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AstronomyNiche
intermediate

Tuning the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) Observing Strategy for Solar System Science

Schwamb, Megan E. et al. (2023)

Published
Jun 1, 2023
DOI
10.3847/1538-4365/acc173

At a GlanceAI

How different LSST observing cadences would change what the Rubin Observatory discovers about small Solar System bodies.

SummaryAI

LSST is expected to discover and monitor over five million small bodies, and its cadence has to balance all of Rubin's science goals. Using operation simulations from the Rubin scheduler, the authors assess how candidate strategies affect discovery and characterization across the Solar System's small-body reservoirs, including TNOs. Most strategies change key metrics by 5% or less, but some cause much larger losses in discovery and light-curve metrics. The paper lays out what matters most for Solar System science.

Method SnapshotAI

Analysis of simulated LSST cadences against science metrics.

BackgroundAI

Basic survey astronomy; no dynamics required.