World's largest sky survey begins 10-year cosmic time-lapse from Southern Hemisphere

The Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute announced Thursday that the LSST (Legacy Survey of Space and Time), the world's largest southern-sky survey project, has officially begun its 10-year observational campaign.

The LSST uses the Simonyi Survey Telescope — an 8.4-meter dedicated survey telescope in Chile — to observe the entire southern night sky. Over 10 years, the telescope will sweep the full southern sky once every few days, recording how the universe changes over time in an ultra-high-resolution cosmic time-lapse described as a panoramic film of the cosmos.

The system generates a new observational image roughly every 40 seconds, capturing real-time changes in the brightness and position of celestial objects. The platform brings together more than two decades of cutting-edge development by the Rubin Observatory, including an innovative optical system, the world's largest digital camera — certified by Guinness World Records — and technology capable of rapidly processing massive volumes of observational data.

Astronomers expect the survey to yield critical observational data on the origins of the universe — from highly variable objects such as pulsating variable stars and supernovae to early galaxies, dark matter and dark energy. The telescope's exceptional light-gathering power and spatial resolution will also enable the discovery of low-mass solar system bodies, with time-series observations allowing scientists to calculate their orbital paths. During a trial observation period this past spring alone, the Rubin Observatory discovered 11,000 new solar system asteroids.

KASI has joined the Rubin Observatory's international collaborative research project and secured data access rights to LSST observations. The institute is carrying out work that includes providing specialized observational personnel, conducting follow-up observations using the Korea Microlensing Telescope Network and operating a regional hub data center.

"The launch of LSST's full survey operations has laid the groundwork for Korean researchers to access world-class time-series astronomical data," said Shin Yun-kyung, a senior researcher at KASI. "We will support researchers in making stable use of the data."