Mapping the universe at 30 Terabytes a night

Register ^ | 3rd October 2008 19:15 GMT | Matt Stephens •

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Jeff Kantor, on building and managing a 150 Petabyte database

Interview It makes for one heck of a project mission statement. Explore the nature of dark matter, chart the Solar System in exhaustive detail, discover and analyze rare objects such as neutron stars and black hole binaries, and map out the structure of the Galaxy.

The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) is, in the words of Jeff Kantor, LSST data management project manager, "a proposed ground-based 6.7 meter effective diameter (8.4 meter primary mirror), 10 square-degree-field telescope that will provide digital imaging of faint astronomical objects across the entire sky, night after night." Phew.

When it's fully operational in 2016, the LSST will: "Open a movie-like window on objects that change or move on rapid timescales: exploding supernovae, potentially hazardous near-Earth asteroids, and distant Kuiper Belt Objects.

"The superb images from the LSST will also be used to trace billions of remote galaxies and measure the distortions in their shapes produced by lumps of Dark Matter, providing multiple tests of the mysterious Dark Energy."

In its planned 10-year run, the LSST will capture, process and store more than 30 Terabytes (TB) of image data each night, yielding a 150 Petabytes (PB) database. Talking to The Reg, Kantor called this the largest non-proprietary dataset in the world.

Data management is one of the most challenging aspects of the LSST. Every pair of 6.4GB images must be processed within 60 seconds in order to provide astronomical transient alerts to the community. In order to do this, the Data Management System is composed of a number of key elements. These are:

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

fyi

[NormsRevenge]

Petabytes?

Now that is hugh.

[GitmoSailor]

I thought my new PC with 2.3 Terabyte hard-drive was big and it is only installed two weeks ago!!!!!!!.............

[NormsRevenge]

I remember when a 10 megabytes hard drive was hugh.

Yikes.. 2.3 TB! Whooo Hoo!

[martin_fierro]

I haz a petabite.

Iz ovrated.

[Little Pig]

By the time this thing comes online next decade, you’ll probably be able to get Petabyte drives in your home workstations. Not to mention that by then, there’ll be all-new computer-based imaging techniques that make this thing obsolete.

[El Sordo]

Those were the days.

I still remember saving my money all summer so I would have the $300 I needed to buy a whole megabyte of memory.

[Lady Jag]

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Ernest_at_the_Beach.

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[GitmoSailor]

My son thinks I am crazy but I like having bragging rights in my extended family.Also two 30 inch Gateway monitors just installed!!!!!!!!...... Now that you have busted my bubble I am back on the planning Board!!!!!!!...Just D@mm..........

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

two 30 inch....now I need to upgrade....