To prepare scientists to participate in the Challenge, two special events were held: a 2-day Tutorial and Hack Day at the Flatiron Institute in New York City on October 16&17, and a 1-day Tutorial in Tokyo on October 20 preceding the “In the Spirit of Lyot 2019” conference. 

The tutorials covered: 

• The WFIRST CGI and Starshade data format, specificities and observing scenarios 

• The Hybrid Lyot and star-shade coronagraphs

• Extracting faint sources with PSF subtraction/more advanced algorithms 

• Discriminating eventual background sources using parallax and proper motion

• Finding orbital solutions from two to six imaging epochs throughout the mission as well as simulated radial velocity (RV) data

• Determining physical parameters of any found exoplanet(s) using all the available information (astrometry, photometry)

Both the NYC and Tokyo events allowed participants to work with a full set of state-of-the-art simulated CGI and Star shade data, plus pre-cursor RV data for participants to develop their ability to extract and characterize planets.  Participants were invited to form teams and had access to a comprehensive simulated data set with tutorial material, tools for analysis, regular tele/videocons, and a slack channel for questions and collaboration. 

The October 16&17 Flatiron event included tutorials, working hack sessions, and a special trip to the Hayden Planetarium for a dome presentation built around Gaia astrometric data.  TRAVEL SUPPORT: Partial travel support was available for the Flatiron event. These funds were intended for early career participants who also commit to the full 2019 Data Challenge.