SkyMapper and the Southern Sky Survey a resource for the southern sky

SkyMapper is amongst the first of a new generation of dedicated, widefield survey telescopes. The 1.3 m SkyMapper telescope features a 5.7 square degree field-of-view Cassegrain imager and will see first light in late 2007. The primary goal of the facility is to conduct the Southern Sky Survey a six colour, six epoch survey of the southern sky. The survey will provide photometry for objects between 8th and 23rd magnitude with global photometric accuracy of 0.03 magnitudes and astrometry to 50 mas. This will represent a valuable scientific resource for the southern sky and in addition provide a basis for photometric and astrometric calibration of imaging data.