Current as of August 2011

The LSST is a proposed 8.4-meter ground-based telescope that will survey the entire visible sky deeply in multiple colors every week from a mountaintop in Chile. It will open a movie-like window on the universe and address some of the most pressing questions in astronomy and physics, while driving advances in data-intensive science and computing.

Who

Institutional Members of LSSTC (Full List)

Key personnel (org chart)

Director : Tony Tyson (UC Davis)

Project Manager: Don Sweeney (LSST Corp, LLNL)

System Scientist: Zeljko Ivezic (U. Wash)

Chair, Science Advisory Committee: Michael Strauss (Princeton)

What

Uniquely capable six-band digital optical survey to address over 100 new explorations of our universe, including four Key Science Goals: Dark matter, dark energy, formation of galaxies, potentially hazardous asteroids

Why

A transformative view of our universe: The Big Picture. An unprecedented volume of the universe will be monitored. Accessible to scientists and public alike. Open data, open source.

Where

Telescope sited on Cerro Pachón, Chile. Coordinates: (Google Earth) (Google Map)

When

Science Operations begin six years after construction start. With a calendar year 2013 construction start, first light will be in 2017, early science in 2018, and science operations in 2019. (Timeline)

Wide

9.6 square degree field of view for each exposure. 20,000 square degree sky coverage.

Fast

Pair of 15-second deep exposures every 40 seconds. Tile entire accessible sky a few times a week. Each piece of sky imaged 2000 times over 10-year survey lifetime. Flip book of the sky, celestial cinematography.

Deep

24th magnitude single visit; 27th magnitude co-added over survey lifetime in 6 optical – near-IR bands.