Posted on 06/30/2026 4:23:03 PM PDT by Libloather
NEW YORK — The largest digital camera ever built is starting to capture images of unseen corners of the universe.
The Vera C. Rubin Observatory has officially begun its cosmic survey, meant to capture swathes of the sky in more depth and detail. Perched on a Chilean mountaintop, the telescope will point its eye at the southern sky for the next 10 years, taking hundreds of images per night.
Researchers hope Rubin’s observations will help them take a better census of the universe, mapping billions of stars in the Milky Way and billions more galaxies beyond it.
It takes pictures quickly and will grab images of the same areas of sky multiple times, allowing scientists to glimpse fainter objects that previously eluded detection.
“We’re going to see large numbers of scientists across the world working with this data set, studying the universe in a way that they haven’t been able to before,” said Phil Marshall, the observatory’s deputy director of operations.
Rubin released its first images last year, including colorful shots of the Trifid and Lagoon nebulas located thousands of light-years from Earth.
A light-year is nearly 6 trillion miles (9.7 trillion kilometers).
Since then, researchers have tuned up the equipment so it’s ready to take pictures at the depth and accuracy required for the decade-long survey.
The images may help scientists discern how galaxies form and cluster over billions of years, and how the universe came to be.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
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Wow how unimportant.
It is an amazing observatory . The amount of data it will collect each night is monumental. All sorts of things that would have gone unnoticed will end up being recorded. It might even discover the rock that was going to hit Earth someday but gives us enough time to do something about it.
Hmm.
Digital means computer enhanced, right?
So the earthlike planets revealed near Alpha Centauri may be real or maybe the creation of a NASA technocrat trolling for budget increases.
Time to order more popcorn.🍿
Maybe they’ll find Obama’s real birth certificate.
“Maybe they’ll find Obama’s real birth certificate.”
Billions of stars in our galaxy and billions more galaxies. I wouldn’t get my hopes up about the real Odumbo BC
Space Ping!............
By that definition, everything on the Interwebs is "computer enhanced."
The universe has corners?
Who knew?
“A light-year is nearly 6 trillion miles (9.7 trillion kilometers).”
And the Voyagers have just passed ONE LIGHT DAY after 49 YEARS in space................
My question is, just how are they going to process the massive amount of data they receive and how fast will they be able to process it. It’s an amazing instrument.
“My question is, just how are they going to process the massive amount of data t”
Our AI data centers will gobble up all of our electrical power and get the job done.
On a related subject, when you’re viewing the heavens, what’s the difference between a camera and a telescope?
Exactly. 😉👍
If we are actually going to find any of the actual Earth Aimed asteroids and comets out there, THIS is the observatory with both the means and the active plan to do so.
There may not BE a more important observatory, anywhere.
~Easy
A camera collects that light, records and stores it either on film or electronically.
That’s as simple as I can explain the difference between them. Perhaps others here can do better.
I hope that helps.🙂🔭
Betcha those corners need a lot of sweeping.
“ The universe has corners?”
Yeah. They slow you down, but the straightaways are the bomb!”
No, digital does not mean fabricated .
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