Astronomy through the looking glass. A Short Opinion Survey

UNAM Internacional asked nine astronomers, both from Mexico and abroad [see box], about the current situation and the immediate future of astronomy in the country and the world. This exercise is a glance at how astronomers see the future of their own discipline. We asked them eight questions, five of them were closed and three open-ended (but one of them produced quantitative data). 


ASTRONOMY’S PAST AND FUTURE
To start, we asked the astronomers their opinion via closed questions on the recent past and immediate future of their discipline:

• Has Astronomy as a profession has changed in the last 20 years?
• What is your perspective on the future of the astronomy profession?
• Do you think that astronomical knowledge will progress significantly in the next 20 years? 

In the first case, all nine respondents agree that astronomy has changed during the las 20 years, but there is no consensus about whether these changes are for the better or for worse. Two astronomers consider that change has led to an improvement in Astronomy; two others think that it has  made the profession worse, while five respondents say that although there have been changes, the current situation is neither better or worse.

Speaking of the future of astronomy, opinions tend to see it getting better, but not significantly. Two respondents see the future having a negative development; one of them sees the future slightly poorer, and another thinks that the deterioration will be considerable.

Eight out of nine expect significant new advances in astronomy knowledge. Only one, Dr. Lee Hartmann, said he doesn’t know. 

GREAT COLLABORATIONS
The most important findings in astronomy are generally achieved through projects in which astronomers and institutions all around the world collaborate. We asked our nine astronomers about this: 

• Can astronomy today dispense with large collaborations?
• Will Astronomy only be done through large collaborations in the future?

Eight out of nine think that today’s astronomy cannot proceed outside large collaborations; only M. C. Sebastián Carrasco Gaxiola has the contrary view. 

Nevertheless, when asking if big collaborations are the only possible future for astronomy, only two of them agree, while the other seven see possibilities of developing new knowledge outside these complex international research organizations, which speaks to astronomy’s methodological diversity. 

PRESENT AND FUTURE OF ASTRONOMY IN MEXICO
We asked the astronomers to tell us about their view on the current situation and on the future of astronomy in Mexico, we present their complete answers below. 

What is your perspective on astronomy in Mexico today?
Sebastián Carrasco Gaxiola: I see it working through international collaborations, which is good, but is also a sign of the need to look for funding outside. In observational astronomy, Mexico has good observatories and telescopes today, but better instrumentation is needed in order to produce high-impact science. Some areas are better represented than others, as extra-galactic astronomy, cosmology, and the interstellar medium. Areas like low-mass stars, and the search and characterization of exoplanets are not so well represented, although they are the most popular in the world and have more resources.

Charles Robert O’Dell: Astronomy is thriving in Mexico. Through its many institutes and centers research is being performed at world-class levels. Many of its senior scientists serve on the International Astronomical Union panels that govern international cooperation. The quality of astronomy graduates is high enough to populate undergraduate and graduate training schools.

Luis Alberto Aguilar Chiu: Astronomy is changing at a fast pace, pushed by several factors: the advent of large surveys, participation in great international collaborations, and the renewal of faculty. The problem is the lack of adequate funding, and the bureaucracy required to obtain and spend the resources obtained. A deeper problem affecting astronomy as well as many other sciences all around the world is the “publish-or-perish" mentality, the overwhelming importance given to the number of papers published regardless of the quality of each individual participation.

Aina Palau Puigvert: Astronomy in Mexico provides great opportunities today, as well as it faces huge challenges. The opportunities lie in potential collaborations for the development of future generations of telescopes. The challenges are in the generation of new ways of making significant contributions with limited or uncertain resources.

Lee Hartmann: A very large amount of first-class research is being done in Mexico.

Joel Sánchez Bermúdez: I think Mexican astronomy has lost competitiveness, mainly due to the lack of government funding and the little (or none at all) relation with the private sector. Research projects are made through individual efforts instead of collective participation in consolidated research groups. Astronomical research institutes have not grown because of a lack of new positions, and it has not been possible to create new departments for astronomical research in public, nor private universities. The number of astronomers in Mexico has remained relatively constant since the 90s, while in other Latin American countries like Chile or Brazil it has grown signficantly. I think there are few institutional international collaborations, and that instrumentation of the national observatories needs to be updated. The latter resulting from the general uncertainty created because government support is not allowing for research or instrumentation projects that last longer than the six-year period of each elected government.

Elena Terlevich: Participation of Mexican astronomy in large projects and in international consortia strengthens the country’s position in the world’s astronomy and in science.

Violeta Gámez Rosas: I have been working abroad for the last six years; my impression is that astronomy being developed in Mexico is not well known in Europe.

Silvia Torres-Peimbert: It is a complex situation. Although there is participation in different national and international collaborations, we need a bigger optical telescope with a modern structure. Our biggest optical telescope—2.1-meters in diameter— is not adequate to work with faint sources. San Pedro Mártir has several telescopes, but being smaller, they have a limited range and are dedicated to specific projects. Only The Large Millimetric Telescope is able to detect fainter and older objects. 
 
What about the future of Astronomy in Mexico?
Sebastián Carrasco Gaxiola: I see a great potential thanks to researchers who are training future generations. But there is also uncertainty because without sufficient support for research, it may become idle.

Charles Robert O’Dell: I see continuing growth owing to the high quality of published research being done in Mexico.

Luis Alberto Aguilar Chiu: It is uncertain given the country’s social and political turmoil.

Aina Palau Puigvert: Astronomy in Mexico can grow a lot if resources are sufficient. Because of Mexico’s geographic location, it is possible to take part in big international collaborations that will allow us to lead scientific discovery in the future. But this depends on the availability of resources, which right now is uncertain.

Lee Hartmann: I don't know enough about the details of research funding to answer in an informed way.

Joel Sánchez Bermúdez: Mexico’s contribution to international astronomy has been significant. Despite budget limitations, the country has renown research centers that train professionals in graduate programs. Nevertheless, these centers’ competitiveness is being progressively reduced. Mexican astronomy needs to make itself more visible in the international panorama, in the current context where multiple countries form consortia for the construction of the new generation of telescopes with primary mirrors over 30-meters. I think it is very important to take part in international projects, not just by using telescopes and instruments, but also developing technology, so that we can apply the knowledge acquired in the development of instrumentation that strengthens our observatories in concrete aspects, and bring us a competitive advantage—generating as well technological dissemination in other fields of knowledge and to other social sectors). It is equally important to have novel graduate programs and to establish exchange schemes so our students can be up to date. This requires economic and logistic commitment from research centers and universities, as well as from the Humanities, Science, and Technology Secretariat. If we are capable of consolidating these proposals, Mexican astronomy will undoubtedly have a promising future because we have the talent to achieve it.

Elena Terlevich: Future astronomy will not be done solely through large collaborations, but if we participate in them from the beginning, that will allow us to play a prominent role.

Violeta Gámez Rosas: I hope that Mexican astronomers who return to the country, and those from abroad who come to work in Mexico will dedicate their efforts to create strong, long-term linkages with institutes and professionals abroad, so that Mexican astronomy finds its way in the world, and Mexican students get better opportunities to develop at the international level. Today, thanks to advances in communications, Mexico’s disadvantage in economic terms should not be limiting anymore. Students, anyway, should be really fluent in English.

Silvia Torres-Peimbert: I think that despite instrumental limitations, we have very talented and creative astronomers who are developing interesting research, and at the same time, are improving the training  of the new generations. Although faculty and job opportunities have grown significantly, we still need more universities focused on research.
 
Is There Life Outside of Earth? 
Our last open-ended question—What scientific discovery or advancement are you expecting that will transform our current knowledge in astronomy?—produced a very important quantitative observation: six out of nine respondents mentioned subjects related to ongoing and future research on planets outside the Solar System, and five out of those six answers match in identifying the potential discovery of life beyond that on  Earth as the fact that will dramatically change our astronomical knowledge.
Sebastián Carrasco Gaxiola: The discovery of planets around stars close to the Sun and the characterization of their atmospheres.

Charles Robert O’Dell: Two areas will probably alter our astronomical knowledge in a fundamental way. In the area of extra-solar planets, today we only obtain the most fundamental knowledge of planets in orbit around other stars. New instrumental equipment and dedicated telescopes will reveal the surface properties and histories of our cousins, probably leading to the identification of those most likely to contain life. In the area of the active and changing universe, the Roman Telescope will monitor most of the sky and reveal ongoing changes, thus showing what new and interesting objects are out there. At the present we almost treat the universe as a static snapshot, whereas this powerful instrument will turn the universe into a movie.

Luis Alberto Aguilar Chiu: The nature and the existence of dark matter and dark energy.

Aina Palu Puigvert: The discovery of life in other planets.

Lee Hartmann: If I knew the answer to this, I would orient my research accordingly. Probably, the discovery of an inhabited planet (with low-level life).

Joel Sánchez Bermúdez: The discovery of a significant number of rocky exoplanets with atmospheres that have adequate conditions for life.

Elena Terlevich: Research related to the nature of matter in the Universe will allow us to give solid foundation to our theories about its origin, its evolution, its uniqueness, and its future.

Violeta Gámez Rosas: I think that science produced with instruments yet to come to study gravitational waves, along with the new generation of large optical and infrared telescopes, will not only make astronomy advance, but will also bring us new surprises.

Silvia Torres-Peimbert: Our knowledge in different areas of astrophysics has progressed vertiginously. Great advances have been done with ever better precision and detail of observations in all the frequencies of the electromagnetic spectrum, and huge observational databases have been compiled. Improved and more complex numerical simulations have also been developed to explain the phenomena observed. Because of this I believe that in the near future we will be able to better understand the universe and our origins. Each phase in the history of the Universe will be better known: from the first moments after the Big Bang, to the formation of galaxies, stars, and planets, and the evolution of the Solar System itself. Of all these advances, the one that will have the strongest impact will be the proven discovery of life in other planets.