Image:LSST_TELESCOPE_SIDE_VIEW_150dpi.jpg The '''Large Synoptic Survey Telescope''' (LSST) is a planned wide-field "survey" reflecting Telescope that will photograph the available sky every three nights. Construction should start in 2009 with completion in 2012. The telescope will be located on the El Peñón peak of Cerro Pachón, a 2682 metre high peak in northern Chile, alongside the existing Gemini_South, SOAR and Cerro_Tololo_Inter-American_Observatory telescopes.http://www.lsst.org/News/site_selection.shtml The LSST is unique among large telescopes (8m-class primary mirrors) in having a very wide field of view 3.5 degrees in diameter (9.6 square degrees). For comparison, both the Sun and Moon, as seen from the Earth, are 0.5 degrees across. Combined with its large aperture (and thus light-collecting ability), this will give it a spectacularly large Etendue of 318 m²degree². To achieve this very wide undistorted field of view requires three mirrors, rather than the two used by most existing large telescopes: the primary mirror will be 8.4 meters in diameter, the secondary mirror will be 3.4 metres in diameter, and the tertiary one will be 5.0 metres in diameter. The primary mirror will be built by the Mirror Lab at the Steward_Observatory in Arizona http://www.as.arizona.edu:8080/Astro/1105487560/index_html A 3.2 billion-pixel Prime_focus digital camera will take a 15-second exposure every 20 seconds.http://www.lssto.org/About/lsst_baseline.shtml Image:LSST_CAMERA_scale_250x188.jpg Allowing for maintenance, bad weather, etc., the camera is expected to take over 200,000 pictures (1.28 petabytes uncompressed) per year, far more can be reviewed by humans. Managing and effectively Data_mining the enormous output of the telescope is expected to be the most technically difficult part of the project. Particular scientific goals of the LSST include: * Measuring Weak_gravitational_lensing in the deep sky to detect Dark_energy and Dark_matter. * Mapping small objects in the solar system, particularly Near-Earth_asteroids and Kuiper_belt objects. * Detecting transient optical events such as Novae and Supernovae. * Mapping the Milky_way. It is also hoped that the vast volume of data produced will lead to additional Serendipitous discoveries. '''Synoptic''' is an adjective from the same root as the noun "synopsis", and means "relating to data obtained nearly simultaneously over a large area." ==See also== * Pan-STARRS, a rival project with similar goals * List_of_largest_optical_reflecting_telescopes ==External links== *Official home page *Science & Technology brief *YAHOO announcement *New Scientist SPACE Article *LSST Tutorials for Experimental Particle Physicists is a detailed explanation of LSST's design (as of February_2006) and weak lensing science goals that does not assume a lot of astronomy background. *The New Digital Sky is a video of a July_25, 2006 presentation at Google about the LSST, particularly the data management issues. Category:Telescopes Category:Astronomical_observatories_in_Chile {{astronomy-stub}} Fr:Large_Synoptic_Survey_Telescope