A major milestone with the Vera C. Rubin Observatory has been reached with the installation of the telescope’s enormous LSST Camera — the last optical component required before the last phase of testing can begin.
The car-sized Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) Camera that was recently installed on the Vera C. Rubin Observatory is the largest digital camera ever built and will be used to capture detailed images of the southern hemisphere sky over a decade.
“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 statement. “We look forward to seeing the unprecedented images this camera will produce.”
The telescope is funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science and is named after Dr. Vera C. Rubin, an American astronomer whose work provided strong evidence for the existence of dark matter. Along with her colleague Kent Ford, Rubin observed that in the numerous galaxies they studied, stars at the outer edges were moving just as fast as those near the center. This was unusual because, according to Newtonian physics and Kepler’s laws of planetary motion, objects farther from the center of a gravitational system should orbit more slowly due to the weaker gravitational pull.
After accounting for all visible matter, the gravitational force from the observed mass wasn’t enough to keep these fast-moving stars bound to the galaxy. Without additional mass providing extra gravitational pull, the galaxies should have been flying apart. This discrepancy led to the conclusion that an unseen form of mass, now known as dark matter, was holding them together.
Following its namesake, the Rubin telescope will investigate the mysteries of dark energy and dark matter with cutting-edge technology. Its state-of-the-art mirror design, highly sensitive camera, rapid survey speed and advanced computing infrastructure each represent breakthroughs in their respective fields.
Every few nights, it will survey the entire sky, creating an “ultra-wide, ultra-high-definition time-lapse record of the universe,” the statement adds. Each image will be so massive that displaying it would require 400 ultra-high-definition TV screens.
“This unique movie will bring the night sky to life, yielding a treasure trove of discoveries: asteroids and comets, pulsating stars, and supernova explosions,” states the observatory’s website.
While the LSST Camera is an engineering marvel, its installation was equally challenging. In March 2025, after months of testing in Rubin Observatory’s clean room, the summit team used a vertical platform lift to move the camera to the telescope floor. A custom lifting device then carefully positioned and secured it on the telescope for the first time.
“Mounting the LSST Camera onto the Simonyi Telescope was an effort requiring intense planning, teamwork across the entire observatory and millimeter-precision execution,” said Freddy Muñoz, Rubin Observatory Mechanical Group Lead. “Watching the LSST Camera take its place on the telescope is a proud moment for us all.”
Over the coming weeks, the LSST Camera’s utilities and systems will be connected and tested. Soon, it will be ready to capture detailed images of the night sky. The Rubin telescope, under construction in Cerro Pachón, Chile, is expected to see first light in 2025.
