SDSS-II

Late last month the funding package for a new, three-year venture called the Sloan Digital Sky Survey II (SDSS-II) was completed, led by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation of New York City, the National Science Foundation (NSF), the U.S. Department of Energy and the member institutions. This survey will add new partners and undertake new research missions, and will run through summer 2008.

The SDSS has been carrying out a massive survey of the sky using a dedicated 2.5-m telescope at Apache Point Observatory near Sunspot, New Mexico. SDSS-II will complete observations of a huge contiguous region of the Northern skies and will study the structure and origins of the Milky Way Galaxy and the nature of dark energy.