The World's Largest Digital Camera Has Taken Its First Test Images

Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile is the name of the observatory that has had the LSST, Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, installed. The total of 189 separate CCD sensors, each located in the camera, have a resolution of 16 megapixels and will take pictures of the southern hemisphere's starry sky to assist with both cataloging objects and creating the largest image of the universe to date.

According to a press release, the team began collecting engineering data with Rubin's LSST camera on April 15:

“On Tuesday, April 15, 2025, the first data collection from the sky with engineering data began, with the i-band filter in the beam path. Thanks to the successful ComCam campaign on the sky, the telescope's optical adjustments were remarkably close to optimal - even before it was directed at the sky. After just a few iterations with observations from the sky, the system delivered, across the entire focal plane, an image quality with a median of about 1.8 arcseconds FWHM - and this before any detailed adjustment with the active optics system (AOS) had been made."

The data processing system then transported and processed the 3-gigapixel large images at the American data center, about a minute after they were taken, with the total sensor area being approximately 60 centimeters in width.

During the second night, an image quality of under one arcsecond FWHM was achieved over most of the focal plane, and besides the initial performance of the entire observatory's optical system, the LSSTCam, its associated cooling equipment, and data and control systems operated smoothly - just a few weeks after last month's installation.

"During the first night of engineering observations, 183 of the 189 scientific CCD detectors were operational. The remaining six were turned off as an extra precaution due to technical issues. This has no significant impact on commissioning, and work to reactivate these sensors is ongoing in parallel. Alignment with the AOS can now continue with the added benefit of the wavefront sensors in the LSSTCam, which was not possible with ComCam. The highest priority task in the short term is now to commission the entire system so that it operates automatically and reliably."

Rubin's researchers plan to hold a "First Look" event expected to take place in June or July 2025, which will be the time when the images will first be shown to the public.

A month ago, the camera was mounted, something that was defined as the biggest obstacle that could go wrong before the camera could start being used - something that succeeded without problems. After this, the system has undergone several tests and fine-tunings of the technology, where each image has a resolution of a total of 3200 megapixels - 3.2 gigapixels.

The camera's filter functions have a special mechanism that allows it to change filters in less than 90 seconds, something necessary to photograph in different wavelengths to get different images of the objects it is to photograph. The mirror, camera, and the three lenses that make up the optical construction weigh a total of 62 tons. The largest lens element is 157 centimeters long, making it the largest high-performance lens ever created.

The Rubin Observatory's origins (formerly known as Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, or LSST) date back more than 20 years, with Microsoft's co-founder Bill Gates and software pioneer Charles Simonyi providing a multi-million dollar donation for the project in 2008. Since then, the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Energy, and private donors have contributed hundreds of millions of dollars.

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