- The world’s largest digital camera begins recording the changing universe every night
- Chile’s giant observatory already discovers thousands of hidden asteroids during first tests
- New sky survey captures new cosmic images every forty seconds during the night
A camera about the size of a small car has launched the most ambitious astronomical study ever attempted from Earth.
The Vera C. Rubin Observatory, located atop Cerro Pachón in northern Chile, officially began its Legacy Survey of Space and Time.
Every 40 seconds throughout the night, the 6,600-pound instrument captures a new image using its 3,200-megapixel sensor, the largest digital camera ever built.
A decade-long cosmic recording begins
Over the next decade, the camera will return to each patch of the sky approximately 800 times, creating a living record of celestial changes.
Željko Ivezić, director of LSST, said the launch came after extensive system optimization and careful review of technical readiness across multiple performance measures.
“Important factors influencing this decision included image quality, effective survey speed, system uptime and reliability, and calibration accuracy,” Ivezić said.
The $800 million observatory is jointly funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy’s Office of Science.
“Today we begin filming the largest cosmic movie ever made… This moment reflects decades of vision, innovation and the power of federal investment,” said Brian Stone of the US National Science Foundation.
Each night, the camera collects approximately 10TB of data and generates up to seven million alerts signaling changes in the sky.
During the first optimization studies that lasted about six weeks, Rubin has already discovered more than 11,000 never-before-seen asteroids, including 33 near-Earth objects.
Mapping dark matter and the solar system
Scientists intend to use the complete data set to build a new inventory of the solar system and the Milky Way.
The survey will also help researchers examine dark matter by studying distorted light from distant background galaxies.
Bob Blum, director of the Rubin Observatory at NSF NOIRLab, said the project is the result of more than two decades of sustained scientific and engineering effort.
“The Rubin Observatory is for everyone; LSST will change the way we do astronomy and astrophysics,” Blum said.
Phil Marshall, SLAC’s Rubin Deputy Director of Operations, noted that millions of alerts generated in recent months already demonstrate that the system works as a true discovery machine.
Once completed, the final data set will contain billions of astronomical objects and trillions of individual measurements, according to the observatory.
This data will be published periodically, marking the first time that such a comprehensive astronomical archive will be publicly accessible to both researchers and the general public.
“Rubin is bringing the universe to life, illuminating a treasure trove of discoveries: pulsating stars, supernova explosions, fossil records of galaxies, clues to the mysteries of dark energy and matter, and entirely new phenomena never seen before,” the observatory team said.
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