.astronomy8 Day 1 - Morning

Becky Smethurst: Introduction
If you're reading this, no matter when, you're part of the .astronomy community.  Be a sponge and learn from the community.

Sarah Kendrew: .Astronomy and JWST
* Aug. 2017: Early Release proposal call (500 hrs, no proprietary period)
* Nov. 2017: Cycle 1 proposal call
* Late 2018: Launch
* Launch + 6 months: Early Release observations done; Cycle 1 observations start

Tools for research: jwst.stsci.edu
* online instrument simulators, new exposure time calculator capabilities, new data analysis tools & astropy, WebbPSF

Bruno Merin: ESASky: http://sky.esa.int
* For Astronomers and the Public
...got distracted looking up Hall's Arc; see my twitter @PatrickBHall ...

Carl Ferkinhoff, Hardware .astronomy
1) low(er) cost astro instruments
2) invest undergrads in development
3) open-source it all
4) develop principles of open-source hardware astronomy
hardwareDOTastro.github.io

ROBH.aT idea: Lots of campus telescopes out there ... robotic/automated observing is the future ... skills learned in roboticizing telescopes are applicable to industry... can we roboticize for $5k/scope?
1) Automate Dome Control
2) Automate the telscope: ROBH.aT
3) Network automated scopes for studies of exoplanets, variable stars, SNe, LSST followup, others?
Q&A: LCOGT has a uniform set of telescopes; some groups have thought about networking a set of heterogeneous telescopes, incl. itelescope.net