The largest digital camera ever built has begun a monumental ten-year survey of the southern sky from Chile.
The Vera C. Rubin Observatory will capture hundreds of images per night, mapping billions of stars in the Milky Way and billions of galaxies.
The survey aims to study galaxy formation and clustering over billions of years, as well as the nature of dark matter and dark energy.
First images were released last year, including shots of the Trifid and Lagoon nebulas.
Funding & Namesake
The observatory is funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy. It is named after astronomer Vera Rubin, who provided early evidence for dark matter.
"Scientists worldwide will use the data to study the universe in new ways."
— Phil Marshall, deputy director of operations