Astronomers have unveiled the world’s largest digital camera that will help study billions of galaxies.
Standing at 1.65 metres tall, the camera was recently unveiled at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in California.
Seven years in the making, the camera weighs three tons, is roughly the size of a small car and features a 3,200-megapixel sensor – powerful enough to spot a golf ball 15 miles away.
The camera is due to complete its final modifications before the end of this year. It will then be installed at the Rubin Observatory in Chile, at the summit of Cerro Pachón, ready to be launched at the end of 2024.
The scientists and astronomers behind it are hoping it will provide new information about some of the universe’s biggest mysteries including our understanding of dark energy and dark matter. Dark energy is the force believed to be accelerating the rate at which the universe is expanding, but it largely remains a mystery to experts in the field. Dark matter, meanwhile, is the material thought to make up about 85 per cent of the material in our universe.
The camera will also help astronomers see parts of the universe as yet undiscovered by science. Theoretically, it should be able to capture billions of galaxies with its 189 sensors over the course of the next 10 years. The camera is also enabled to record the time evolution of these sources, creating potentially the first ever motion picture of our universe.
