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Opticon RadioNet Pilot

Project description

Europe’s largest ground-based collaborative astronomy network

Our knowledge of the universe is growing, and astronomers need more and better techniques to analyse astronomical phenomena. Europe’s largest astronomy network will assist in this area. The EU-funded Opticon RadioNet Pilot (ORP) will develop seamless access to radio and optical facilities in an efficient, coordinated and future-looking programme. ORP will offer access to an unrivalled set of major and specialised observatories across Europe (and around the world) covering the optical, infrared, sub-mm and radio wavebands to open the way to new discoveries. According to the project, this will represent the largest and most comprehensive suite of facilities to be brought together and offered to the European scientific community through a single programme.

Objective

For more than two decades, the EU has been supporting free transnational access (TA) to existing national research infrastructures (RI). In particular, the optical/infrared and the advanced radio astronomy communities are now recognised as TA flagship communities. Their telescopes and instrumentation complement each other with respect to wavelength coverage, as well as spectral, spatial and time resolution, and therefore together form a cohesive suite of RIs that made ground breaking discoveries possible and thus strengthened Europe's leading role in international science. While scientists more and more rely on multi-wavelength and multi-disciplinary access to the best RIs, there is a quest by the RI providers for a sustainable funding scheme for TA, since establishing and maintaining outstanding RIs requires considerable resources. In this pilot, the best research institutions from both communities will combine their efforts to further improve and harmonize their services and to make best use of their RIs, allowing mutual and TA to telescopes, telescope networks, and data archives. This will facilitate multi-wavelengths and time-domain studies. TA shall be simplified by the development of a common proposal submission tool. Improved instruments, adaptive optics, and software to deliver science ready data products will boost the performance of our RIs. This pilot will address imminent threats to astronomical research from satellite mega constellations and commercial radio emitters, and finally, it will develop plans for a long-term mutual relationship and for a continued funding of TA beyond this pilot.

Call for proposal

H2020-INFRAIA-2018-2020

See other projects for this call

Sub call

H2020-INFRAIA-2020-1

Coordinator

CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE CNRS
Net EU contribution
€ 596 349,75
Address
RUE MICHEL ANGE 3
75794 Paris
France

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Region
Ile-de-France Ile-de-France Paris
Activity type
Research Organisations
Links
Total cost
€ 798 680,75

Participants (39)