The world’s largest digital telescope is ready to be installed under the clear skies of Chile’s Atacama Desert. The parts needed to assemble the Vera Rubin observatory were transported to the top of Cerro Pachon in the Coquimbo region, hundreds of kilometers from the capital Santiago. These include a ground-based telescope and camera.
According to the deputy director of the NOIRLab center, which will manage the observatory, the telescope’s goal is to truly understand the nature of dark energy and dark matter in the Universe.
The telescope is a complex integrated system consisting of an eight-meter wide-field ground telescope, a camera and an automated data processing system.
It will generate about 20 terabytes of data per night. As a result, as a result of ten years of research, a database of 15 petabytes will be created. That is, it will be a number with 15 zeros.
The telescope will also help answer fundamental questions in astronomy.
Chile receives most of the world’s investment in astronomy. All thanks to the Atacama Desert, the driest on the planet. Here the sky is crystal clear almost all year round.
