Latest news with #nebulae
Yahoo
24-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Rubin Observatory releases 'sneak peek' of first images taken with world's largest camera
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. The Vera C. Rubin Observatory has unveiled a "sneak peek" of the first images taken with its powerful astronomy camera — and the results are stunning. The exceptionally detailed images are peppered with multicolored stars and spiraling galaxies. In one photo, the observatory has captured two nebulae, filled with bright pink clouds of gas and dust. The Rubin Observatory is a next-generation telescope equipped with the world's largest digital camera. These first preview images are a major milestone for the observatory, which will become fully operational later this year. Representatives for the Rubin Observatory shared the stunning night-sky snaps on social media, ahead of an official presentation at 11 a.m. ET on Monday (June 23) via the Rubin Observatory's YouTube channel. Observatory staff didn't reveal which parts of the night sky were captured in the preview images, and instead asked social media users to guess. Some users were quick to point out that the bright pink nebulae were the Trifid and Lagoon nebulae, located in the Sagittarius constellation around 9,000 light-years from Earth. BBC News reported that one of the other images is of the Virgo cluster. This large cluster of galaxies has more than 1,000 members. In the Virgo cluster photo, two of its spiral galaxies are clearly visible as bright blue swirls. Related: James Webb telescope unveils largest-ever map of the universe, spanning over 13 billion years Researchers plan to use the Rubin Observatory's massive camera to observe the universe from Earth in never-before-seen detail. Jointly funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy, the Rubin Observatory is located high in the Chilean Andes, on a mountain called Cerro Pachón. Later this year, the Rubin Observatory will begin surveying the night sky as part of a 10-year mission. By capturing images around every 40 seconds, researchers will create a time-lapse of the visible universe across space and over time. When it's finished, the Rubin Observatory will have collected the largest optical astronomy dataset in history, according to the Rubin Observatory. RELATED STORIES —'People thought this couldn't be done': Scientists observe light of 'cosmic dawn' with a telescope on Earth for the first time ever —Catastrophic collision between Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies may not happen after all, new study hints —JWST spies frigid alien world on bizarre orbit: 'One of the coldest, oldest and faintest planets that we've imaged to date' "This enormous, all-purpose dataset will bring the night sky to life, enabling scientists around the world to better understand the nature of dark matter and dark energy, create an inventory of the Solar System, map the Milky Way, explore the dynamic sky, and more," a representative from the observatory wrote on YouTube. The Rubin Observatory's next-generation camera should help spot "planet killer" asteroids hiding in the sun's glare, and may also help settle the debate as to whether there's a ninth planet hiding in the outer solar system.
BBC News
23-06-2025
- Science
- BBC News
Vera Rubin: First pictures taken by world's largest digital camera released
The first images captured by the world's most powerful telescope have been photos were taken by the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) camera located at an observatory in the south American country of show the night sky in extraordinary detail, capturing clouds of gas and dust that are several thousand light years away. Scientists are due to reveal more pictures and videos taken by the camera this week. What's the latest? Scientists say the images reveal breathtaking views of star-forming regions as well as distant of the debut images is made up of 678 exposures taken over just seven shows the Trifid Nebula and the Lagoon Nebula - both located several thousand light-years from Earth, glowing in bright pinks against orange-red image reveals these nebulae within our Milky Way in great detail, with previously faint or invisible features now clearly image shows a view of the Virgo Cluster of galaxies, which is about 100 billion times the size of the Milky shows lots of bright stars in the foreground, as well as many galaxies in the aim to photograph the night sky every three days for ten years to show how stars and galaxies move and change over time. What is the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) camera? According to the Guinness Book of Records, the LSST is not only the largest digital camera but also the one with the highest resolution, which means it can take really detailed top-of-the-range phones have cameras with a resolution of up to 50 megapixels, whereas the LSST has a resolution of 3,200 you definitely can't carry this camera around with you. It's about the same size as a small car and weighs a massive 2, it is kept at the Vera C Rubin Observatory in Chile, attached to a powerful mountaintop location provides dark skies and dry air, which are ideal conditions for observing the images it will capture are so large that it would take 400 ultra-high-definition televisions to display one of them at full camera aims to take 1,000 images a night over the next 10 years and the project's mission is to catalogue 20 billion goal is to capture an ultra-wide and ultra-high-definition time-lapse record of our say the observatory will transform our understanding of the captured will help scientists answer questions about dark matter, the structure of the Milky Way and the formation of our Solar also think that if a ninth planet exists in our solar system, the telescope would find it in its first year.
