Dear Hivians,
it´s development took 2 decades, now it is complete. The LSST-camera (Legacy Survey of Space and Time) has an optics with a diameter of 1,6m and will be part of the newly built Vera C. Rubin observatory in Chile.
source
This 3200(!) megapixel camera is the largest ever built. It has a weight of 2800kg and consists of 200 individual sensors with 16 megapixel each. You would need 1200 iPhone screens to view a single pic at full size! It is so sensitive, it can spot a candle 1000s of kms away and a golfball from 24km distance. It will operate at a temperature of about -100°C to minimize noise.
Once shipped from Stanford (it was built at SLAC in California) to Chile and mounted inside the telescope, for the next 10 years it will make every 30 seconds a picture of the Southern Hemisphere (with a shutter speed of 15s) and thus generate 15 terabyte of data - each night!
But why such an effort?
Because the way how the universe is structured, has become less and less clear over time. Currently scientists believe that only 5% of the universe is built from normal matter, the rest is made out of "dark" matter and "dark energy" - theoretical constructs to explain the differences between the models and the actual measurements of the observed reality. In order to narrow down the gaps in our understanding, they try to map out the large-scale structures of our universe and as they change over time! Like a huge, 10 years long time-lapse video of the universe, hence the name "legacy survey of space and time".
I really hope the astronomers will find new clues from this space and time survey. I don´t like the idea that we know so little about our universe. Maybe they will even find new arguments for the simulation hypothesis, a very speculative theory that we are not real but a simulation run by mighty computers from another civilization (or even our descendants).
Sources:
https://rubinobservatory.org/news/rubins-lsst-camera-is-complete
https://futurezone.at/science/groesste-digitalkamera-aller-zeiten-aufloesung-pixel-optik-lsst-himmelsbeobachtung-zeitraffer/402843946
https://www.lsst.org/about/camera
That´s some impressive piece of modern engineering! Crazy to think that there is a device that is like a million times better than some phone cameras :D
But even with this beast, how could you use it to prove that the simulation hypothesis is real? I mean if it is, then this camera is also just a simulation :)
@tipu curate 3
Indeed a very good point. I was also wondering about it. At least some researchers claim that it is possible to find hints of irregularities of some cosmic constants where there should not be any. But of course, also these deviations or glitches could then be simulated as well 😀. Therefore some others say, the simulation hypothesis can´t in principal be proved or falsified. In any case, an interesting topic.
Exactly. I mean if us, our world and everything we know really is just a game / simulation created by some advanced civilization, we will never know and will never able to know because everything around us is a part of that simulation :) But yeah, a very interesting topic indeed. I first heard of this theory a few years ago and couldn´t stop thinking about it, especially as even some renowned scientists admit it really is possible :D
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Impressive! Lets see if it brings us any further. Obviously dark matter and energy are outside our observable reality. So its questionable if such a camera can give answers to the nature of those "materials". But its worth trying, I guess. Who knows what it will be good for...
Probably only indirect evidence. If they gain more info about the 5% observable matter, they then make conclusions about the rest. At least that´s the hope...
Impressive. I hope this will capture something or vital information about the universe.
A what?! wow, I can't believe it. I wonder where did you get or found such a bid one?
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I'm interested in knowing the end result. Will the questions about our universe finally be answered? Would it be able to capture every change? It's an exciting prospect!
Whoa, it's huge and really heavy 😮😯. Operating that will surely be not easy too 🤔
Wow! Wow! Simply wow!
This is incredible!
Wow, that is so interesting! I really hope they find something previously unknown... likely something that hadn't been part of the plan, at all. I don't know enough about optics to understand how the Earth's atmosphere will play into this... but it strikes me this could be a new way to confirm exoplanets, as well. I mean, if it can spot a candle from 1000's of kms, why not a planet?
Yes, they of course hope to learn more, not only about dark matter, but about our galaxy as well.
I was curious to see how big the sensor was. That's usually what determines how crisp the picture is from what I remember. I have an old 6MP camera with a 1.5" sensor and it beats some higher megapixel cameras in terms of image quality.
Beeindruckend und sieht auch so aus wie eine große, überdimensionierte Digitalkamera :)
Ja, wie ein normales Objektiv, nur etwas überdimensioniert. Da nützt auch kein Stativ 😄
W😱😱w just seeing this for the first time
I didn't know about it before, after reading your post, my knowledge has increased that there is such a big camera in the world and it has such a good megapixel, so the pictures will be much more beautiful.
Yes, very beautiful pics, it is just a bit bulky.
Sweet 🥰
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