Unveiling the Largest Digital Camera: A Cosmologist’s Ultimate Masterpiece | Quanta Magazine

On June 23, 2025, Tony Tyson presented an incredible image in Washington, D.C.: a breathtaking view of 10 million galaxies against a dark backdrop. This masterpiece is just a tiny glimpse—only 0.05%—of what the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile will capture over the next decade. To see it clearly, you’d need to connect 400 TVs.

Tyson, a cosmologist from the University of California, Davis, is the main figure behind this project. His work at Bell Labs in the 1970s introduced him to a game-changing invention: the charge-coupled device (CCD). This technology converts light into electrical signals, making it perfect for spotting faint objects in space. Using this tech, he created the first detailed map of dark matter, the mysterious force that keeps galaxies bound together.

In the 1990s, astronomers utilized Tyson’s CCD cameras to explore how the universe expands. To their surprise, they found that this expansion was speeding up, revealing dark energy—a puzzle that still confounds scientists today.

Notably, dark matter and dark energy make up about 95% of the universe, yet remain largely unknown. Realizing that a bigger camera was necessary to study these phenomena, Tyson spearheaded the Rubin Observatory project. Now 85 years old, he is finally seeing his vision come to life.

The observatory’s camera is the largest digital camera ever made, featuring 189 CCDs and an astonishing 3.2 billion pixels. Over the next ten years, it will capture images of around 20 billion galaxies. This vast photo collection will help us understand how dark matter and dark energy have shaped our universe.

Recent surveys indicate growing public interest in space exploration. A Pew Research report shows that 76% of Americans believe space exploration is essential for humanity’s future. With projects like the Rubin Observatory, we are on the brink of uncovering secrets that have eluded us for decades.

For more information about dark energy and its implications, you can read a detailed report from NASA here.

Tyson’s journey and the advancements coming from the Rubin Observatory may just change our understanding of the cosmos as we know it.

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