The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope: Status Update and Prospects for Science

The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) is a large-aperture, wide-field ground-based telescope designed to provide a time-domain imaging survey of the entire southern hemisphere of sky in six optical colors (ugrizy).  Over ten years, LSST will obtain ~ 1,000 exposures of every part of the southern sky, enabling a wide-variety of distinct scientific investigations, ranging from studies of small moving bodies in the solar system, to constraints on the structure and evolution of the Universe as a whole.

The development of LSST is a collaboration between the US National Science Foundation, which is supporting the development of the telescope and data system, and the US Department of Energy, which is supporting the development of the 3.2 gigapixel camera, the largest digital camera ever fabricated for astronomy.  Approved in 2014, LSST is now well into construction, and is on track to beginning operations in 2022.  I will review the design and technical status of the Project, and provide an overview of some of the exciting science highlights that we expect to come from this facility.