SONG Policies

Introduction to SONG

SONG, short for Stellar Observations Network Group, was conceived in 2006 by Frank Grundahl and Hans Kjeldsen in Aarhus. Its primary goal is to develop a global network of 1m-class telescopes to conduct detailed radial velocity studies of solar-like stars through asteroseismology, as well as to discover and characterize exoplanets and their star systems using spectroscopy. With funding from Danish sources, research groups at the Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University (AU), and the Niels Bohr Institute, Copenhagen University (KU), collaborated to create a prototype network node. This node includes a dome, telescope, instruments, and semi-automated data reduction systems. It is located at the Observatorio del Teide (OT) in Tenerife and was established in close partnership with the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC). The node, dubbed the "Hertzsprung SONG Telescope," was officially inaugurated on October 25, 2014. The network has since expanded towards the ideal 7-8 nodes in total. See the project page for more information on the SONG project.

SONG goals

The scientific goals for SONG are to:

  • Conduct detailed studies of stars at a level comparable to what can be achieved for the Sun using integrated disk observations, primarily through asteroseismic studies.
  • Search for and characterize planets orbiting stars beyond the Sun.
  • Advance time-domain astronomy by monitoring changes in astronomical objects over time.

To achieve these goals, we aim in SONG to construct a network of eight ‘identical’ telescope nodes. From a scientific perspective, this network functions as a single, cohesive instrument, enabling near-continuous observations of stars and thereby reducing the complicating effects of gaps in the time series.


The SONG Steering Committee

The SONG network is governed by the SONG Steering Committee (SSC), comprising representatives from all partner institutions. The SSC oversees the development and operation of the network and establishes the rules and regulations under which it functions.
The committee includes:

  • The SONG Principal Investigator (PI).
  • The SONG Instrument Scientist.
  • The SONG Scientific Coordinators.
  • A node responsible and node representative from each telescope node.
  • The Executive Board of Directors, each of whom is responsible for one of three main areas: Operations, Scientific Exploration, and Political & Financial Matters.

SONG Partners

A SONG partner is defined by their contributions to the network, which may include providing a telescope site or contributing funding, manpower, or infrastructure equivalent to at least 30% of a full node. The final decision on partnership status is made by the SSC. All SONG partners agree to share 100% of the observing time across the entire network, ensuring full collaboration within the SONG community.

SONG nodes

The establishment of a SONG node will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

  • Geographical location: Suitability in contributing to the network's global coverage.
  • Seasonal weather conditions and sky quality: Consistent clear skies and favourable observing conditions.
  • Local infrastructure: Availability of high-speed internet, a reliable power grid, and local staff.
  • Scientific interest: Commitment and enthusiasm from a local research group to engage with the SONG community.

Each SONG node will appoint:

  • A Node Principal Investigator (PI): This individual will have a strong scientific interest in participating in the SONG community and actively using the network.
  • A Node Responsible: This individual will oversee the local operation of the node, including routine maintenance, rapid response to technical issues, and reporting on technical aspects to the SONG Steering Committee.

SONG Science Collaborators


Any member of the astronomical community can become a SONG collaborator. As a SONG collaborator and a member of a SONG working group one can propose targets to be observed. Target selection and priorities are discussed within the working groups and communicated to the science coordinators. The working groups are:
  • [WG-1]: Asteroseismology
  • [WG-2]: Exoplanets
  • [WG-3]: Binary stars
  • [WG-4]: Spectroscopic variability
  • [WG-5]: Technical
  • [WG-6]: Solar Observations
NOTE: When signing up to SODA a SONG collaborator accepts to receive SONG related e-mails such as newsletters and working group discussions. Unsubscription to newsletters can be executed any time by sending an email to aadc @ phys.au.dk.

SONG Data Policies

Open data:

SONG data are made openly avialable to the SONG community through the SONG Data Archive (SODA) webpage.
SONG provides three data products:

  1. Raw uncalibrated 2d spectra
  2. Calibrated and extracted spectra
  3. Radial velocity time series

Within a few days of the observations raw and extracted spectra are made available on SODA.
Radial velocity time series on specific targets can be requested by e-mail to the Instrument Scientist.

Proprietary period:

A propriatary period of up to one year can be requested in special circumstances i.e. the data is part of a PhD or Master thesis project. Requests for a propriatary period are send to the science coordinators and the executive director of operations.

SONG Publication Policies

It is highly recommended that any publication is discussed within the relevant working group and as a minimum communicated with the working group chairs!

It is in the interest of the SONG network as a whole as well as for each individual research scientists within the SONG community that publications are accurate, that credit is fair to the authors and other contributors and that the data and the science results should be provided to the scientific community and the public in a timely fashion.

General Procedure:

  1. It is strongly encurraged that any publication including SONG data which is ready for submission should be uploaded through SODA to the SONG publication review panel. The panel will check the acknowledgements, technical description of the SONG instruments and might provide the PI with a list of members from the SONG team to consider for co-authorship.
  2. Any SONG team member offered co-authorship on a publication has to actively accept/decline the offer by replying yes/no to the PI or first author of the given paper. If no reply is given it should be regarded as a decline.

Acknowledgements:

It is expected that any publication using SONG data includes one of the following acknowledgements:

  1. "Based on observations made with the SONG network of telescopes operated by Aarhus University, Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, the National Astronomical Observatories of China, University of Southern Queensland and New Mexico State University".
  2. "This publication includes observations made with the SONG network of telescopes operated by Aarhus University, Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, the National Astronomical Observatories of China, University of Southern Queensland and New Mexico State University".

Including the acknowledgement ensures proper recognition of the contributions made by the SONG network and its partner institutions. Failure to include this acknowledgement may lead to follow-up communications or affect future access to SONG data.
For proper attribution, it is also recommended to reference relevant publications that describe the SONG network, where applicable. These can be found in the “reference papers” section below.

Reference papers:

To reference the SONG instrumentation, robotic execution of the observations and reduction and extraction pipeline please cite the following publications:

  • [Instrumentation and data pipeline]:
    First Results from the Hertzsprung SONG Telescope: Asteroseismology of the G5 Subgiant Star μ Herculis - Link
  • [Robotic SONG observations]:
    Conducting the SONG: The Robotic Nature and Efficiency of a Fully Automated Telescope - Link

Please ensure these references are included where relevant in any publication that uses SONG data to appropriately acknowledge the work and contributions of the SONG team.

General Guidelines for Authorship:

The following general guidelines are recommended to ensure fair and transparent authorship practices for SONG-related publications:

  1. Primary Author: The individual responsible for conducting the majority of the work (the primary author) shall be listed first in the authorship list.
  2. Order of Co-Authors: The primary author determines the order of co-authors, including SONG team members who have accepted co-authorship.
  3. Substantial Contributions: Any individual who writes or makes substantial contributions to any part of the publication is entitled to be included in the authorship list, provided they so choose.
  4. Review and Agreement: All authors listed on the publication are expected to read a draft version of the paper, provide timely feedback to the primary author, and indicate their agreement with the content. Suggestions for improvement, if any, should also be communicated during this review process.