Paper 13093-134
The CASTOR mission: performance, uniqueness and science programs
On demand | Presented live 17 June 2024
Abstract
CASTOR, for the Cosmological Advanced Survey Telescope for Optical and Ultraviolet Research, is a widefield space telescope that is under active development by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). This 1m telescope will produce panoramic imaging of the UV/optical (150-550 nm) sky delivering HST-like image quality over a wide field of view (0.25 sq. deg.), in three filters simultaneously. CASTOR will be optimized for wide-field surveys, although the telescope may also feature low- and medium-resolution spectroscopic capabilities. The paper will describe CASTOR’s unique capabilities within the astronomical landscape in the coming decade, and present highlights from a recently completed Phase 0 study that defined the science mission, including 14 “Legacy Surveys” that span a wide range of fields: including Dark Energy and Weak Lensing; Time Domain and Multi-messenger Astronomy; Galaxy Evolution and AGNs; Star Formation and more.
Presenter
NRC-Herzberg Astronomy & Astrophysics (Canada)
Deborah Lokhorst is a Herzberg Instrument Science Fellow at NRC Herzberg Astronomy & Astrophysics Research Centre in Victoria, BC. During her PhD in the Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics at the University of Toronto, she worked with the Dragonfly Telephoto Array to observe and study galaxies. She is currently leading an expansion to the Dragonfly Telephoto Array, called the Dragonfly Spectral Line Mapper, with the ultimate goal of imaging gas in the cosmic web of dark matter.
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