The largest camera in the world will observe space

We are almost there…

©Jacqueline Ramseyer Orrell/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

It won’t be long before the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) in Chile can shoot 20 terabytes of raw data per night of the southern sky with its 3.2-gigapixel (3,200-megapixel) camera.

Missing filters

©foto ufficio stampa

The camera currently has all of its major parts put together, but six lens filters that will allow it to pass only light with particular wavelengths, between 320 and 1050 nm, are still lacking, according to “IEEE Spectrum.”

Dimensions

©Jacqueline Ramseyer Orrell/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

It is 3.73 meters long, 1.65 meters tall, and 2,800 kilograms heavy. Its sensor has 189 16.9 megapixel CCDs, which when combined produce a resolution of nearly 3,200 megapixels.

Destined for the telescope in Chile

The Vera C. Observatory is the LSST camera’s final resting place. Rubin in Chile’s north. The LSST camera will fly into Chile in May 2023 on a Boeing 747, but it won’t start capturing pictures until 2024.

He will observe the space

The camera will be able to take pictures each night for a total of 20 terabytes of raw data. Over the course of the planned 10-year operation, this will amount to about 60 petabytes in total, which can be used to create a catalog of 37 billion celestial bodies in the southern sky that is 20 petabytes in size.