Boffins build world's largest astronomical digital camera to map the heavens

[Rick]

Boffins build world's largest astronomical digital camera to map the heavens

Construction of the LSST Camera, destined for the Vera C Rubin Observatory in Chile has been completed at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in Silicon Valley.

Dubbed the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) Camera, it's capable of taking photos with a resolution of 3,200 megapixels. It's five years late – and it's been almost 12 since the project was cleared – but at last the instrument is fully assembled.

"Its images are so detailed that it could resolve a golf ball from around 15 miles away, while covering a swath of the sky seven times wider than the full Moon," enthused deputy director of the Vera C Rubin observatory Aaron Roodman. "These images, with billions of stars and galaxies, will help unlock the secrets of the universe."

The LSST Camera will be mounted on the Simonyi Survey Telescope, located on top of Cerro Pachón – a mountain in the Andes that rises 9,800 feet (just under 3km) above sea level. Astronomers hope to get pictures of the southern hemisphere's sky in never-before-seen-quality using the giant hardware – once it's delivered.

More: https://www.theregister.com/2024/04/04/lsst_camera_chile/

[Carole]

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