The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) and its Impact on Variable Star Research

Abstract

The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) is conceived as an 8.4-m telescope with CCD or CMOS focal plane covering most of a field 0.6 m in diameter, the latter exceeding the size of the largest photographic plates ever used in astronomy. The telescope design is driven by the desire to cover much of the accessible sky to faint magnitudes on a timescale of \(\sim\) one night, with major science drivers the search for near Earth-orbit asteroids down to a diameter of 300 m, discovering supernovae to z \(\sim 2\), and mass tomography of the Universe via gravitational weak lensing. Here the suitability of this facility for more ``traditional'' variable star research is investigated.