Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) Information

The 8.4-meter LSST will survey the entire visible sky deeply in multiple colors every week with its three-billion pixel digital camera, probing the mysteries of Dark Matter and Dark Energy, and opening a movie-like window on objects that change or move rapidly: exploding supernovae, potentially hazardous near-Earth asteroids, and distant Kuiper Belt Objects. The effort to build the LSST is led by the LSST Corporation, a non-profit 501(c)3 corporation formed in 2003, with headquarters in Tucson, AZ. Financial support for LSST comes from the National Science Foundation with additional contributions from private foundation gifts, grants to universities, and in-kind support from Department of Energy laboratories and other LSST Member Institutions. In 2011, the LSST construction project was established as an operating center under management of the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA).