LSST Camera stands as the largest digital camera ever built for astronomy and will serve as the centerpiece of the Vera Rubin Observatory poised to begin its exploration of the southern skies.
source.image: Global Update
Scientists and engineers at SLAC have officially completed the LSST camera, the largest digital camera ever built, for Rubin’s pioneering 10-year survey.
source.image: Global Update
The 3,200-megapixel LSST camera is the size of a compact car and weighs in at 3 metric tons, which is about half the weight of a male African bush elephant.
source.image: Global Update
The camera will use its 5.1-foot-wide optical lens to take a 15-second exposure of the sky every 20 seconds, automatically changing filters to view light in every wavelength from near-ultraviolet to the near-infrared.
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The huge camera can spot a small object from around 24km away and is planned to be installed in the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in the secluded mountains of Chile to continuously monitor the night sky for the next decade. The camera has already been recognized by the Guinness World Records as the largest lens ever constructed, holding roughly the size of a small car.
This colossal optical device will make its journey to Chile by a custom-equipped 747 cargo jet that will fly it directly to its destination. To get to 3.2 gigapixels, the LSST Camera is equipped with three lenses – the largest of which is 5.1 feet in diameter – and 189 charge-coupled device (CCD) sensors divided into 21 groups and organized into grids.
