This 3.2 Gigapixel Camera Will Record a Timelapse of the Universe

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory will use the world's largest digital camera to capture the far reaches of the universe, and in the process, hope to tackle some of the most fundamental questions in science today.
»Subscribe to Seeker! http://bit.ly/subscribeseeker
»Watch more Focal Point | https://bit.ly/2s0cf7w
» Visit our shop at http://shop.seeker.com

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory is the first national observatory to have been named for a woman and it currently houses the world’s largest optical lens ever built.

Measuring 1.55 meters in diameter, this piece of glass is one of three lenses that will be the eyes for a new astronomical camera. The optical lens weighs more than 3 tons and has an enormous field of view, where light from billions of galaxies will come into focus. By recording images of the entire sky every few days, this camera will produce a time-lapse movie of the universe.

In this Focal Point, we hear from Cosmologist Daniel Gruen, PhD, from the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, and Stuart Marshall, a camera operator physicist, to learn more about what this massive digital camera has to offer. Watch to find out!

#camera #observatory #universe #space #galaxy #science #seeker #focalpoint

Additional credit:
Miguel Aragon-Calvo, UNAM, Mark SubbaRao, Adler Planetarium, Alex Szalay, JHU

Read More:
Rubin Observatory’s Legacy Survey of Space and Time
https://lsst.slac.stanford.edu/#
“During the first 10 years of operations, Rubin Observatory will conduct the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) of the entire southern sky and provide the widest, fastest and deepest views of the night sky ever observed.”

Engineering the world’s largest digital camera
https://www.symmetrymagazine.org/article/engineering-the-worlds-largest-digital-camera
“The camera is a combination of many extremes. Its largest lens is one of the biggest ever created for astronomy and astrophysics. The ceramic grid that will hold its imaging sensors is so flat that no feature larger than a human red blood cell sticks up from its surface. The electronics that control the sensors are customized to fit in a very tight space and use as little power as possible.”

First national US observatory to be named after a woman!
https://www.lsst.org/news/vro-press-release
“It was announced today that the upcoming Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), which will conduct a vast astronomical survey for unprecedented discovery of the deep and dynamic Universe, will now be named the NSF (National Science Foundation) Vera C. Rubin Observatory (Rubin Observatory).”

Four New Giant Telescopes Are About to Rock Astronomy
https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/four-new-giant-telescopes-are-about-to-rock-astronomy
“Now, astronomers stand on the threshold of a new telescope revolution. During the next several years, researchers expect three instruments that are more than twice the size of their closest competitors to start scanning the skies. And a fourth telescope, one “only” 8 meters in diameter, will use advanced technology to image the entire night sky every three days. This quartet of new instruments promises to deliver stunning science on the hot-button issues.”

____________________

Our scientific understanding of the universe is advancing at an unprecedented rate. Join Focal Point as we meet the people building tomorrow’s world. Witness the astonishing discoveries that will propel humanity forward and zero-in on the places where science-fiction becomes science-reality.

Seeker empowers the curious to understand the science shaping our world. We tell award-winning stories about the natural forces and groundbreaking innovations that impact our lives, our planet, and our universe.

Visit the Seeker website https://www.seeker.com

Seeker on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SeekerMedia/

Focal Point on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/FocalPointShow/

Seeker on Twitter http://twitter.com/seeker