American Astronomical Society winter meeting Tuesday, 7 January 2020 | 6:30 – 8:30 pm Hawaii Convention Center, Honolulu, Hawaii Room 313A

This Town Hall will inform the AAS membership about the status of science, science operations, and development programs at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO). An opening reception will be followed by a brief presentation that will update the membership regarding: (a) scientific opportunities and technical development at the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA), and the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA); (b) recent science results from across the community and the Observatory; and (c) scientific and technical planning for future radio astronomy research facilities, including a next generation Very Large Array (ngVLA). 

Confirmed speakers: 

• Tony Beasley (NRAO Director)
• Amy Kimball (VLA Sky Survey Scientist)
• Eric Murphy (ngVLA Project Scientist)

	American Astronomical Society winter meeting Tuesday, 7 January 2020   9:00 - 10:00 am | poster session, Exhibit Hall   2:00 - 3:30 pm   | oral session, Room 318A   5:30 - 6:30 pm   | poster session, Exhibit Hall Hawaii Convention Center, Honolulu, Hawaii

The NRAO and the ngVLA Project convened a Special Session entitled "The Scientific Quest for High Angular Resolution" on 7 January 2020 at the American Astronomical Society (AAS) winter meeting.

Sensitive ground- and space-based astronomical observations acquired at high angular resolution are enabling new insights across many frontier fields of astrophysics, such as star and planet formation.  At the dawn of multi-messenger astrophysics, radio-wavelength follow-up at high angular resolution of gravitational wave sources is providing critical insights into the energetics and evolution of these events.  Improvements in observations at high angular resolution are also enabling deep proper-motion measurements and surveys, vastly increasing the cosmic volume across which scientists can meaningfully observe protoplanetary disk formation, black hole feeding, jet launching, Local Group dynamics, and much more.  These observational insights are propagating into a much improved theoretical understanding of the physics driving each of these frontier fields.

This Special Session:

• Highlighted recent scientific breakthroughs enabled by imaging at high angular resolution;
• Described planned near- and long-term resolution improvements for ground- and space-based facilities;
• Discussed major scientific leaps likely to result from even higher angular resolution across the electromagnetic spectrum; and
• Reviewed the importance of high angular resolution to the high-priority science themes of the great observatories to be commissioned in the next decade.

This Special Session featured a session of invited oral presentations and an associated poster session with contributed presentations.  The Special Session's science program appears below.

Presentations can be downloaded by clicking on the presentation titles.

	American Astronomical Society winter meeting Monday, 6 January 2020 | 2:00 – 3:30 pm Hawaii Convention Center, Honolulu, Hawaii Room 316A

This AAS Special Session will update the community on the capabilities, news, and science from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). ALMA is among the largest multi-national science projects in the world, and has been conducting astronomical observations since October 2011. Now in Full Operations, ALMA Cycle 7 science observing will begin in October 2019.

ALMA is a complete imaging and spectroscopic telescope operating at millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths. It offers an unprecedented new look at our Universe near and far, from direct imaging of planet formation to groundbreaking observations of the first stars and galaxies. ALMA provides unprecedented sensitivity, image fidelity, and angular resolution at these wavelengths and enables forefront research with stunning images and spectroscopy.

This Special Session will feature an overview on the status of the Joint ALMA Observatory by the ALMA Director followed by invited science talks that highlight recent results from the first ALMA Large programs, results from the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), and breakthrough results from other ALMA projects. The science talks will include: (1) the molecular and physical origins of planetary systems as observed by the Disk Substructures at High Angular Resolution Project (DSHARP) and others; (2) direct imaging of the supermassive black hole in M87 via Very Long Baseline  Interferometry using the EHT; (3) the interplay between the small-scale physics of gas and star formation with galactic structure and evolution as studied by the Physics at High Angular resolution in Nearby GalaxieS (PHANGS) project; and (4) the ALMA Spectroscopic Survey in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field (ASPECS) project. We will also describe the role of the North American ALMA Science Center in supporting Principal Investigator and archival research by North American investigators. 

ALMA, an international astronomy facility, is a partnership of ESO (representing its member states), NSF (USA) and NINS (Japan), together with NRC (Canada), MOST and ASIAA (Taiwan), and KASI (Republic of Korea), in cooperation with the Republic of Chile.

Detecting Extraterrestrial Technologies & Life

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Annual Meeting
Saturday, 15 February 2020, 10:00 - 11:30 a.m. PST
Washington State Convention Center (Seattle) Room 6A

The extraordinary progress of the past two decades in the astronomical discovery and characterization of planets orbiting stars other than the Sun (exoplanets) is motivating renewed investment in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence at NASA, in the private sector, and among philanthropic organizations. To address the exciting possibility that extraterrestrial life may exist, scientists are developing capabilities to search for evidence of biological processes and technology activities that would indicate not only the existence of life but advanced intelligence. This symposium will describe new results and progress in the design, deployment, and performance of state-of-the-art techniques to detect signatures of life (biosignatures) and technology (technosignatures) and support the inference that intelligent extraterrestrial technologists existed. This symposium will also examine how technosignature research and development is rapidly advancing and influencing the astronomy community's exoplanet research strategies and tactics.

Organizer: Dr. Anthony J. Beasley (National Radio Astronomy Observatory)

The session will highlight these topics with the following invited presentations: 

• Hunting for Technosignatures | Dr. Andrew Siemion (Berkeley SETI Research Center)
  This presentation will discuss recent and prospective searches for signs of engineering beyond Earth that might be inferred via remote sensing of signatures of technology (technosignatures), including radio transmissions to laser emissions, structures orbiting other stars and more. The recent recognition that Earth-size habitable planets are common has renewed interest in the search for extraterrestrial life at NASA, in the private sector, and among philanthropic organizations.
• Extrasolar Terrestrial Planet Characterization and the Search for Life | Dr. Victoria Meadows (University of Washington) This presentation will describe how innovative computer models are being used to simulate the environments and spectra of plausible extrasolar terrestrial environments, to inform the search for habitable planets and life. These models will help space- and ground-based telescopes discriminate between habitable and uninhabitable exoplanets, and are key to the design and development of future NASA planet detection and characterization missions that will search for exoplanetary signs of life. 
• When is the Evidence Sufficient to Claim the Discovery of Extraterrestrial Life?  | Dr. Jill C. Tarter (Center for SETI Research) This presentation will describe the ongoing excitement about the search for life and extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI), emphasizing the newest programs and technologies. What makes compelling biosignatures and technosignatures? Are there likely to be any smoking guns? If future discoveries are nuanced or contain many caveats, how do we prepare for public disclosure and education?

	American Astronomical Society virtual summer meeting Monday, 1 June 2020 | 4:00 – 4:30 pm EDT

This NRAO Town Hall webinar will inform the AAS membership about the status of science, science operations, and development programs at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO). A brief presentation will update the membership regarding:

1. scientific opportunities and technical development at the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA), and the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA);
2. recent science results from across the community and the Observatory; and 
3. scientific and technical planning for future radio astronomy research facilities, including a next generation Very Large Array (ngVLA). The NRAO webinar will include time for answering audience questions.

Confirmed speakers: 

• Tony Beasley (NRAO Director)

The purpose of this meeting is to bring together experts on the ALMA system and modern digital correlator design in order to (1) discuss ALMA design requirements for the next generation ALMA correlator that enables the ALMA2030 vision; (2) share pros and cons of recent and currently under design correlator architectures; and (3) identify challenges for implementing and deploying a new ALMA correlator. Ultimately we hope this meeting encourages and informs the submission of viable designs for the next ALMA correlator in the near future.

Key Topics

• Summary of the ALMA2030 Vision and technical progress so far
• Discussion of the technical requirements for the next ALMA Correlator
• Lessons learned from recent digital correlator projects
• Emerging digital correlator concepts, technologies, and architectures

The program will include invited and contributed talks, as well as discussion sessions and ample space for posters (with dedicated poster-viewing time).

Oral Presentation Abstract Book | Poster Presentation Abstract Book

Event Overview

Multiple space missions have demonstrated the potential for extremely high angular resolution observations, achieving interferometric baselines longer than the diameter of the Earth.  New scientific results at millimeter wavelengths, from ALMA and the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), suggest the possibility for obtaining even higher angular resolutions. This second meeting in The Future of High-Resolution Radio Interferometry in Space series will focus on mission concepts and supporting technology developments to enable the highest angular resolution observations at centimeter and shorter wavelengths (30+ GHz observing frequencies). The meeting will highlight recent scientific advances and developments in the motivations for future space-based very long baseline interferometry and the resulting technical requirements and challenges, building upon the foundation provided by the first meeting in the series: The Future of High-Resolution Radio Interferometry in Space.

Of particular interest are contributions in areas such as

• Science at extremely high angular resolutions (e.g., population studies of black holes, jets and accretion studies at all scales, GR testing and black hole physics);
• Apertures --- size and performance for space apertures;
• Receiver and detector technology status and performance;
• Data volume and transport;
• Clocks and synchronization;
• Orbital dynamics and u-v plane coverage;
• Orbit determination;
• Data processing (in-space vs. ground) for correlation and analysis;
• VLBI simulations for science cases;
• Optimization for mission concepts; and
• Concepts (particularly one large aperture vs. many small apertures in space).

There is also interest in exploring the opportunities made available by recent innovations for very long baseline interferometry and in space missions. Significant time will be made available for discussions, including on synergies with other upcoming facilities.

Invited Speakers

Andrey Baryshev    Technical Developments for Millimetron
Ilse Cleeves    The Future of ALMA
Leonid Gurvits & Vincent Fish    The Future of High-Resolution Radio Interferometry in Space
Kari Haworth    Volumes of Data: Onboard Storage and Fast Downlink
Yuri Kovalev    RadioAstron
Yas Murata    VSOP/HALCA
Eric Murphy    The Future of the VLBA and the ngVLA
Pieter Visser   Orbit Determination

Posters

P1:
Bjorn Emonts, National Radio Astronomy Observatory
ALMA Zooming in on the Dragonfly Galaxy

P2:
Taehyun Jung, Korean Astronomy and Space Science Institute
Korean VLBI Network (KVN) and E-KVN: Simultaneous Multi-frequency System for mm-VLBI

P3:
Glen Langston, National Science Foundation
The Best Time in Space

P4:
Matthew Lister, Purdue University
AGN Jets at High Resolution: The MOJAVE VLBA Program

P5:
George Moellenbrock, National Radio Astronomy Observatory
Calibration of Space VLBI Orbit Position Errors Using Multiple Calibrators

Event Overview

The Synthesis Imaging Workshop (SIW), in its 17th year running, goes virtual for the first time! The Virtual 17th SIW will be held on 29 June - 17 July 2020 and will be broadcast from NRAO, Socorro, New Mexico. The workshop will comprise of lectures on aperture synthesis theory and techniques, a set of practical tutorials demonstrating data collection, calibration, and imaging of various types of data, including new data from the Jansky VLA, ALMA and the VLBA, and extensive discussion sessions between participants and the lecturers. The workshop will be delivered at a level appropriate for graduate students in astrophysics.

Organizing Committees

Scientific Organizing Committee:

Anna D. Kapinska (NRAO; chair), Joshua Marvil (NRAO), Amy Mioduszewski (NRAO), Emmanuel Momjian (NRAO), Anthony Remijan (NRAO), Greg Taylor (UNM), Lisa Young (NMT)

Local Organizing Committee:

Anna D. Kapinska (NRAO; chair), Lori Appel (NRAO), Andrew Murtland (NRAO), Matthew McCleary (NRAO), Pat Murphy (NRAO), Emmanuel Momjian (NRAO), Anthony Remijan (NRAO), Greg Taylor (UNM), Amy Mioduszewski (NRAO), Skip Lagoyda (NRAO), Tracie D. Sanchez (NRAO), Peter Otero (NRAO)

Sponsors

At the virtual workshop we are offering this year we will base our program on the lectures from the 16th Synthesis Imaging Workshop that was held in 2018 in Socorro, NM. The recorded lectures are available online, and can be accessed through the links below (please hold still while we add the few remaining links below).

During the virtual workshop we will offer live Q&A sessions that will be based on questions from participants and further discussions with the lecturer. We will schedule the Q&A session for the fundamental lectures only, but you are more than welcome to watch the science lectures while taking a break from the heavy lectures on the interferometry theory.

Technical information for tutorials

To be able to fully participate in the Tutorials, you will need specific versions of data reduction software: CASA 5.5.0 for VLA Tutorials, CASA 5.6.1 for ALMA Tutorials, and AIPS for VLBA Tutorial, and download up to 60GB of data.

Tutorials required to be completed offline (before your scheduled session):

ALMA Manual Calibration and Imaging

Details provided by email to registered participants.
Software requirements: CASA 5.6.1

ALMA Pipeline products and restoring calibrated data

Details provided by email to registered participants.
Software requirements: CASA 5.6.1

VLA CASA Continuum tutorial (3C391)

Tutorial on the calibration and imaging of a multiple-pointing continuum data set taken with the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) of the supernova remnant 3C391. Access the tutorial here: https://casaguides.nrao.edu/index.php?title=VLA_Continuum_Tutorial_3C391-CASA5.5.0
Software requirements: CASA 5.5.0

VLA CASA Spectral Line tutorial (IRC+10216)

Tutorial the data reduction for two spectral lines observed the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) toward the Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) star IRC+10216. Access the tutorial here: https://casaguides.nrao.edu/index.php?title=VLA_high_frequency_Spectral_Line_tutorial_-_IRC%2B10216-CASA5.5.0
Software requirements: CASA 5.5.0

VLA Observation Preparation Tool tutorial

Tutorial on how to prepare and submit scheduling blocks for your VLA observations. Access the tutorial here: https://science.nrao.edu/facilities/vla/docs/manuals/opt/opt-tutorial-example-s-band-continuum-polarization
Additional resource (lecture; OPT description starts at 30min): Lorant Sjouwerman (NRAO) "Planning VLA observations"
Software requirements: none, access the OPT tool via your http://my.nrao.edu account.

VLBA tutorials

Tutorials on data reduction process of VLBI data with the AIPS software. There are two tutorials that can be completed by the participants: (1) Simple VLBI Self-calibration, and (2) VLBI Spectral lines and Astrometry. The tutorials can be accessed here:
(1) https://casaguides.nrao.edu/index.php/AIPS-Spectral_Lines_and_Astrometry
(2) https://casaguides.nrao.edu/index.php/AIPS-Simple-Self-Cal
Software requirements: AIPS

The following tutorials do not require prior preparation.

If you signed up for these tutorials, just come to your scheduled session:

VLA Pipeline

Introduction to Low Wavelength Array (LWA) data reduction

LWA Data reduction in practise

Resources on radio interferometry

Here is a list of open access resources on the theory of radio interferometry, including the NRAO Synthesis Imaging Book II. 

Synthesis Imaging in Radio Astronomy II (eds. Taylor, Carilli & Perley)

https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1999ASPC..180.....T/toc

Interferometry and Synthesis in Radio Astronomy (Thompson, Moran & Swenson Jr.)

https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-319-44431-4

Basic navigation in Unix/Linux systems

If you requested NRAO computing resources, but are not familiar with Unix/Linux systems, please go through the resources listed below to gain knowledge of command-line basic navigation in these operating systems (through terminal/konsole, bash or c shell).

One of a good links is this one curated by University of Surrey. The most important parts that are needed to complete the SIW data reduction tasks are Tutorial One (all) and Two (sections 2.1-2.4):

http://www.ee.surrey.ac.uk/Teaching/Unix/index.html

Another good one is this one from the ubuntu distribution (including some history):

https://ubuntu.com/tutorials/command-line-for-beginners#1-overview

and this one (although a bit more advanced):

http://linuxcommand.org/

The schedule of the 17th Synthesis Imaging Workshop will be very busy. In our attempt to accommodate for the participants' time zones as much as possible, some sessions will be delivered multiple times. Please see notes below for explanation.

NOTES

LECTURES

"Single session" means the lecture session is open to every participant.

"Session #1, Session #2" means that the list of participants scheduled to join one of these sessions will be pre-assigned, with the priority given to the participants from the most disadvantages time zones.
If an effort to accommodate different, and often difficult, time zones, we request the participants attend the Lecture Q&A session based on their time zones:

For lecture sessions: "Basics of Radio Astronomy", "Error Recognition", "Image & Non-imaging analysis", "Antennas & Receiver Systems", "Polarization": 
Session #1 -- participants in time zones: UTC-5 to UTC+4.5
Session #2 -- participants in time zones: UTC-8 to UTC-6 and UTC+5 to UTC+12

"Advanced Calibration" 
Session #1 -- participants in time zones: UTC-8 to UTC-5 and UTC+8 to UTC+12
Session #2 -- participants in time zones: UTC-4 to UTC+7

"Wideband and widefield imaging" 
Session #1 -- participants in time zones: UTC-4 to UTC+7
Session #2 -- participants in time zones: UTC-8 to UTC-5 and UTC+8 to UTC+12

"Mosaicking" 
Session #1 -- participants in time zones: UTC-6 to UTC
Session #2 -- participants in time zones: UTC-8 to UTC-7 and UTC+1 to UTC+12

TUTORIALS

Only signed-up participants can join the tutorial sessions. Participants will receive an email with information on which session they are assigned to.

"Single session" means the session is open to every participant signed-up for the tutorial.
"Open session"  means the session is open to every participant signed-up for the tutorial, and the participants can join whichever session they prefer.
"Session #1, Session #2, Session #3" means that the list of participants scheduled to join one of these sessions will be pre-assigned, with the priority given to the participants from the most disadvantages time zones.

If you would like to see the schedule in a spreadsheet, download the pdf here.

Schedule by Topic

Event Overview

Now, at the dawn of the multi-messenger era, electromagnetic waves, high-energy particles, and gravitational waves are jointly revealing previously-hidden clues into the workings of compact objects.  These clues are guiding observers, theorists, and computational researchers to new and deep insights about compact objects.  Stunning progress has been made in understanding the energetic mergers, and merger aftermaths, of neutron stars and of stellar-mass black holes.  This promises to illuminate evolutionary studies of black holes on all mass scales, whether they are alone, in bound binaries, or merging.  And the role of compact objects, like supernovae, pulsars and active galactic nuclei, as Nature's particle accelerators can now be examined widely and in detail.  Finally, since size equates to time, insights about compact objects are benefiting hugely from multi-messenger studies in the time domain. 

This meeting will emphasize the current state of research on compact objects that leverages on multi-messenger information.  The meeting will also be forward-looking to help planners define an interoperable suite of multi-messenger facilities for the 2030s and beyond.  An example suite might include SKA, ngVLA, ELTs, Rubin Observatory, Cosmic Explorer/Einstein Telescope, LISA, and IceCube, as well as future X-ray missions.

Previous Meetings

• Radio Millimeter Astrophysical Frontiers in the Next Decade (2019)
• Astrophysical Frontiers in the Next Decade and Beyond: Planets, Galaxies, Black Holes and the Transient Universe (2018)
• Developing the ngVLA Science Program Workshop (2017)

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Day 1, July 14, 2020

(Click links to view video of the talks you are interested in.)

Day 2, July 15, 2020