Simulating the LSST Survey
The LSST Project has developed an operations simulator to investigate how best to observe the sky to achieve its multiple science goals.
The simulator has a sophisticated model of the telescope and dome to properly constrain potential observing cadences. This model has also proven useful for investigating various engineering issues ranging from sizing of slew motors, to design of cryogen lines to the camera.
The simulator is capable of balancing cadence goals from multiple science programs, and attempts to minimize time spent slewing as it carries out these goals. Ten years of LSST operations can be simulated using realistic seeing distributions, historical weather data, scheduled engineering downtime and current telescope and camera parameters.
These simulations demonstrate the capability of the LSST to deliver a 27,000 square degree survey probing the time domain and with 20,000 square degrees for a wide-fast-deep survey, while effectively surveying for NEOs over the same area.
Plans for future development of the simulator include better global minimization of slew time and eventual transition to a scheduler for the real LSST.
Aitoff projection of coverage on the sky representative of a simulated survey.
Source: American Astronomical Society 213th Meeting, Poster Exhibit, "LSST: Cadence Design and Simulation", K.H. Cook et al., 460.04