World’s largest digital camera starts observing the cosmos

Ever imagined seeing a golf ball on the surface of the moon in an image taken from the earth? This is now possible with the Vera C. Rubin Observatory (VRO), the world’s latest astronomy facility, located on one of the peaks of mountain Cerro Pachòn in northern Chile. Jointly funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy, this 8.4-metre telescope offers an unprecedented view of the universe.

- Smriti Mahajan is an astronomer.

The 3,200-megapixel (MP) camera installed on the VRO has 67-times more pixels than an iPhone 16 Pro camera. The large mirrors and unique design allow the telescope to capture wide-angle 3.5-degree-diameter images, equivalent to the size of seven full moons in the sky. These unique features will allow the VRO to scan the entire southern hemisphere sky every three nights, which it will do continuously for 10 years. This ultrahigh definition, wide angle survey of the sky will thus create the longest astronomical time-lapse movie of all time, allowing for many new discoveries in the solar neighbourhood and deep space alike.