Noisy Debris: Developing Social Solutions Addressing Background Noise in Ground-Based Telescopes Caused by Low Earth Orbit Satellites, Local Interference, and Social Environments
Led by: Tiffany Nichols
This project lies at the intersection of the history of physics, astrophysics, and astronomy, environmental history, and legal history. Funded by the John Templeton Foundation, this research focuses on how physicists and astronomers understand noise and disturbances originating from the natural and built environment and its effects on highly precise and sensitive instruments and research endeavors, such as the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) and the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST). Professor Nichols is particularly interested in instances when such noise and interference cannot be controlled within the experiment and through data analysis, resulting in the need for social-scientific and legal-scientific solutions.
Project Sponsor:
- Legacy Survey of Space and Time Discovery Alliance / John Templeton Foundation
