Siting the Cosmic Explorer Observatory

Cosmic Explorer (CE), a proposed next-generation gravitational-wave facility is searching for observatory site. This interdisciplinary suitability analysis for site selection incorporates the need to make accurate scientific observations and the needs of the staff to have a good home to commute from nearby. We are searching for two observatory sites: the first will span 80 kilometers in the shape of an L with each arm of the L spanning 40 kilometers and the second will be an L that spans 20 kilometers. In recognition that the United States are on the ancestral homelands of sovereign Native Nations, CE aims to involve Tribal Communities during all phases of the project from concept through decommissioning. This collaborative project uses a mixed methods Geographic Information Systems (GIS) approach to do a national site suitability analysis.