Elements: Enabling High Precision Citizen Science Photometry from Wide Field Color Images

该项目正在开发免费的开源软件和一个网络界面，用于从彩色数码相机收集的公民科学家的观测数据中提取恒星的高精度亮度测量数据。大规模生产使这类相机比专业天文学家通常使用的单色探测器更实惠；消费类相机还配备了一系列内置功能，使它们比专业探测器更易于操作和自动化。然而，彩色图像对现有工具来说尤其具有挑战性，因为交错的微过滤器应用于探测器像素，从而实现了颜色敏感性。该项目将极大地扩大能够为尖端科学做出贡献的公民科学家的队伍：使用这些工具，公众可以利用高节奏、高精度对大部分或全部天空中的明亮恒星进行高节奏、高精度的光度测量来进行无数额外的系外行星和变星项目。该项目正在与三个通过公民观测追求系外行星科学的领先项目合作：Panoptes、系外行星观察和Unistella网络。该软件将成为Panoptes的数据处理管道，并整合到系外行星观察和Unistella管道中，确保其被三个大型全球公民科学家社区采用。公民科学数据将用于搜索TESS卫星确定的只有一次凌日的候选者的额外凌日，从已知短周期系外行星系统和TESS凌日候选者中额外的较长轨道周期行星的凌日，以及已知径向速度行星的凌日。任何已识别的行星都将围绕从地球上看异常明亮的恒星运行，产生较深的凌日，并居住在远离恒星的地方。前两个性质使得利用最先进的空间和地面设施来研究这样的行星特别容易，并且这些行星的行星-恒星相互作用将比目前围绕类似明亮恒星的深度凌日的行星群体的典型行星弱得多。这项由NSF高级网络基础设施办公室颁发的奖项由NSF天文科学部联合支持。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project is developing free and open-source software and a web interface for extracting high-precision brightness measurements of stars from citizen scientist observations collected with color digital cameras. Mass production makes such cameras much more affordable than the monochrome detectors typically used by professional astronomers; consumer cameras also come with a host of built-in features which make them much simpler to operate and automate than professional detectors. However, color images are particularly challenging for existing tools due to the staggered microfilters applied to detector pixels which enable color sensitivity. This project will greatly expand the pool of citizen scientists able to contribute to cutting edge science: using these tools, the public can pursue numerous additional exoplanet and variable star projects using high-cadence, high-precision photometry of bright stars over much or all of the sky at a fraction of the cost of professional surveys.This project is collaborating with three of the leading projects pursuing exoplanet science through citizen observations: PANOPTES, Exoplanet Watch, and the Unistellar network. This software will become the data processing pipeline of PANOPTES and be integrated into the Exoplanet Watch and Unistellar pipelines, ensuring its adoption by three large global communities of citizen scientists. The citizen science data will be used to search for additional transits of candidates identified by the TESS satellite with only a single transit, transits from additional longer orbital period planets in both known short period exoplanet systems and TESS transit candidates, and transits of known radial velocity planets. Any identified planets will orbit stars that appear exceptionally bright from Earth, produce deep transits, and reside far away from their stars. The first two properties makes such planets particularly easy to study using state of the art space and ground facilities, and the planet-star interactions will be much weaker for these planets than is typical for the current population of planets with deep transits around similarly bright stars.This award by the NSF Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure is jointly supported by the NSF Division of Astronomical Sciences.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.