LSST: Cadence Design and Simulation
Abstract
A goal of the LSST project is to capture the optical sky into a database so effectively that observing the database is a satisfactory, and even superior, substitute for individual observations. Such a data set of deep, high-quality, and oft-repeated images will enable a wide variety of science. A large part of reaching this goal is designing a smart and adaptive strategy for scheduling observations, one which can effectively merge multiple requirements into a single program of observations while maximizing time on the sky and coping efficiently with changing conditions in real time. Diverse requirements include multiband imaging of 30,000 square degrees of sky, achieving a uniform depth of exposure across 20,000 square degrees in each of six filters, allowing effective search strategies for NEO's and short- and long-period variables, and providing frequent, deep exposures to characterize faint transients and moving objects. We present results from detailed simulations of LSST operations which include time-dependent descriptions of site conditions and a sophisticated model for the operations of camera, telescope, dome, and data system. We describe current progress in the LSST scheduler design and present recent simulations of prototype ten-year LSST missions which demonstrate that all of the science requirements and constraints can be accommodated successfully into a single survey.
- Publication:
-
American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2007
- Bibcode:
- 2007AAS...21113703P