You know how it works, right? Point your telescopes at the sky, collect the data, and then send it off to the scientists for analysis and to compare with the predictions of your theories. Only, if that's what you do, you'll miss a crucial first step: you have to handle your data correctly. That means understanding the nuances of your telescope, the sensitivities of your instruments and optics across different filters and wavelengths, and so many other considerations before that data you've collected could ever be responsibly used for any scientific purposes at all. But this is not a hopeless task; there are entire careers in telescope and instrument support sciences that, in many ways, are the unsung heroes of the entire enterprise of astronomy. In this edition of the Starts With A Bang podcast, I'm so pleased to get to bring Dr. Heather Fleweling onto the show, where she talks about her experience and expertise doing precisely this for observatories such as Pan-STARRS, which she helped build herself, to the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT), where she currently works, specializing in the MegaPrime instrument. Get a behind-the-scenes peek at a corner of astronomy that most people don't even know exists!
