| NSF Org: |
AST Division Of Astronomical Sciences |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | July 23, 2020 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | July 23, 2020 |
| Award Number: | 2009645 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Hans Krimm
hkrimm@nsf.gov (703)292-2761 AST Division Of Astronomical Sciences MPS Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences |
| Start Date: | September 1, 2020 |
| End Date: | August 31, 2024 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $606,442.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $606,442.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
104 AIRPORT DR STE 2200 CHAPEL HILL NC US 27599-5023 (919)966-3411 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
NC US 27599-3255 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | STELLAR ASTRONOMY & ASTROPHYSC |
| Primary Program Source: |
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| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.049 |
ABSTRACT
This project will observe the entire night sky to search for short time scale changes (less than two minutes) in the brightness of objects using small telescopes located in the northern and southern hemispheres. The researchers will develop software to detect these changes in real time and send alerts to other astronomers to enable them to follow up with their own observations. The project will study giant flares on stars that could impact planets in orbit about them, and also to study the rate of flashes that are the result of materials being burnt up in the earth's atmosphere. Other astronomers will be helped by receiving alerts to such changes in the sky. The scientists involved in this project are also developing a planetarium exhibit to provide the public with information on the evolving field of time resolved astronomy.
Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will conduct a systematic investigation of the entire rapid transient sky using Evryscopes that will be coordinated with spectroscopic observations using the SOAR Telescope. The Evryscope telescopes, coupled with the Evryscope Fast Transit Engine (EFTE), a newly-developed low-latency transient-detection pipeline, are capable of searching for rapid transient events over 16,500 square degrees of the sky every two minutes. This will be coupled with a machine-learning vetting system that will reduce false positives to low levels. This new capability will enable the high-speed detection and follow-up for events such as superflares. These are giant stellar flares that have serious, but as-yet poorly-constrained, effects on the habitability of planets around cool stars. Additionally, the researchers will perform the first detailed characterization of transient orbital-debris fast-flashes, which form an important foreground for high cadence sky surveys.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
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PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
This project made advances in detecting and studying fast transient events in the sky, both from natural astronomical sources and human-made objects in orbit. The research team built innovative software systems able to use the Evryscope telescopes to scan a huge part of the sky every two minutes, successfully cataloging thousands of short-duration flashes of light. Their findings revealed that reflections from satellites and space debris create far more fleeting flashes than previously known – about 1,800 per hour across the whole sky, some of which are visible to the naked eye. This work helps astronomers better distinguish between human-made flashes and genuine astronomical events, which is crucial for discovering transient phenomena of all types.
The team also built new capabilities for the observation of powerful and fast stellar superflares – enormous explosions on the surfaces of relatively cool stars, with strong effects on the potential habitability of planets around them. Using a rapid-response system they developed, researchers were able to, for the first time, find and begin detailed observations of these flares within just minutes of their detection. This quick response allowed them to measure how the flares' temperature and brightness change over time and thus model their effects on nearby planets; this will help inform future searches for alien life.
The project trained graduate students who led all aspects of the research, from developing AI automated detection systems to designing and building new telescopes. The work has also reached beyond the scientific community through a planetarium exhibit that teaches schoolchildren about how astronomers study objects that change in the night sky.
Last Modified: 02/19/2025
Modified by: Nicholas Law
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