Over 100 Brazilians take part in supertelescope project
More than 100 Brazilian researchers are participating in the international Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) project, aimed at building a supertelescope in Cerro-Pachón, Chile. Set to begin operations in 2026, this telescope will create the largest and most comprehensive map of the universe, cataloging 37 billion stars and galaxies over a ten-year period.
Brazil's involvement in the project began in 2015 through an agreement signed by LIneA, the Multi-user Inter-institutional Laboratory for e-Astronomy. LIneA was established to support Brazil's participation in astronomical surveys that generate large volumes of data.
LSST is the result of international collaboration involving 28 countries. Over 100 Brazilian participants come from 26 universities across 12 states. The construction of the telescope will enable groundbreaking research in various areas of astronomy and present significant challenges due to the need to analyze unprecedented amounts of data.
Three senior researchers from Brazil participated in the LSST's recent call, including Daniel de Oliveira, a professor at the Computing Institute of Fluminense Federal University (UFF).
Data management
Daniel de Oliveira's support will enable astronomers to extract valuable information from the data in a timely manner, facilitating queries and processing. "My task is to assist with the computational aspects of solving their astronomy problems. It's about accelerating the analysis they need to perform, so they can obtain results as quickly as possible," Oliveira told Agência Brasil.
The researcher stated that the LSST is the most powerful telescope ever built, capable of capturing information about the universe that was previously unattainable due to equipment limitations. Oliveira will develop algorithms and technologies in the areas of databases, artificial intelligence, and visualization.
According to Oliveira, the telescope is expected to capture approximately 15 terabytes (TB) of data per night, equating to 3.2 billion pixels (the smallest points that make up a digital image). "It is estimated that, after collecting the data, we will have information on areas of the universe that have never been explored before and the identification of objects that could not be detected before the LSST began operating," he said.
Idac-Brazil
Due to the vast amount of data, the LSST project is supported by three main data centers located in California, United States; France; and Scotland. In Brazil, a data center called the Independent Data Access Center (Idac-Brasil), established by LIneA, will host part of the LSST's information. Globally, only ten similar regional centers will have access to portions of the data. "We were selected and have the responsibility of providing this service, this operation for the LSST," LIneA director Luiz Nicolaci da Costa told Agência Brasil.
Idac-Brasil is currently operational, but it is undergoing significant upgrades to handle the immense volume of data. "We're acquiring new equipment, implementing support software, training staff, among other activities. However, the actual LSST operation won't commence until 2026. Observations are set to begin next year, with the first batch of data becoming available in 2026," Costa added.
The LSST, under development since 2000, signifies a transformative shift in scientific methodology, both in data acquisition and collaborative work, according to LIneA's director. "It's an incredibly innovative project. This 8-meter telescope, situated in Chile, is different from what you normally see. It features a single enormous camera and will conduct a comprehensive survey of the Southern Hemisphere sky over a decade," he stated.
Costa explained that there will not be a comparable project targeting the Northern Hemisphere because "the center of our galaxy lies in the Southern Hemisphere."
Forty moons
The telescope will operate in two modes. "In fact, each point in the sky will be observed more than a thousand times over a period of ten years. This means we will be creating a movie of the dynamic universe with the images we acquire," he said. Additionally, the images collected will be combined to generate a comprehensive image of the entire Southern Hemisphere.
Costa noted that the LSST camera, when pointed at the sky, has a field of view equivalent to 40 full moons. "For the first time in astronomy, we will have this time domain because the observations are completed in less than a minute. This means we will capture explosions, moving objects. It truly is unprecedented," he noted.
Brazilian participation could reach 175 researchers, and according to LIneA's director, it will be completely free of charge. "The only cost we'll have is the operation of a data center in Brazil. It's local funding. We won't be paying anything." He believes this presents a fantastic opportunity for Brazilian science.
