Vera Rubin: First pictures taken by world's largest digital camera released

The first images captured by the world's most powerful telescope have been released.The photos were taken by the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) camera located at an observatory in the south American country of Chile.They show the night sky in extraordinary detail, capturing clouds of gas and dust that are several thousand light years away. Scientists are due to reveal more pictures and videos taken by the camera this week.
What's the latest?
Scientists say the images reveal breathtaking views of star-forming regions as well as distant galaxies.One of the debut images is made up of 678 exposures taken over just seven hours.It shows the Trifid Nebula and the Lagoon Nebula - both located several thousand light-years from Earth, glowing in bright pinks against orange-red backdrops.The image reveals these nebulae within our Milky Way in great detail, with previously faint or invisible features now clearly visible.Another image shows a view of the Virgo Cluster of galaxies, which is about 100 billion times the size of the Milky Way.It shows lots of bright stars in the foreground, as well as many galaxies in the distance.Scientists aim to photograph the night sky every three days for ten years to show how stars and galaxies move and change over time.
What is the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) camera?
According to the Guinness Book of Records, the LSST is not only the largest digital camera but also the one with the highest resolution, which means it can take really detailed photos.Some top-of-the-range phones have cameras with a resolution of up to 50 megapixels, whereas the LSST has a resolution of 3,200 megapixels.But you definitely can't carry this camera around with you. It's about the same size as a small car and weighs a massive 2,800kg.Instead, it is kept at the Vera C Rubin Observatory in Chile, attached to a powerful telescope.The mountaintop location provides dark skies and dry air, which are ideal conditions for observing the cosmos.The images it will capture are so large that it would take 400 ultra-high-definition televisions to display one of them at full size.The camera aims to take 1,000 images a night over the next 10 years and the project's mission is to catalogue 20 billion galaxies.The goal is to capture an ultra-wide and ultra-high-definition time-lapse record of our universe.Experts say the observatory will transform our understanding of the universe.Images captured will help scientists answer questions about dark matter, the structure of the Milky Way and the formation of our Solar System.They also think that if a ninth planet exists in our solar system, the telescope would find it in its first year.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

The Independent

2 hours ago

• The Independent

The real-life danger of frequent nightmares revealed in new study

New research indicates that adults who experience weekly nightmares are over three times more likely to die before the age of 70. The study identified frequent nightmares as a stronger predictor of premature death compared to lifestyle factors such as smoking, obesity, and poor diet. Scientists suggest that nightmares contribute to accelerated cellular ageing by disrupting sleep quality and duration, and by elevating stress hormones like cortisol. Dr Abidemi Otaiku, who led the research, emphasised that nightmares should be considered a serious public health concern due to their link with faster biological ageing and earlier mortality. The good news is that nightmares can be prevented and treated through measures like stress management, good sleep hygiene, and addressing anxiety or depression. Why nightmares could make you age faster and die sooner

BreakingNews.ie

2 hours ago

• BreakingNews.ie

Largest digital camera ever built reveals its first shots of the universe

The largest digital camera ever built released its first shots of the universe on Monday — including colourful nebulas, stars and galaxies. The Vera C Rubin Observatory, located on a mountaintop in Chile, was built to take a deeper look at the night sky, covering hidden corners. Advertisement Funded by the US National Science Foundation and US Department of Energy, it will survey the southern sky for the next 10 years. An image provided by the NSF-DOE Vera C Rubin Observatory (NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory via AP) The observatory's first look features the vibrant Trifid and Lagoon nebulas located thousands of light-years from Earth. A light-year is nearly six trillion miles. A gaggle of galaxies known as the Virgo Cluster were also captured, including two bright blue spirals. The observatory hopes to image 20 billion galaxies and discover new asteroids and other celestial objects. Advertisement The effort is named after astronomer Vera Rubin, who offered the first tantalising evidence that a mysterious force called dark matter might be lurking in the universe. Researchers hope the observatory's discerning camera may yield clues about this elusive entity along with another called dark energy.

The Independent

2 hours ago

• The Independent

The largest digital camera ever built has released its first glamour shots of the universe

The largest digital camera ever built released its first glamour shots of the universe Monday — including colorful nebulas, stars and galaxies. The Vera C. Rubin Observatory, located on a mountaintop in Chile, was built to take a deeper look at the night sky, covering hidden corners. Funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation and U.S. Department of Energy, it will survey the southern sky for the next 10 years. The observatory's first look features the vibrant Trifid and Lagoon nebulas located thousands of light-years from Earth. A light-year is nearly 6 trillion miles. A gaggle of galaxies known as the Virgo Cluster were also captured, including two bright blue spirals. The observatory hopes to image 20 billion galaxies and discover new asteroids and other celestial objects. The effort is named after astronomer Vera Rubin, who offered the first tantalizing evidence that a mysterious force called dark matter might be lurking in the universe. Researchers hope the observatory's discerning camera may yield clues about this elusive entity along with another called dark energy. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.