For amateur astronomers
Welcome!
Amateur astronomers are encouraged to engage in science with data from Rubin Observatory and its LSST.
This page provides some practical information about the specific opportunities and challenges for amateur astronomers
Rubin data rights
The first thing to know is that some Rubin data products and services are public, but some are proprietary and only available to "Rubin data rights holders". Within the United States, "Rubin data rights holders" are defined as scientists or students employed or enrolled at a US educational or research institution, and who are doing non-profit scientific research. In this context the term "amateur astronomer" refers to individuals doing non-profit scientific research in astronomy, but who are not employed at or enrolled in a US educational or research institution. This includes, for example, high school students, astronomers with employed in other industries, or former or retired astronomers.
However, note that individuals (i.e., amateur astronomers) doing unaffiliated astronomy research may submit a request for data rights if the public resources are insufficient.
How can individuals without data rights participate?
- Do time-domain science with the world-public alerts, using the alert brokers.
- Join an LSST Science Collaboration that does not require data rights:
- Active Galactic Nuclei Science Collaboration (AGN-SC)
- Transients and Variable Stars Science Collaboration (TVS SC)
- Informatics & Statistics Science Collaboration (ISSC)
- Stars, Milky Way, and Local Volume Science Collaboration (SMWLV)
- Collaborate with Rubin data rights holders (RDRH)
- Use the public EPO data products and services
- Access post-proprietary data served via in-kind contributors
alerts and brokers
Resources
- SCs, Forum, brokers
- welcome, acknowledge, and encourage
- define amateurs as unaffiliated scientists who do not meet the 'US scientist' definition for 'data rights'
- rubin is different from other projects
- science is done in the science collaborations not by staff
- alerts and brokers are public
- path to data rights, how to know when?
Únase a la discusión
¿Está utilizando los datos de Rubin para hacer ciencia o se pregunta cómo comenzar? Visite el foro de la comunidad de Rubin para recibir noticias, encontrar apoyo y unirse a las discusiones.