Simons Observatory Special.With Manchester playing a key role within the Simon Observatory’s development, we’ve recorded a special episode during their face-to-face meeting here. We talk to SO:UK Principal Investigator Prof Michael Brown about what makes this project so exciting and a Jodbite with Dr Katie Harrington, on her work testing and integrating the instrumentation into large telescope construction. Finally, we spoke with a range of SO collaborators over lunch at the meeting and take a whistlestop tour on what it really takes and who is involved when you build a telescope.

Interview with Professor Michael Brown

Phoebe and Jonathan sit down with Professor Michael Brown, principal investigator for the SO:UK. He summarises what makes the Simons Observatory unique and exciting, and the range of astrophysics we can conduct with such an instrument.

Jodbite with Katie Harrington

Jessy sits down with Dr Katie Harrington from The University of Chicago on her work constructing the next generation of cosmological telescope facilities.

She leads the Integration and Testing program for the Simon Observatory, combining her skills in instrumentation design & construction with data processing and pipelines.

Soundbites with SO Scientists

We take a whistlestop tour on what it really takes and who is involved when you build a telescope.

Special thanks to: Martina Gerbino (INFN Ferrara), David Alonso (Universityof Oxford), Toby Satterthwaite (Stanford University), Alexander van Engelen (Arizona State University), Adam Hincks (University of Toronto), Pieter Daniel (Daan) Meerburg (University of Groningen), Elle Shaw (University of Texas at Austin) & Dante Jones (National Institute of Standards and Technology/CU Boulder).

With Thanks

This episode on such a collaborative project requires collaboration!

We want to say thanks to our very own Jonathan Wong, a final year PhD student here at JBCA, whose research is on astrophysical probes in galaxy surveys to understand the CMB and dark energy.

Also, big thanks to SO Outreach Kasey Wagoner, and Eve Vavagiakis. Kasey is an Assistant Professor of Physics at North Carolina State University, helping people within the collaboration to meet their scientific goals through governance, training & outreach. Eve is Assistant Professor of Physics at Duke University, where she is focussed on thepipeline development for galaxy groups & clusters, as well as field instrumentation work.

Interview : Professor Michael Brown, Phoebe and Jonathan
Presenters : Barbara Cabrales and George Bendo
Jodbite : Katie Harrington and Jessy Marin
Editors : Jamie Incley, Tom Williams and Jessy Marin
Show Editors : Louisa Mason
Show Lead : Louisa Mason
Website : Lily Correa Magnus
Producer : Lily Correa Magnus
Cover Art : Collage of SO interviewees in front of the Jodcast banner. CREDIT:SO and Jodcast Teams.