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After scientists at Menlo Park’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory spent over two decades developing and constructing a car-sized camera, it has now been installed at the new, nearly complete Vera C. Rubin Observatory in the Coquimbo Region of Chile.
The observatory, jointly funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science, will use the 3,200-megapixel “Legacy Survey of Space and Time” camera to take new, higher-quality images of the night sky. Weighing over 6,500 pounds with a 5.5-foot diameter lens, it is the largest digital camera ever constructed, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.
The resolution of the camera is so high that it would take 400 ultra-high definition TVs to display just one of its images at full size.
“This is a pivotal moment for the teams from all around the world who collaborated to design and build the camera,” said Aaron Roodman, who directed the construction of the camera at SLAC in a press release. “We will achieve a level of clarity and depth never seen before in images covering the entire southern hemisphere sky.”
The Rubin observatory will use the camera to create what is essentially a large-scale timelapse of the universe by repeatedly scanning and recording the southern night sky for a decade. SLAC will be operating the observatory.
The $168 million camera was originally completed in April 2024, and shipped to Chile in May of that year. SLAC and the Department of Energy announced on March 12, 2025, that the installation of the camera in the observatory had been completed, and the camera would soon be operational.
“The installation of the LSST Camera on the telescope is a triumph of science and engineering,” said Harriet Kung, acting director of the Department of Energy’s Office of Science in a press release. “We look forward to seeing the unprecedented images this camera will produce.”
According to SLAC scientists, the data from the camera and the Rubin observatory will be used to advance humanity’s understanding of the evolution of the universe and the mysteries of dark matter and dark energy.
Travis Lange, LSST Camera project manager from SLAC, said, “It has been a treat to watch the biggest camera the world has ever seen being built by such a talented group of people with such a wide range of backgrounds. It’s a wonderful example of what teams of scientists and engineers can accomplish when they are called upon to do what has never been done before.”
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Looking forward to the images, and the discoveries!