The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) will be a wide-field telescope and facility that will add a new capability in astronomy. The LSST will provide time-lapse digital imaging of faint astronomical objects across the entire sky, with a resolution that would require over two thousand High-Definition TV screens to view each 10-second exposure. The LSST has been identified as a national scientific priority by diverse national panels, including multiple National Research Council committees. This judgment is based upon the LSST's ability to address some of the most pressing open questions in astronomy and fundamental physics, while driving advances in data-intensive science and computing. For example, the LSST will provide unprecedented 3-dimensional maps of the mass distribution in the Universe, in addition to the traditional images of luminous stars and galaxies. These mass maps can be used to better understand the nature of the newly discovered and utterly mysterious "dark energy" that is driving the accelerating expansion of the Universe. The LSST will also provide a comprehensive census of our solar system, including potentially hazardous asteroids as small as 100 meters in size. These are but two examples of the wide-ranging science that can be carried out with the LSST data set. By looking at the entire accessible sky every few nights, the LSST will provide large samples of events that are now only rarely observed and will create substantial potential for new discoveries. The LSST will produce the largest non-proprietary data set in the world, and this data set will be made accessible through the Virtual Observatory (VO). The "open data" approach, with no proprietary data or science, is a precedent-setting aspect of the LSST project.
The LSST program will be distributed among a number of organizations and coordinated under a single management plan. A consortium of three Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratories is responsible for the delivery of the camera assembly. The NSF National Center for Supercomputer Applications and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) will be responsible for tasks in data management in collaboration with other software experts on the LSST team. The National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) and the University of Arizona will take the lead for telescope design and construction.
Funding is being provided to carry out the next stage of LSST project development. A comprehensive design and operations model, with cost estimates, for both the LSST hardware and software will be provided. The scientific, technical, and managerial groundwork for the construction phase of the LSST will be laid. Particular attention will be paid to early reduction of risk in three areas: the camera's detectors, the large optical elements of the 8-m class telescope, and the project software (which will have to contend with 20 Terabytes per night, in real time).
The broader impacts of the LSST will be profound, as scientists, the public, and schoolchildren around the world will have ready access to the data. Broader impacts of the initial design and development activity include 1) the training and education of personnel at all levels, integrating state-of-the-art computational science with astrophysics; 2) using existing LSST "precursor" projects to advance the state-of-the-art in real-time database schema and public access tools; and 3) developing and refining an LSST education/outreach program via LSST precursor survey data that will pay near-term dividends in K-adult education. Finally, there may be significant technical overlap between the LSST and the needs of other imaging systems and software under development in the national security arena. Funding for this award is coming from the Division of Astronomical Sciences and the Office of Multidisciplinary Activities of the Mathematical and Physical Sciences Directorate.
