The BlackGEM project has three main scientific objectives:
- To detect and characterize optical counterparts to gravitational wave mergers
- To uncover the transients in the sky that may masquerade as gravitational wave counterparts
- To chart the population of gravitational wave progenitors: massive binary stars
To achieve its goals BlackGEM will perform a number of science surveys: large coherent scientific programs:
- The BlackGEM Southern All Sky Survey (BG-SASS)
- The BlackGEM Fast Synoptic Survey (BG-FSS)
- The BlackGEM Q-band Survey (BG-QS)
- The BlackGEM Twilight Survey (BG-Twilight)
- and the BlackGEM Trigger Mode
Next to the study of gravitational wave events, these surveys enable a host of ancilliary science projects