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National Astronomical Observatory of Japan

Scientific Goals and Missions - Optical and Infrared Synergetic Telescopes for Education and Research (OISTER)

Purpose

The Optical and Infrared Synergetic Telescopes for Education and Research (OISTER) project is to establish the observation network consisting of 1-meter-class optical-infrared telescopes located both within and outside Japan, Seimei 3.8 m telescope, and Subaru Telescope, aiming to develop the time-domain astronomy for multi-messenger astronomy.

Missions

The missions of this project are:

  1. to compile and deliver time-domain astronomy data to the scientific community by systematically combining small/medium/large aperture optical-infrared telescopes that have been operated and maintained by the respective university or institute in Japan; and
  2. to nurture highly-skilled youths by offering opportunities for undergraduate/master/Ph.D. students to engage in not only extensive science activities but also productive education programs including on-site observation experience.

Primary Scientific Goals

The primary scientific goals of this project are:

  1. to explore the physical processes in extreme environments by observing the gravitational wave sources, high-energy neutrino sources, etc., using the OISTER network of telescopes for advancing the field of multi-messenger astronomy;
  2. to probe the physical mechanisms of explosion phenomena惻cosmic high-energy phenomena by using OISTER multi-wavelength ToO (Target of Opportunity) observations of transient objects; and
  3. to promote time-domain astronomy of cosmic transient objects by multi-mode observations, including photometry, spectroscopy and polarimetry in both optical and near-infrared.

Target Date

End of March 2025