A3D3 Attends the Transients from Space Conference

By: Will Benoit, Cristina Andrade, Tyler Barna, Michael Davis, and Andrew Toivonen
April 24, 2025

The 2025 Transients from Space conference featured the novel efforts of A3D3 members working in the domain of multi-messenger astronomy (MMA). Below, members of Dr. Coughlin’s group at the University of Minnesota share their experiences attending this conference.

Pictured above are the attendees of the Transients from Space conference from the University of Minnesota. From left to right: Cristina Andrade, Michael Davis, Dr. Michael Coughlin, Will Benoit, Tyler Barna, and Andrew Toivonen

Will Benoit: The Transients from Space (TFS) workshop, which centered around time-domain astronomy and multi-messenger astrophysics, was well-organized and well-attended. Over the course of the three-day meeting, there were presentations from all corners of the astronomical transients community, as well as ample time for smaller group and individual discussions. Thanks to the flexibility of the workshop organizers, I had the opportunity to present the ml4gw library that our group has developed under the auspices of the MMA pillar of A3D3. This library contains the infrastructure we’ve developed to support our machine learning algorithms in gravitational-wave physics, and the hope was to communicate some of the lessons we’ve learned over the course of development. In a similar vein, I also presented on the broader technical and sociological hurdles we’ve faced in getting our algorithms to the stage of production deployment. It was informative to hear the thoughts and ideas of scientists from a domain with different challenges and requirements than my own, and I hope that the discussions we had will spur focused development on real-time machine learning tools for this area.

Will Benoit presents on “Deploying Machine Learning in Time-Domain Astronomy”

Cristina Andrade: Attending the Transients from Space conference at STScI (Space Telescope Science Institute) was a productive and energizing experience. My work spans gravitational waves, compact mergers and the development of transient detection metrics for the Vera C. Rubin Observatory. So, having a diverse array of transient scientists in one place made for incredibly productive conversations. The “Target of Opportunity” breakout session was a highlight, offering a rare chance to move the needle on how we coordinate large-scale, rapid-response observations across facilities in anticipation of upcoming missions. I also appreciated the thoughtful discussion in the machine learning session, especially around standardizing tools to streamline detection and around resource prioritization across missions. I had the chance to share updates and get targeted feedback from Rubin leadership on the LSST transient metrics I’m developing. I connected with teams from several international observatories affiliated with the GRANDMA collaboration (a telescope network), which I help to lead operational efforts for. The conference not only deepened existing relationships between my group and the wider transient field but also clarified technical and logistical challenges that weare actively working to address.

Tyler Barna: TFS was a very productive workshop; in just three days, it provided an overview of the current state of space-based observation and detailed the community’s plans for missions launching in the coming decade. Transients represent a unique challenge in astronomy – they generally occur without warning and fade from view on varying timescales. There is still much science to be done with early-time observations of essentially all classes of transients. Kilonovae, my field of study, occur at time scales even shorter than many other transients, on the order of days. As our estimates for their occurrence rates have developed, we have come to understand them to be relatively rare events, so any opportunity to observe them must be seized upon. Many of the missions discussed at TFS, such as the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, have specifications that will be incredibly valuable for observing kilonovae. I hope the discussions at TFS surrounding collaboration in managing ToO (Target of Opportunity) and DDT (Director’s Discretionary Time) resources bear fruit so the community can maximize observation of rare events like kilonovae.

Michael Davis: The Transients from Space workshop at the Space Telescope Science Institute was a great opportunity to learn about the latest developments in time-domain and multi-messenger astronomy. Over three days, I was introduced to current and future space-based transient surveys, the challenges of rapid follow-up observations, and the role of upcoming missions like the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. It was especially valuable to hear discussions on how to optimize Target of Opportunity strategies for rare and short-lived events. Beyond the talks, I enjoyed meeting others in the transient astronomy community and discussing shared challenges in data analysis and follow-up coordination.

Andrew Toivonen: As someone who works at the intersection of gravitational-wave searches and multi-messenger follow-up efforts, transient detection is a key aspect of my research. It was great to discuss with astronomers what is needed to make efficient and effective follow-up decisions in a rapidly evolving field. For example, while presenting my poster, I had an astronomer interested in GW (gravitational wave) follow-up approach me to comment on how such multi-messenger data products would be useful to their field. I also thought the machine learning discussions were positive. Driven by Will’s talk about ML4GW and a shared ML+GW library, there was discussion on whether a similar thing could be done for transient science. The main concern was the difficulty that many ML algorithms have with light curves, and the abundance and variety of training data that would be needed. This workshop has built momentum towards collaboration between different groups with common goals.