"Built at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, the LSST Camera is the largest digital camera ever built for astronomy. The camera is at the heart of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory's 10-year-long Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST), which will capture the entire southern sky every 3 nights," the official website says.

"Data from the camera will help address some of the most pressing questions in cosmology, such as the nature of dark energy and dark matter, as well as advancing the study of our solar system and the changing night sky. (Olivier Bonin/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory).

"The LSST will make use of images of the entire visible southern sky that will be taken over and over again for a decade. This vast public archive of data will dramatically advance our knowledge of the dark energy and dark matter that make up 95 percent of the universe, as well as galaxy formation and potentially hazardous asteroids."

"The largest digital camera is the Rubin Observatory LSST Camera, which is 1.65 m (5 ft 4 in) in diameter, 3.73 m (12 ft 3 in) long and weighs 2,800 kg (6,200 lbs). The camera was unveiled by its primary contractor, the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (USA) in Palo Alto, California, on 26 October 2022," the Guinness World Records says.

"The LSST camera combines a massive 3.2-billion-pixel CCD array with a set of enormous lenses (mounted in a powered carousel) and image-acquisition systems. All these components are sealed inside an air-tight, refrigerated housing. THe resolution is high enough to photograph a golf ball from 24 km away."

"The Vera C. Rubin Observatory, formerly known as the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), is an astronomical observatory under construction in Chile. Its main task will be carrying out a synoptic astronomical survey, the Legacy Survey of Space and Time. (Wikipedia)

"The word "synoptic" is derived from the Greek words σύν (syn 'together') and ὄψις (opsis 'view'), and describes observations that give a broad view of a subject at a particular time. The observatory is located on the El Peñón peak of Cerro Pachón, a 2,682-meter-high (8,799 ft) mountain in Coquimbo Region, in northern Chile, alongside the existing Gemini South and Southern Astrophysical Research Telescopes.

"The LSST Base Facility is located about 100 kilometres (62 miles) away from the observatory by road, in the city of La Serena. The observatory is named for Vera Rubin, an American astronomer who pioneered discoveries about galactic rotation rates."

"The Rubin Observatory will house the Simonyi Survey Telescope, a wide-field reflecting telescope with an 8.4-meter primary mirror that will photograph the entire available sky every few nights.

"The telescope uses a novel three-mirror design, a variant of three-mirror anastigmat, which allows a compact telescope to deliver sharp images over a very wide 3.5-degree-diameter field of view. Images will be recorded by a 3.2-gigapixel charge-coupled device imaging (CCD) camera, the largest digital camera ever constructed."  (Wikipedia)

"The groundbreaking 6,600-pound 3,200-megapixel Legacy Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) was installed this week at the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile. With the final optical component in position, the LSST team will perform final testing before capturing highly anticipated “First Look” photos," the PetaPixel says.



"This momentous accomplishment has been years in the making. Scientists made the first sketches for the LSST over 20 years ago, in 2003. In 2007, the project received key funding from Charles Simonyi, the namesake of the Simonyi Survey Telescope at the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, and Bill Gates. In 2010, the project received federal funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Department of Energy (DOE), who remain very involved in the project today."

"Formerly known as the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, the Rubin Observatory has been constructed next to the famous Gemini South telescope on the Cerro Pachón ridge in Chile’s Elqui Valley," the Forbes reports.

"The largest camera ever built for astronomy, the 3.2-gigapixel Legacy Survey of Space and Time CCD camera will capture the night sky above the southern hemisphere 1,000 times each night in six wavelengths, from ultraviolet to near-infrared, totaling 15 terabytes.

"It will do that for a decade, essentially creating a 3D astronomical movie that will alert astronomers to real-time sky events. It can take an image in about two seconds and change filters in under 90 seconds."

"The LSST Camera will take these massive images from atop a mountain in Chile. Vera C. Rubin Observatory is on Cerro Pachón, more than 8,900 feet from sea level. The observatory is jointly funded by DOE's Office of Science and the National Science Foundation. From this perch, the LSST Camera will have a tremendous view of the Southern Sky," the Department of Energy says.

The camera is key to the telescope’s success. The size and weight of a small car, it’s the largest camera ever built for astronomy. It’s a hefty 6,000 pounds. In fact, it’s in the Guinness Book of World Records!

"It’s also the highest resolution camera ever built for astronomy, at a massive 3,200 megapixels. (An average camera for home photography is about 10 to 20 megapixels.) If the scientists wanted it to, the camera could take a clear image of a golf ball about 15 miles away."

"The camera has three massive lenses, with the largest one being more than five feet tall. These lenses will open for 15 seconds to take each photo. The camera will then switch to the next image five seconds later. Taking images at this speed requires incredibly precise equipment," the Department of Energy says.

"There are also six specialized filters that scientists can switch out in front of the lenses. Instead of making the photos look retro or sparkly, these filters allow scientists to analyze different types of light. The filters can allow the camera to take data on ultraviolet light, near-infrared light, visible light, and more.

"These different types of light allow scientists to gather different types of data. For example, infrared light isn’t affected by dust, so astrophysicists can use the infrared filter if they are taking photos of objects that space dust would otherwise obscure. The machine can swap out the filters in less than two minutes."

"Once set in place atop a telescope in Chile, the 3,200-megapixel LSST Camera will help researchers better understand dark matter, dark energy and other mysteries of our universe," the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory says.

"After two decades of work, scientists and engineers at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and their collaborators are celebrating the completion of the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) Camera.

"As the heart of the DOE- and National Science Foundation-funded Vera C. Rubin Observatory, the 3,200-megapixel camera will help researchers observe our universe in unprecedented detail. Over ten years, it will generate an enormous trove of data on the southern night sky that researchers will mine for new insights into the universe."

"The world's largest digital camera made in the Bay Area has now been installed in Chile. The camera is the size of a car and could unlock new views of the universe. It's called the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) camera. The camera with 3 billion pixels and the largest ever lens built for astronomy, was made to see as much of the sky as possible," the ABC7 News San Francisco reports.



"It's all part of the Legacy Survey of Space and Time that the camera is named after. For 10 years, the camera will scan the sky repeatedly, creating an incredibly detailed time-lapse record of the universe.

"Weighing 6000 pounds, the camera was built in Menlo Park at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory - a hub of scientists, engineers and technicians."

First banknote dedicated to a Solar Eclipse: Romania's 2000 Lei banknote sets world record

Most Children Smiling In a Photo: Romanian Child Helpline sets world record (Video)

 World's Most Powerful Laser: The Extreme Light Infrastructure-Nuclear Physics (ELI-NP) in Romania

 World's First Hyperloop: Henri Coanda's Hyperloop

Longest running wet cell battery: Karpen's Pile

 Youngest passenger to fly in microgravity, world record set by Jules Nader

World's Youngest Person to Achieve Nuclear Fusion, world record set by Jackson Oswalt

World's Largest Vacuum Chamber: world record in Sandusky, Ohio

World’s Largest Space Shuttle Replica: world record in Huntsville, Alabama