World’s Largest Digital Camera Installed at Vera C. Rubin Observatory

The 3,200-megapixel LSST Camera, built over two decades, will enable a decade-long survey of the southern sky from Chile.

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile has successfully installed the LSST Camera, the largest digital camera ever built, on its Simonyi Survey Telescope.
The LSST Camera weighs over 6,500 pounds, features a 5.5-foot diameter lens, and boasts a resolution of 3,200 megapixels, capable of capturing images requiring 400 ultra-high-definition TVs to display at full size.
Developed over two decades by the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, the camera will enable the Legacy Survey of Space and Time, a 10-year project to create a time-lapse record of the southern sky.
The observatory's advanced optics, including an 8.4-meter mirror, will allow for unprecedented clarity and depth in capturing celestial phenomena such as asteroids, comets, and dark matter activity.
Data collected from the survey will provide critical insights into the evolution of the universe and help unravel mysteries surrounding dark matter and dark energy.