World's Largest Camera for Astronomy Reaches Chilean Mountaintop
2024-06-10
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1The largest digital camera ever built for space scientists is ready to be put in place under the clear skies of northern Chile.
2The camera can produce images above 3.2 gigapixels in size and weighs nearly three tons.
3A pixel is the smallest area of detail in a digital image.
4The camera is one of the main pieces required of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory.
5The pieces include a telescope with a mirror that is 8.4 meters across and the huge camera.
6The observatory is expected to start full science operations in 2025.
7The observatory is on the top of a mountain called Cerro Pachón in the Coquimbo area of Chile.
8It is on the edge of the Atacama Desert 565 kilometers north of Chile's capital Santiago.
9Chile has many of the largest research telescopes in the southern half of the world because of the clear skies above the Atacama Desert, one of Earth's driest places.
10Stuartt Corder is chief science officer for AURA, the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy.
11He is also a director of the NOIRLab center, which will operate the telescope.
12He said, "Everything that we needed for operations [is] now on the summit and ready for checkout and hopefully for installation a little bit later this year."
13AURA is a group of 49 U.S. institutions and three international ones.
14AURA helps operate the astronomical observatories for the National Science Foundation and the U.S. space agency, NASA.
15It is responsible for operating the NOIRLab center.
16The camera will produce around 20 terabytes of data each night.
17It will take pictures of the sky for 10 years producing a huge database of information about all parts of the sky that can be seen from Chile.
18Corder said one of the goals of the exploration will be to understand the nature of dark energy and dark matter in the universe.
19Scientists say these are forms of energy and matter that exist in theory but have not been observed.
20Corder said they are "names we give to things because we don't really know what they are."
21Another goal will be to search for and study asteroids that threaten to strike the Earth or to look for nearby stars and planets.
22Corder said the arrival of the camera was "...a really inspiring moment where you can say - we're starting."
23And he added, "We're standing here at the precipice, getting ready to start a campaign that in ten years, we hope will answer the questions of...when the universe was made and started into motion...and how will it continue to evolve in the future?"
24The results may be similar to what we already know, Corder said, but they will help refine our understanding the universe.
25I'm Ashley Thompson.
1The largest digital camera ever built for space scientists is ready to be put in place under the clear skies of northern Chile. 2The camera can produce images above 3.2 gigapixels in size and weighs nearly three tons. A pixel is the smallest area of detail in a digital image. 3The camera is one of the main pieces required of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory. The pieces include a telescope with a mirror that is 8.4 meters across and the huge camera. The observatory is expected to start full science operations in 2025. 4The observatory is on the top of a mountain called Cerro Pachón in the Coquimbo area of Chile. It is on the edge of the Atacama Desert 565 kilometers north of Chile's capital Santiago. 5Chile has many of the largest research telescopes in the southern half of the world because of the clear skies above the Atacama Desert, one of Earth's driest places. 6Stuartt Corder is chief science officer for AURA, the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy. He is also a director of the NOIRLab center, which will operate the telescope. 7He said, "Everything that we needed for operations [is] now on the summit and ready for checkout and hopefully for installation a little bit later this year." 8AURA is a group of 49 U.S. institutions and three international ones. AURA helps operate the astronomical observatories for the National Science Foundation and the U.S. space agency, NASA. It is responsible for operating the NOIRLab center. 9The camera will produce around 20 terabytes of data each night. It will take pictures of the sky for 10 years producing a huge database of information about all parts of the sky that can be seen from Chile. 10Corder said one of the goals of the exploration will be to understand the nature of dark energy and dark matter in the universe. Scientists say these are forms of energy and matter that exist in theory but have not been observed. 11Corder said they are "names we give to things because we don't really know what they are." 12Another goal will be to search for and study asteroids that threaten to strike the Earth or to look for nearby stars and planets. 13Corder said the arrival of the camera was "...a really inspiring moment where you can say - we're starting." 14And he added, "We're standing here at the precipice, getting ready to start a campaign that in ten years, we hope will answer the questions of...when the universe was made and started into motion...and how will it continue to evolve in the future?" 15The results may be similar to what we already know, Corder said, but they will help refine our understanding the universe. 16I'm Ashley Thompson. 17Gregory Stachel adapted this Reuters story for VOA Learning English. 18_________________________________________ 19Words in This Story 20digital - adj. using or characterized by computer technology 21gigapixel - n. one billion pixels 22installation - n. the act or process of making a machine or a service ready to be used in a certain place 23asteroid - n. any one of thousands of small planets that circle around the sun 24inspiring - adj. causing people to want to do or create something or to lead better lives 25precipice - n. a very steep side of a mountain or cliff 26refine - v. to improve (something) by making small changes