Largest camera on Earth reveals astounding new cosmic views
"A new era of galactic archaeology is beginning!" says one researcher.
We are now seeing the very first images from the nearly completed Vera C. Rubin Observatory, and the results are truly mind-blowing.
What happens when you build the largest digital camera on Earth, capable of capturing 3.2 gigapixel images, and aim it at the depths of space from a remote Chilean mountaintop? You get results like this:
A small section of the Virgo cluster of galaxies, as imaged by the Vera C. Rubin Observatory. Right of centre is an immense elliptical galaxy known as NGC 4261, with several other galaxies of the cluster in the background along with many thousands of Milky Way stars. This image is just a tiny portion of the Rubin Observatory's total view of the cluster. (RubinObs/NOIRLab/SLAC/NSF/DOE/AURA)
And this:
Another small section of the Rubin Observatory's view of the Virgo cluster. Visible are two prominent spiral galaxies (lower right), three merging galaxies (upper right), several groups of distant galaxies, many stars in the Milky Way galaxy and more. (RubinObs/NOIRLab/SLAC/NSF/DOE/AURA)
And also this:
678 separate images taken by the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in just over seven hours of observing time have been combined into this view of the Trifid and Lagoon Nebulas. Combining many images in this way clearly reveals otherwise faint or invisible details, such as the clouds of gas and dust that comprise the Trifid nebula (top right) and the Lagoon nebula, which are several thousand light-years away from Earth. (RubinObs/NOIRLab/SLAC/NSF/DOE/AURA)
What's so special about this?
We've seen images similar to this before from other telescopes. Astrophotographers spend nights focused on these targets, coaxing out the tiniest amounts of light with their cameras, and then combine all of their images into amazing views of the cosmos.
What's remarkable about these particular images is that the Rubin Observatory's camera only needed just over 10 hours of observation to produce them. Plus, these are simply test images. The observatory isn't scheduled to start its primary mission until later this year!
A view of the Rubin Observatory, located in Chile, under the glittering band of the Milky Way. (RubinObs/NOIRLab/SLAC/NSF/DOE/AURA/H. Stockebrand)
Named after Dr. Vera C. Rubin, the astronomer who discovered conclusive evidence for the existence of dark matter, this observatory is located atop Cerro Pachón, over 500 km north of Santiago, Chile. There, the thin, dry air provides one of the best locations in the world for observing the universe.
The Rubin Observatory takes advantage of these conditions by aiming the largest digital camera on Earth at the night sky. Each image captured by the LSST, or Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, covers an area of the sky as big as 45 full Moons.
With a field of view that large, it only takes this camera three to four nights to capture the entire southern hemisphere sky. At that point it can start over, looking for anything new or any changes that have occurred. This ability will make the Rubin Observatory nearly unmatched in discovering supernovae, pulsating stars, and objects moving through out own solar system, such as comets and asteroids.
DON'T MISS: Watch bright meteors flash across the Milky Way this summer
Newest asteroid hunter
In the short time taken to capture these test images, Rubin scanned a very small sector of our solar system in the process.
Over the course of seven nights, the telescope detected nearly 4,000 asteroids in that narrow slice of space. Remarkably, 2,104 of those were previously unknown objects, including 7 near-Earth asteroids, 11 Jupiter Trojans, and 9 trans-Neptunian objects.
Once Rubin starts its primary mission, within the first year of operation, it is projected to discover more previously undetected asteroids than we've seen from every other telescope so far. These new discoveries could number into the millions over the next 10 years, which may include up to 100,000 near-Earth objects.
Not only would this give us a more complete estimate of the number and variety of asteroids in our solar system, but it could also find any remaining asteroids that could pose a significant threat to Earth.
Detecting distant objects moving out beyond the orbit of Neptune — trans-Neptunian objects and Kuiper Belt Objects — could also reveal the full population of the outer solar system. Rubin may even discover if there truly is another planet far out in the distant reaches beyond Pluto.
Stay tuned for more from this amazing new cosmos explorer in the months and years to come.