Site in Northern Chile Selected for Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (Forwarded)

LSST Corporation
Tucson, Arizona

Science Contact Information:

J. Anthony Tyson, LSST Director
530-752-3830

Donald Sweeney, LSST Project Manager
520-661-9247

Media Contact Information:
Suzanne Jacoby, LSST Corporation
520-881-2626

May 17, 2006

RELEASE LSSTC-04

Site in Northern Chile Selected for Large Synoptic Survey Telescope

Cerro Pach, an 8,800-foot (2,682-meter) mountain peak in northern Chile, has
been selected as the site for the proposed Large Synoptic Survey Telescope
(LSST).

Scheduled to see "first light" in 2012, the 8.4-meter LSST will be able to
survey the entire visible sky every three nights 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 on rapid
timescales: exploding supernovae, potentially hazardous near-Earth asteroids
as small as 100 meters, and distant Kuiper Belt Objects.

The decision to place the LSST on Cerro Pach follows a two-year campaign of
in-depth testing and analysis of the atmospheric conditions and quality of
astronomical "seeing" at four sites in Chile, Mexico, and the Canary
Islands. The eleven members of the Site Selection Committee, chaired by Marc
Sarazin from the European Southern Observatory, reviewed detailed proposals
from two final sites, San Pedro Mtir in Baja California, Mexico, and Cerro
Pach, regarding their suitability for the project. The final selection of
Cerro Pach was made by the LSST Corporation Board of Directors based on a
recommendation from the Site Selection Committee.

Important factors when considering a site for the LSST include the number of
clear nights per year, seasonal weather patterns, and the quality of images
as seen through the local atmosphere. The chosen site also needed to have an
existing observatory infrastructure and access to fiber optic links, to
accommodate the anticipated 30 terabytes of data LSST will produce each
night.

Universidad de Chile Director Leonardo Bronfman said: "Chilean astronomers
are enthusiastic about having the LSST sited in Chile and participating in
its development and operation. We have unparalleled access to a wide suite
of facilities in Chile, and are eager to utilize these resources to
complement the strengths of LSST."

"The LSST will be the World's most powerful survey telescope and demands a
superb site. We finally had a difficult decision between two wonderful sites
at Cerro Pach in Chile and San Pedro Mtir in Mexico. It's too bad we can't
build two telescopes -- one in each hemisphere." said Donald Sweeney, LSST
Project Manager. "The final decision was influenced by the existing
infrastructure at Cerro Pach and the array of synergistic facilities in the
south." Cerro Pach is already home to the Gemini South 8-meter telescope and
the SOAR 4.1-meter telescope. LSST will be located on a peak on Cerro Pach
named El Pen.

"Siting LSST in Chile leverages the significant multi-wavelength astronomy
investments already there," said University of California, Davis, Professor
and LSST Director J. Anthony Tyson. "LSST will change the way we observe the
universe by mapping the visible sky deeply, rapidly, and continuously. LSST
will open entirely new windows on our universe, yielding discoveries in a
variety of areas of astronomy and fundamental physics."

More information about the LSST including current images, graphics, and
animation can be found at
http://www.lsst.org

In 2003, The University of Arizona, Research Corporation, the National
Optical Astronomy Observatory, and the University of Washington formed the
LSST Corporation, a non-profit 501(c)3 Arizona corporation, with
headquarters in Tucson, AZ. Membership has expanded to include Brookhaven
National Laboratory, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Johns
Hopkins University, Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology,
Stanford University, Las Cumbres Observatory Inc., Lawrence Livermore
National Laboratory, Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, The Pennsylvania
State University, University of California at Davis, University of Illinois
at Urbana-Champaign, and University of Pennsylvania.

The LSST research and development effort is funded in part by the National
Science Foundation under Scientific Program Order No. 9 (AST-0551161)
through Cooperative Agreement AST-0132798. Additional funding comes from
private donations, in-kind support at Department of Energy laboratories and
other LSSTC Institutional Members.

Additional images for this LSST Press Release can be found at:
http://www.lsst.org/News/LSSTC_04.shtml