  A large wide-field telescope and camera with optical throughput over 200 m^2
deg^2 -- a factor of 50 beyond what we currently have -- would enable the
detection of faint moving or bursting optical objects: from Earth threatening
asteroids to energetic events at the edge of the optical universe. An optimized
design for LSST is a 8.4 m telescope with a 3 degree field of view and an
optical throughput of 260 m^2 deg^2. With its large throughput and dedicated
all-sky monitoring mode, the LSST will reach 24th magnitude in a single 10
second exposure, opening unexplored regions of astronomical parameter space.
The heart of the 2.3 Gpixel camera will be an array of imager modules with 10
micron pixels. Once each month LSST will survey up to 14,000 deg^2 of the sky
with many ~10 second exposures. Over time LSST will survey 30,000 deg^2 deeply
in multiple bandpasses, enabling innovative investigations ranging from
galactic structure to cosmology. This is a shift in paradigm for optical
astronomy: from "survey follow-up" to "survey direct science." The resulting
real-time data products and fifteen petabyte time-tagged imaging database and
photometric catalog will provide a unique resource. A collaboration of ~80
engineers and scientists is gearing up to confront this exciting challenge.
