope stellar survey project ever attempted. |
Start Year | 2012 |
Description | continuing collaboration with aerospace industry |
Organisation | Airbus Group |
Department | Airbus Defence and Space UK |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Private |
PI Contribution | joint development of outreach, joint development of policy meetings, prize talks to invited groups, prize award ceremonies |
Collaborator Contribution | joint development of outreach, joint development of policy meetings |
Impact | joint outreach activities - support for most of the many listed elsewhere (about 40 events in total). Presentations/interactions with policy groups |
Description | continuing collaboration with public media |
Organisation | British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) |
Department | BBC Scotland |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Private |
PI Contribution | this partnership covers all relevant UK and international media. It includes all the UK national newspapers, many international news agencies and sites, and many free-lance journalists, as well as specialist science media and journals. This is an ongoing more frequent than monthly series of interactions |
Collaborator Contribution | they disseminate the information |
Impact | major education of public, influence of decision makers on space science outcomes |
Title | Tools to utilise the Gaia data |
Description | tools to utilise the Gaia photometry |
Type Of Technology | Software |
Year Produced | 2020 |
Open Source License? | Yes |
Impact | Gaia is the most scientifically productive space astronomy mission. People are using the data and software widely |
URL | https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/early-data-release-3 |
Title | TopCat |
Description | TOPCAT is an interactive graphical viewer and editor for tabular data. Its aim is to provide most of the facilities that astronomers need for analysis and manipulation of source catalogues and other tables, though it can be used for non-astronomical data as well. It understands a number of different astronomically important formats (including FITS, VOTable and CDF) and more formats can be added. |
Type Of Technology | Software |
Year Produced | 2017 |
Open Source License? | Yes |
Impact | very widely used. It is the basis of much research literature. |
URL | http://www.star.bris.ac.uk/~mbt/topcat/ |
Description | media interviews, TV and other media broadcasts |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | This groups media interviews, TV and radio and other interviews and enquiries, press releases and feedback on those. These happen on average once per 2 weeks, from global sources. Initially many start as background enquiries, so the input determines what is given high media profile. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014,2015,2016,2017,2018,2019 |
Description | talks to public groups/societies/clubs |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | talks are given at least once per month to invited groups. these include societies, industry talks, policy talks, student groups, and many other clubs and groups. Some are private dinners for senior figures, some per-/post dinner talks for policy/industry groups, many for the interested public. They are gathered under this item, but include some 15-20 events every calendar year. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015,2016,2017,2018,2019 |