Latest news with #HyperSuprime-Cam
Express Tribune
7 days ago
- Science
- Express Tribune
World's largest camera captures first images at Vera Rubin Observatory
This image combines 678 separate images taken by NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory in just over seven hours of observing time. Combining many images in this way clearly reveals otherwise faint or invisible details, such as the clouds of gas and dust that comprise the Trifid nebula (top) and the Lagoon nebula, which are several thousand light-years away from Earth. PHOTO: Breathtaking, swirling, multicolored galaxies and star-forming regions were revealed Monday in the first images of deep space captured by the Vera Rubin Observatory in Chile. More than two decades in the making, the giant US-funded telescope sits perched at the summit of Cerro Pachon in central Chile, where dark skies and dry air provide ideal conditions for observing the cosmos. One of the debut images is a composite of 678 exposures taken over seven hours, capturing the Trifid Nebula and the Lagoon Nebula -- both several thousand light-years from Earth -- glowing in vivid pinks against orange-red backdrops. The image reveals these stellar nurseries within our Milky Way in unprecedented detail, with previously faint or invisible features now clearly visible. Another image offers a sweeping view of the Virgo Cluster of galaxies. The team also released a video dubbed the "cosmic treasure chest," which begins with a close-up of two galaxies before zooming out to reveal approximately 10 million more. "The Rubin Observatory is an investment in our future, which will lay down a cornerstone of knowledge today on which our children will proudly build tomorrow," said Michael Kratsios, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. It features an advanced 8.4-meter telescope and the largest digital camera ever built, supported by a powerful data-processing system. Roughly the size of a car and weighing 2.8 tons, the camera captures 3,200-megapixel images -- more than three times the resolution of the next most powerful instrument, Japan's Hyper Suprime-Cam, which records at 870 megapixels. Later this year, the observatory will begin its flagship project, the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST). Over the next decade, it will scan the night sky nightly, capturing even the subtlest visible changes with unmatched precision. The observatory, which cost roughly $800 million, is named after pioneering American astronomer Vera C. Rubin, whose research provided the first conclusive evidence for the existence of dark matter -- a mysterious substance that does not emit light but exerts gravitational influence on galaxies. Dark energy refers to the equally mysterious and immensely powerful force believed to be driving the accelerating expansion of the universe. Together, dark matter and dark energy are thought to make up 95 percent of the cosmos, yet their true nature remains unknown. The observatory, a joint initiative of the US National Science Foundation and Department of Energy, has also been hailed as one of the most powerful tools ever built for tracking asteroids. In just 10 hours of observations, the Rubin Observatory discovered 2,104 previously undetected asteroids in our solar system, including seven near-Earth objects -- all of which pose no threat. For comparison, all other ground- and space-based observatories combined discover about 20,000 new asteroids per year. Rubin is also set to be the most effective observatory at spotting interstellar objects passing through the solar system. Chile hosts telescopes from more than 30 countries, including some of the world's most powerful astronomical instruments -- among them the ALMA Observatory, the most advanced radio telescope on Earth. The upcoming Extremely Large Telescope, slated to begin operations in 2027, will enable observations of previously unreachable cosmic distances. Northern Chile's deserts, nestled between the Pacific Ocean and the Andes mountains, offer the clearest skies on the planet, thanks to minimal cloud cover and an arid climate. The Cerro Tololo Observatory has been the site of major discoveries, including the universe's accelerated expansion -- a breakthrough that earned Americans Saul Perlmutter and Adam Riess, along with Australian Brian Schmidt, the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics.
Al Etihad
7 days ago
- Science
- Al Etihad
Groundbreaking Vera Rubin Observatory reveals first images of deep space
23 June 2025 20:03 Washington (AFP) Breathtaking, swirling, multicolored galaxies and star-forming regions were revealed on Monday in the first images of deep space captured by the Vera Rubin Observatory in than two decades in the making, the giant US-funded telescope sits perched at the summit of Cerro Pachon in central Chile, where dark skies and dry air provide ideal conditions for observing the of the debut images is a composite of 678 exposures taken over seven hours, capturing the Trifid Nebula and the Lagoon Nebula -- both several thousand light-years from Earth -- glowing in vivid pinks against orange-red backdrops. The image reveals these stellar nurseries within our Milky Way in unprecedented detail, with previously faint or invisible features now clearly image offers a sweeping view of the Virgo Cluster of team also released a video dubbed the "cosmic treasure chest," which begins with a close-up of two galaxies before zooming out to reveal approximately 10 million more."The Rubin Observatory is an investment in our future, which will lay down a cornerstone of knowledge today on which our children will proudly build tomorrow," said Michael Kratsios, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology features an advanced 8.4-meter telescope and the largest digital camera ever built, supported by a powerful data-processing system. Roughly the size of a car and weighing 2.8 tons, the camera captures 3,200-megapixel images -- more than three times the resolution of the next most powerful instrument, Japan's Hyper Suprime-Cam, which records at 870 megapixels. 10-year flagship project Later this year, the observatory will begin its flagship project, the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST). Over the next decade, it will scan the night sky nightly, capturing even the subtlest visible changes with unmatched observatory, which cost roughly $800 million, is named after pioneering American astronomer Vera C. Rubin, whose research provided the first conclusive evidence for the existence of dark matter -- a mysterious substance that does not emit light but exerts gravitational influence on energy refers to the equally mysterious and immensely powerful force believed to be driving the accelerating expansion of the universe. Together, dark matter and dark energy are thought to make up 95% of the cosmos, yet their true nature remains observatory, a joint initiative of the US National Science Foundation and Department of Energy, has also been hailed as one of the most powerful tools ever built for tracking just 10 hours of observations, the Rubin Observatory discovered 2,104 previously undetected asteroids in our solar system, including seven near-Earth objects -- all of which pose no comparison, all other ground- and space-based observatories combined discover about 20,000 new asteroids per is also set to be the most effective observatory at spotting interstellar objects passing through the solar images from the observatory were expected to be released later hosts telescopes from more than 30 countries, including some of the world's most powerful astronomical instruments -- among them the ALMA Observatory, the most advanced radio telescope on upcoming Extremely Large Telescope, slated to begin operations in 2027, will enable observations of previously unreachable cosmic Chile's deserts, nestled between the Pacific Ocean and the Andes mountains, offer the clearest skies on the planet, thanks to minimal cloud cover and an arid climate. The Cerro Tololo Observatory has been the site of major discoveries, including the universe's accelerated expansion -- a breakthrough that earned Americans Saul Perlmutter and Adam Riess, along with Australian Brian Schmidt, the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics.
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Astronomers discover dark matter 'bridge' linking colliding galaxies: 'This is the missing piece we've been looking for.'
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Astronomers have discovered a long-missing element of a galactic collision involving the Perseus galaxy cluster, located 240 million light-years from Earth. This element, a newly detected "subcluster," is 1.4 million light-years to the west of NGC 1275, the central galaxy of the Perseus cluster. These two elements seem to be connected by a faint "bridge" of material. The structural backbone of this bridge is dark matter, the universe's most mysterious "stuff." Dark matter remains effectively invisible by not interacting with light, but its interaction with gravity has helped to shape galactic structures. "This is the missing piece we've been looking for," team member James Jee said in a statement. "All the odd shapes and swirling gas observed in the Perseus cluster now make sense within the context of a major merger."Galaxy clusters are some of the largest structures in the known universe, consisting of thousands of galaxies bound together by gravity. Scientists have long believed that these clusters grow through high-energy mergers that may well be some of the most powerful events in the cosmos since the Big a mass equal to around 600 trillion suns the Perseus cluster has long been considered to be the "poster child" for galaxy clusters. However, this model galaxy cluster has been lacking is the telltale signatures that point toward its growth via was, until now. To tackle this mystery, Jee and colleagues used the Subaru Telescope and its Hyper Suprime-Cam to probe deeper into the Perseus than ever before. This investigation hinged on a phenomenon called "gravitational lensing," first predicted by Albert Einstein in his 1915 magnum opus theory of gravity known as "general relativity." General relativity states that objects with mass cause the very fabric of spacetime (the 4D unification of space and time) to warp, with gravity arising from this curvature. When light from a background object passes through spacetime warped by a massive body, like a cluster of galaxies, its path is curved. This can cause the light to be amplified, thus magnifying that background body, hence the term "lensing."This effect can also reveal things about the lensing body, including its structure. And because dark matter has mass and therefore warps space and diverts light through its gravitational influence, lensing can also reveal the distribution of a gravitational lens' dark matter content. In this case, that process revealed the presence of a massive "clump" of dark matter in the Perseus cluster weighing in at 200 trillion solar masses. This clump is linked to the core of the Perseus cluster by a much lighter but significant dark matter bridge. The team performed simulations of the Perseus cluster, which revealed that this clump collided with the cluster around 5 billion years ago. What remains of this cluster is still sculpting the Perseus cluster today. Related Stories: — Did dark matter help black holes grow to monster sizes in the infant cosmos? — What is dark matter made of? New study bolsters case for 'primordial' black holes — Supermassive black holes in 'little red dot' galaxies are 1,000 times larger than they should be, and astronomers don't know why "This breakthrough was made possible by combining deep imaging data from the Subaru Telescope with advanced gravitational lensing techniques we developed — demonstrating the power of lensing to unveil the hidden dynamics of the universe's most massive structures," Jee concluded. The team's research was published on Wednesday (April 16) in the journal Nature Astronomy.
