All-Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae: Big Science with Small Telescopes

即使在今天，也只有人类的眼睛才能监视整个夜空。没有一种光学巡天能够频繁地对整个天球进行成像和记录，寻找宇宙中发生的短暂的、可变的、有时是剧烈的事件。“超新星全天自动巡天”（ASAS-SN）将每隔一晚自动巡天一次。ASAS-SN已经产生了源源不断的重要发现。ASAS-SN还将为下一代时域天文学家提供重要的训练基地，这一领域最终将由大型天气巡天望远镜（Large synotic Survey Telescope）改变。这项提议的主要科学目标是显著提高我们对超新星的理解，包括核心坍缩和热核。这个团队将完成对附近明亮超新星的公正普查，他们将详细研究这些事件及其宿主。ASAS-SN目前发现了超过50%的明亮（17等）SNe，并恢复了其余的大部分。在这项高节奏的调查中，早期发现的明亮和附近的SNe特别有价值，因为它们和它们的宿主星系很容易用小型（1-2米）望远镜进行研究。ASAS-SN应该会带来新的、无偏的超新星速率推导，并更好地理解超新星属性作为恒星年龄和金属丰度的函数。这次巡天将会公开发布数据，包括一个临时列表，刚刚发布的“ASAS-SN CV巡天”，以及未来的“ASAS-SN巡天”，持续更新其他有趣天体的光曲线。全天空的变星目录也将逐步公布。

Even in the present day, only human eyes monitor the entire night sky. There is no optical survey that frequently images and records the entire celestial sphere, seeking out the transient, variable, and sometimes violent events that occur in our Universe. The "All-Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae" (ASAS-SN) will automatically survey the entire visible sky every other night. ASAS-SN is already producing a steady stream of important discoveries. ASAS-SN will also provide a critical training ground for the next generation of time-domain astronomers, a field that will eventually be transformed by the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope.The major scientific goal of this proposal is to significantly enhance our understanding of supernovae, both core-collapse and thermonuclear. This team will complete an unbiased census of bright, nearby supernovae, and they will study these events and their hosts in detail. ASAS-SN is currently making more than 50% of all the bright (17 mag) SNe discoveries and recovering most of the rest. Bright and nearby SNe, discovered early by this high-cadence survey, are especially valuable, as they and their host galaxies are easy to study using small (1-2m) telescopes. ASAS-SN should lead to new, unbiased derivations of supernova rates and a better understanding of supernova properties as a function of stellar age and metallicity. This survey will be publicly releasing data, already including a transient list, just released "ASAS-SN CV Patrol", and future "ASAS-SN Patrols" of continuously updated light curves for other interesting classes of objects. All-sky catalogues of variable stars will be gradually released as well.