The world's largest digital camera for astronomy.

The SLAK National Accelerator Laboratory has announced the completion of the LSST camera and once installed on top of a telescope in Chile, the 3,200-megapixel camera will help researchers better understand dark matter, dark energy and other mysteries. of our universe.

The module has been under construction for more than two decades, but only received approval from the US Department of Energy to move forward in 2015. Technicians at the SLAK National Accelerator Laboratory managed to assemble the module's massive sensor array in early 2020, made up of 189 individual 16 megapixel sensors and the first test photos were taken in September.

SLAK engineers and partners have already completed the assembly of all components including the frame, lens and sensor; The custom CCD sensors on the 3.2 gigapixel array are now 2001 with each pixel measuring around 10 microns wide, the focal plan was sealed in a vacuum chamber by a three foot wide lens, while the front lens measures more 1.5 in diameter.

The prime focus imaging system was designed to take a 15-second exposure every 20 seconds to observe the universe in unprecedented detail, and the optical system including three spherical mirrors and large quick-change filters will be optimized to capture light at lengths of waves ranging from ultraviolet to infrared, according to the press release the images taken by the camera will contain so much detail that they could capture a golf ball about 24 km away, while covering a portion of the sky seven times larger. bigger than the full moon.

The camera as a whole is the size of a small car and weighs 3,000 kg, now completely ready it will be packed and transported to the Veras Rubin observatory in Chile where it will be mounted on top of the Simonyi survey telescope at the end of the year with the aim of Help astronomers unravel cosmic enigmas, in addition to opening you up to a better understanding of the composition of the universe.

The 10-year project is also expected to reveal secrets of our own galaxy.

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