Great Surveys Workshop

In 2009, the next Decadal Review (DR) of Astronomy and Astrophysics will be carried out by the National Academy of Sciences. The purpose of the DR is to make recommendations for the nation's programs in astronomy and astrophysics, including observations of the large-scale Universe. A number of groups, including those led by researchers in New Mexico, will be submitting white papers and proposals to the review committee for consideration. Much of this preparation is going on now. Looking ahead to the next decade and imagining the landscape of astronomy in 2020, it is clear that astronomical surveys, large and small, plus extensive follow-up projects, will play a key role. In fact, one might call the next 2 decades the "Era of Great Surveys". Surveys have long had a critical role in astronomy, from the pioneering Palomar Sky Surveys to the high-energy all-sky surveys from various satellites. Recently, the phenomenal success of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) carried out at the Apache Point Observatory in New Mexico has kicked off a new generation of astrophysically and cosmologically motivated surveys that are widely accessible not only to researchers, but also to the public.