Post by Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe on Jan 10, 2007 23:28:55 GMT -6
Google developing search engine for uber-telescope
The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope Project, slated for completion by 2013, is a 3-billion pixel camera/telescope currently being built atop the Cerro Pachon mountain peak in Chile.
When completed, the 8.4-meter Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) will generate over 30 terabytes (30,000GB) of multiple color images of visible sky each night, according to LSST Corp., which oversees the project.
Google will collaborate with LSST to develop a search engine that can process, organize and analyze the voluminous amounts of data coming from the instrument's data streams in real time. The engine will create "movie-like windows" for scientists to view significant space events.
In addition to helping astronomers and scientists, Google and LSST are also working on a parallel viewing system for the general public.
The system would allow people to view things like "exploding supernovae, potentially hazardous near-Earth asteroids as small as 100 meters and distant Kuiper Belt Objects," according to LSST.
Source: news.com.com/Google+developing+search+engine+for+uber-telescope/2100-11395_3-6148222.html
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