The World’s Largest Camera Is About to Change Astronomy Forever
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The World’s Largest Camera Is About to Change Astronomy Forever
The LSST Camera is the centerpiece of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory. At 1.57 meters across, its lens is officially the largest ever made, earning a Guinness World Record. The camera will photograph the southern sky, sweeping across 3.5 degrees of sky at a time — about seven times the width of a full moon. The goal is to scan the sky repeatedly, compiling a dynamic map of the cosmos. It will catalog more than 20 billion galaxies, trace near-Earth asteroids and help answer some of the deepest questions in physics. The first images from this 3,200-megapixel optical juggernaut will be revealed to the public on June 23, 2015, at the Rubin observatory in Chile. The images will contain enough pixels to fill 400 4K television screens with motion pictures, and will show the structure and forces that govern the dark matter and dark energy — two invisible forces — of the universe. The project is funded by the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy, with federal funding following in 2010.
On a remote Chilean mountaintop, inside a domed observatory named after astronomer Vera Rubin, a camera unlike any the world has ever seen is about to open its eye to the universe. It’s not just large — it’s historic. Starting June 23, the first images from this 3,200-megapixel optical juggernaut will be revealed to the public. Each image, capable of capturing a golf ball from 15 miles away, signals the dawn of a new era.
“This will mark the beginning of a new era in astronomy and astrophysics,” the Rubin team announced ahead of the unveiling.
A Giant Eye on the Sky
The NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory team installing the LSST Camera on the Simonyi Survey Telescope in March 2025. | Credit: RubinObs/NOIRLab/SLAC/NSF/DOE/AURA/B. Quint
The LSST Camera — short for Legacy Survey of Space and Time — is the centerpiece of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory. At 1.57 meters across, its lens is officially the largest ever made, earning a Guinness World Record. Behind it lies a mosaic of 189 ultra-sensitive CCD sensors, cooled to -100°C to reduce electronic noise. Together, they will produce crystal-clear images of the cosmos, night after night.
Once operational, the camera will photograph the southern sky, sweeping across 3.5 degrees of sky at a time — about seven times the width of a full moon. Each exposure will last 15 seconds. Then, with a deep mechanical sweep of its shutter, the telescope will move on to the next patch.
This will repeat 1,000 times a night, every night, for the next decade.
“We will achieve a level of clarity and depth never seen before in images covering the entire southern hemisphere sky,” said Aaron Roodman, Deputy Director of Rubin Construction at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.
Credit: RubinObs/NOIRLab/SLAC/NSF/DOE/AURA/B. Quint
Two Decades in the Making
The story of the LSST Camera stretches back over 20 years. In 2003, researchers began sketching out plans for a next-generation sky survey. By 2007, key funding arrived from philanthropists including Charles Simonyi and Bill Gates. Federal funding followed in 2010 from the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy.
“The installation of the LSST Camera on the telescope is a triumph of science and engineering,” said Harriet Kung, Acting Director of the Department of Energy’s Office of Science.
The camera’s detectors, the silver and blue squares, are seen through its uncapped 1.5-meter-wide lens. Credit: Jacqueline Ramseyer Orrell/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
From start to finish, the effort spanned continents and disciplines. Engineers built the camera at SLAC in California, where the final image sensor assembly alone weighed over 6,000 pounds. The camera traveled thousands of miles before reaching its final home in Chile.
“Mounting the LSST Camera onto the Simonyi Telescope was an effort requiring intense planning, teamwork across the entire observatory and millimeter-precision execution,” said Freddy Muñoz, Mechanical Group Lead at Rubin.
Even now, with the camera installed, engineers are still fine-tuning systems. One unexpected hurdle involved swapping out the cooling liquid for the camera’s electronics. The new system demanded a complete reworking of the plumbing.
“It has been a treat to watch the biggest camera the world has ever seen being built by such a talented group of people with such a wide range of backgrounds,” said Travis Lange, Project Manager of the LSST Camera. “It’s a wonderful example of what teams of scientists and engineers can accomplish when they are called upon to do what has never been done before.”
What Will the Camera See?
Every image from the LSST Camera will contain over 3 billion pixels — enough to fill 400 4K television screens with the biggest show there is. The goal is to capture the universe in motion.
The telescope will scan the sky repeatedly, compiling a dynamic map of the cosmos. It will catalog more than 20 billion galaxies. It will trace near-Earth asteroids and observe exploding stars. And it may help answer some of the deepest questions in physics.
In particular, scientists hope the observatory will shed light on dark matter and dark energy — two invisible forces that govern the structure and fate of the universe.
The LSST Camera doesn’t work alone. It is paired with a complex system of mirrors, including an 8.4-meter primary mirror and a 3.5-meter secondary mirror. Together, they gather and direct light through the camera’s lens and onto the frigid CCD detectors.
Once captured, data will be made publicly available. Scientists around the world are preparing to comb through it — millions of images, petabytes of information, spanning years.
A Worldwide First Look
Twilight photo of Rubin Observatory taken in April 2021. Credit: Rubin Obs./NSF/AURA
The Rubin Observatory will host a live “First Look” event on June 23 at 11 a.m. EDT (4 p.m. BST), streaming on its official YouTube channel and website. Hundreds of public watch parties are also planned around the world.
“It’s a testament to the technical prowess and dedication of the entire NSF-DOE Rubin Observatory team — and the scientific community that has been striving to get to this point for over two decades,” said NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan.
Large sky surveys have changed astronomy before. The Sloan Digital Sky Survey in the early 2000s revolutionized our understanding of galaxies. The Hubble Space Telescope has given us stunning glimpses into the distant universe.
But no telescope has ever attempted something this vast, this fast, and this precise.
Portrait of Vera Rubin. Credit: The Royal Astronomical Society.
The Vera C. Rubin Observatory is named for the astronomer who first provided strong evidence for dark matter — work that was initially dismissed, then celebrated. The LSST Camera will carry her legacy forward, opening new windows into the nature of space and time.
As light from distant galaxies begins to fall onto the world’s biggest camera, a long-planned vision becomes reality.
And the universe, once again, becomes a little more visible.