CASTOR

The Cosmological Advanced Survey Telescope for Optical and UV Research is a proposed Canadian Space Agency satellite mission that would provide high-resolution imaging in the UV/optical (0.15–0.55 μm) spectral region. This versatile ‘smallSAT’-class mission would far surpass any ground-based optical telescope in terms of angular resolution and would provide ultra-deep imaging in three broad filters to supplement longer-wavelength data from planned international dark energy missions (Euclid, WFIRST – see below) as well as from the groundbased Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST). Combining the largest focal plane ever flown in space with an innovative optical design that delivers Hubble Space Telescope-quality images over a field two orders of magnitude larger than the Hubble Space Telescope, CASTOR would image about 1/8th of the sky to a (u-band) depth ~1 magnitude fainter than will be possible with LSST even after a decade of operations. No planned or proposed astronomical facility would
exceed CASTOR in its potential for discovery at these wavelengths. Balogh is the lead of the “Galaxies and Evolution of Cosmic Star Formation” Science Working Group for CASTOR and has been on the science team for the concept study and previous Discipline Working Group where the idea was launched (~2009).