Speaker: Michael Blanton, New York University, USA

Date: 21st March, 2013 (3pm)

Location: 3rd floor Lecture Theatre

Title: "The Future of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey"

Abstract: I describe plans for the next-generation Sloan Digital Sky Survey, to begin in July 2014, and which consists of three programs,  APOGEE-2, MaNGA and eBOSS.  APOGEE-2 will use both the Sloan Foundation Telescope at Apache Point and the du Pont Telescope at Las Campanas to study Galactic archaeology with high-resolution near-infrared spectroscopy. MaNGA will develop fiber bundle technology for the BOSS spectrograph to perform multiplexed spatially resolved spectroscopy with an unprecedented combination of wavelength coverage and resolution for 10,000 nearby galaxies.  eBOSS will study the Universe’s expansion using a massive survey of galaxies and quasars.  eBOSS will also perform follow-up spectroscopy on X-ray and variable sources, making it both the largest and most broadly selected quasar survey.  I will show how this innovative set of programs will lead to a better understanding of cosmology and galaxy formation, as well as stellar and exoplanetary astronomy.