On a secluded hilltop outside Palo Alto, CA, Jacek Becla leads a team of researchers at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory who are quietly building one of the world's largest databases.
Scheduled to go live in 2020, the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) will feature a 3.2-gigapixel camera capturing ultra-high-resolution images of the sky every 15 seconds, every night, for at least 10 years. Ultimately, the system will store more than 100 petabytes (about 20 million DVDs' worth) of data, but that is barely a fraction of the data that will actually pass through the camera.
No entries found
Log in to Read the Full Article
Sign In
Sign in using your ACM Web Account username and password to access premium content if you are an ACM member, Communications subscriber or Digital Library subscriber.
Need Access?
Please select one of the options below for access to premium content and features.
Create a Web Account
If you are already an ACM member, Communications subscriber, or Digital Library subscriber, please set up a web account to access premium content on this site.
Join the ACM
Become a member to take full advantage of ACM's outstanding computing information resources, networking opportunities, and other benefits.
Subscribe to Communications of the ACM Magazine
Get full access to 50+ years of CACM content and receive the print version of the magazine monthly.
Purchase the Article
Non-members can purchase this article or a copy of the magazine in which it appears.