Astronomers from several major research institutions have signed an agreement with the University of Hawai'i to study data from a new telescope on Haleakala that will be used to create an unprecedented three-dimensional map of the universe.

More than 30 scientists and graduate students have committed to analyzing data from the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System telescope over the next 3 1/2 years, according to a UH announcement. The researchers represent a consortium that includes Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University and institutions in Germany and the United Kingdom that will contribute approximately $10 million toward the cost of operating the Maui telescope, which was developed by UH astronomers.

Its 71-inch-diameter mirror saw "first light" in June and is undergoing tests. It should be fully operational sometime next year, according to UH officials. The Pan-STARRS will feature the world's largest digital camera, now under construction at the UH Institute for Astronomy's Manoa headquarters. The camera will be able to record 1.4 billion pixels, about 300 times as many as a typical commercial digital camera. UH officials said the telescope is expected to discover billions of new stars, galaxies and solar system objects, including potential "killer asteroids" that threaten Earth.