When the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope begins to survey the night sky in the early 2020s, it’ll collect a treasure trove of data. The information will benefit a wide range of groundbreaking astronomical and astrophysical research, addressing topics such as dark matter, dark energy, the formation of galaxies and detailed studies of objects in our very own cosmic neighborhood, the Milky Way.
LSST’s centerpiece will be its 3.2-gigapixel camera, which is being assembled at the US Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. Every few days, the largest digital camera ever built for astronomy will compile a complete image of the Southern sky. Moreover, it’ll do so over and over again for a period of 10 years. It’ll track the motions and changes of tens of billions of stars, galaxies and other objects in what will be the world’s largest stop-motion movie of the universe.
Fulfilling this extraordinary task requires extraordinary technology. The camera will be the size of a small SUV, weigh in at a whopping 3 tons, and use state-of-the-art optics, imaging technology and data management tools. But how exactly will it work?
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