The University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University have joined a consortium of 23 universities involved in developing the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, or LSST.

Once completed in 2014, the LSST will be the world's largest survey telescope and it will be equipped with the world's largest digital camera.

It will scan the universe, take a census of heavenly bodies in the Milky Way galaxy, document more than 100 million black holes throughout the universe and help astronomers better understand dark matter and dark energy.

A key role of LSST will be to document asteroids, particularly those that could pose a danger to Earth.

"The LSST is a flagship project of 21st-century cosmology," said Fred Gilman, acting dean of the Mellon College of Science. He said Carnegie Mellon, which joined the consortium Jan. 2, will begin working immediately on the project.

Pitt joined the consortium in July.

The Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center also will participate in the project.

The telescope, which could cost up to $200 million, will be erected atop a mountain in Cerro Pachon, Chile. The project got under way in 2000.

Several members of Pitt's department of physics and astronomy in the School of Arts and Sciences are working on the preliminary logistics of surveying a swath of the universe. Assistant professor Jeffrey Newman, an expert on large survey astronomy, is developing new measurement techniques to determine how far back in the universe's history the telescope is looking.

Pitt astronomy associate professor Arthur Kosowsky and assistant professor Andrew Zentner will help conduct theoretical work to interpret data that the LSST collects. Other Pitt professors will work on managing the immense data that LSST collects.

Each night, the telescope will generate and process enough data to fill all the books in the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh branches, Dr. Kosowsky said.

Westinghouse Electric and Google's Pittsburgh office also will be involved with the project.

Niel Brandt, a Penn State University astronomer and astrophysicist, is leader of the LSST Active Galaxy/Quasar team. Penn State has been involved with the LSST project since 2005.