The world's largest digital camera could unlock mysteries of the universe

By Ashley Strickland, CNN

Updated 1601 GMT (0001 HKT) September 8, 2020

The LSST camera, a main component of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory when it comes online in 2023, was used to capture the first 3,200-megapixel images. The sensors will be part of the world's largest digital camera.
Photos: Vera Rubin Observatory
The LSST camera, a main component of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory when it comes online in 2023, was used to capture the first 3,200-megapixel images. The sensors will be part of the world's largest digital camera.
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This image of Romanesco was taken using the focal plane of the LSST camera. Romanesco was chosen because of its immense detail, which this camera was designed to capture.
Photos: Vera Rubin Observatory
This image of Romanesco was taken using the focal plane of the LSST camera. Romanesco was chosen because of its immense detail, which this camera was designed to capture.
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The complete focal plane of the future LSST camera is more than 2 feet wide and contains 189 individual sensors that will produce 3,200-megapixel images.
Photos: Vera Rubin Observatory
The complete focal plane of the future LSST camera is more than 2 feet wide and contains 189 individual sensors that will produce 3,200-megapixel images.
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The LSST camera's focal plane has a surface area large enough to capture a portion of the sky about the size of 40 full moons. Its resolution is so high that you could spot a golf ball from 15 miles away.
Photos: Vera Rubin Observatory
The LSST camera's focal plane has a surface area large enough to capture a portion of the sky about the size of 40 full moons. Its resolution is so high that you could spot a golf ball from 15 miles away.
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The LSST camera's focal plane was also used to image a Flammarion engraving. This wood engraving, created by an unknown artist, first appeared in astronomer Camille Flammarion's 1888 book "The Atmosphere: Popular Meteorology."
Photos: Vera Rubin Observatory
The LSST camera's focal plane was also used to image a Flammarion engraving. This wood engraving, created by an unknown artist, first appeared in astronomer Camille Flammarion's 1888 book "The Atmosphere: Popular Meteorology."