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World's Largest Camera Spots Over 500,000 Galaxies
4 Aug
Summary
- Car-sized camera captured over 500,000 galaxies.
- Image taken by the world's largest 3200MP camera.
- It's just the beginning for the new night sky camera.
The Vera C. Rubin Observatory's Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) camera has delivered its latest image, showcasing over 500,000 galaxies. This colossal 3200MP camera, weighing three tons and comparable in size to a small car, captured the COSMOS Field, an area known for minimal interference from our own Milky Way.
The image, a composite of hundreds of exposures taken between April 2025 and January 2026 during the camera's testing phase, offers an unprecedented view of spiral, merging, and distant red galaxies. This release celebrates the first phase of Rubin's Data Preview 2, with the LSST's decade-long survey having commenced earlier in the summer of 2026. Future observations will focus on discovering transient objects like supernovae.
This groundbreaking camera employs mirrors and three lenses to achieve its remarkable resolution, equivalent to about 260 smartphone cameras. Even the filters alone weigh approximately 90 pounds. Early images from the LSST's ongoing survey are accessible through the Vera Rubin Skyviewer app.
