Abstract

 In this talk I will discuss the search for electromagnetic transients with wide-field, time-domain surveys. Connecting supernovae to their stellar progenitor systems is a frontier area that requires the most powerful telescopes in the world. Solving this puzzle has important ramifications for understanding the chemical enrichment of the Universe and galactic evolution and feedback. I will highlight the importance of understanding the origins of Type Ia supernovae and discuss an exquisite set of new observations obtained by the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF). ZTF is helping us search for and understand the electromagnetic counterparts to LIGO gravitational wave events and prepare for the Vera C. Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST). Discovering ~1 million transients per year means that LSST will necessarily require machine learning, which will produce several new challenges in the next decade. Finally, I will argue that the Rubin Observatory revolution in the study of transients will hinge upon our use of smaller aperture telescopes, such as ZTF.