Scientific Goals
Particular scientific goals of the LSST include:
- Measuring weak gravitational lensing in the deep sky to detect signatures of 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."
Some of the data from the LSST (up to 30 Terabytes per night) will be made available by Google as an up-to-date interactive night-sky map.
Read more about this topic: Large Synoptic Survey Telescope
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