Angus Forrest

Gridmap: Proof of Concept

384 words 2 min read

Gridmap would be a universal API that provides all astronomical objects visible in a section in the sky at a given time. Any telescope would be able to obtain a list of objects within their schedule for the night.

To pull off this API, there are a number of technical challenges, separate to the data collection rights issues.

I will detail a couple of the challenges below:

  • The location of an observer on Earth11 Let us forget space telescopes for a second is in constant motion in comparison to the Galaxy due to Earth’s rotation. This means that the solid angle a right ascension and declination location22 This also requires the telescope to perform sidereal tracking of the location. includes changes over time.
  • Another relative motion to account for is that of earth’s motion about the sun. This leads to many non-parametric on-sky motion for objects that orbit the Sun rather than Earth.
  • The API must generate an answer of objects from a enormous dataset in as minimal timeframe as possible. The ephemerals of Solar System objects need to catalogue the last time their were calibrated as well.
  • Searches in the future are predictive, so the answers need to have associated error and uncertainty. This must be first class.

I think it is sometimes best to define a projects by what it is not setting out to accomplish. Gridmap is attempting to model anything in the sky that applies to astronomy and aerospace. This does not include aeroplanes, drones, or weather balloons. We are not trying to provide synthetic on-sky observation data33 Although others may wish to work upon the data we provide.. We are not trying to provide the wavelength or data for an object outside of whether it will be located within a frame, and an associated error and uncertainty. We are not trying to provide initially a commercial product. This product must stand academically on its own legs.

To understand the problem, the first port of call is to create a proof of concept. The proof of concept will utilise synthetic information in standard dataset forms to create “present” and “future” data frames. This should include numerous synthetic objects of multiple categories, solar system, galaxy, and observable universe.

Hopefully Gridmap can find an audience within the astronomical community, especially observers and data pipeline end users.

The direct applications for this API relate to spatial anomaly detection, new object discovery in field, synthetic on-sky field creation, and more specifically interstellar object field detection.

Footnotes

  1. Let us forget space telescopes for a second ↩

  2. This also requires the telescope to perform sidereal tracking of the location. ↩

  3. Although others may wish to work upon the data we provide. ↩

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