Time-Domain Astronomy in Taiwan (Tidat): from Local Star Clusters to Local Galaxies(1/3)

The astronomical community is entering the golden age of time-domain astronomy. We have initiated aprogram few years ago in order to be prepared for the upcoming opportunities in time-domain astronomy.Here, we seek funding to continue our program, named as “Time-Domain Astronomy in Taiwan (TiDAT)”.In this proposal, we focus on the calibration of Cepheids variable stars in distance scale work. To achievethis, we will carry out two main observational programs. The first program focus on searching the newCepheids in Galactic open clusters, and follow-up time-series observations using the telescopes at LulinObservatory. We will also use the radial velocity measurement to establish open cluster membership for thenew discovered Cepheids. The second program is an intensive monitoring program to observe Cepheids inM31 and M33 with Lulin One-meter Telescope, with the goal of establishing M31 and M33 as anchoringgalaxies in distance scale application with our data. In addition to observations at Lulin Observatory, wealso plan to carry out near infrared observations for our targets in open clusters and in M31/M33.Homogeneous time-series data in BVRIJHK obtained from our proposed observations will be a valuabledataset not only for achieving our goals but also to the astronomical community in general. Studentstraining is also an important component of this proposal, at which several smaller scale projects will becarried out with the aims to train students in preparation for the golden age of time-domain astronomy.