What is the SDSS?

Project Goals

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) is described in the "Blue Book", which is a proposal submitted to NSF. Some details of the project have changed since this proposal, but it is still essentially correct. An updated version of this proposal is being prepared during the Fall of 1993. So far, there are two review articles:

The document "Principles of Operation" (POO) defines the project as follows:

"The goal of the project is to build and operate a dedicated telescope suitable for wide-angle surveys of the sky which will address critical issues in extragalactic astronomy, especially in the field of large-scale structure." (POO IA)

The priorites are defined in the POO as follows:

Core Projects

Prioritization of resources -- financial, human, and telescope availability -- is indicated by the ordering (1), (2), (3) above. The jointly raised funds will be dedicated to these projects. Completion of project (3) may require additional time and funding.