The World’s Largest Digital Camera for Astronomy Completes Construction for Vera Rubin Observatory

The world’s largest digital camera for astronomy, boasting an impressive 3,200 megapixels, has been completed for the upcoming Vera Rubin Observatory in Chile. Weighing approximately 3 metric tons and featuring a massive 5-foot front lens, the camera is capable of capturing highly detailed images of vast sections of the sky. Developed at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, it will be utilized for the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST), a decade-long project aimed at imaging the southern sky and detecting transient celestial objects such as supernovae.

With its wide field of view and exceptional resolving power, the camera is poised to unlock mysteries of the universe, including dark matter and the movements of distant galaxies. Scheduled to commence its survey in 2025, the Rubin Observatory, equipped with this groundbreaking camera, is expected to revolutionize our understanding of fundamental physics and cosmology.