On June 23, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory released its first deep space images - the result of more than 20 years of gestation, giving humanity the opportunity to admire the universe more clearly than ever before.
Brilliant stellar nurseries, a massive Milky Way galaxy with millions of galaxies, and more than 2,000 newly discovered asteroids—all come to life thanks to a state-of-the-art, $800 million US-funded telescope perched atop Cerro Pachón in central Chile.
One of the most stunning images was created from 678 continuous shots over seven hours, capturing the beauty of the Trifid and Lagoon nebulae - thousands of light years away from Earth. These “stellar nurseries” - previously almost invisible or only faintly visible - are now clearly visible in a vivid pink against a mystical orange-red background.
The Virgo galaxy cluster was also captured, with two bright blue spiral galaxies. These images are not only breathtaking, but also a testament to the superior capabilities of this instrument.
Another image, titled “The Cosmic Treasure Chest,” reveals space filled with stars and galaxies—dark regions that appear empty to the naked eye become a shimmering carpet of light.
The centerpiece of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory is an 8.4-meter telescope, equipped with the largest digital camera ever built—about the size of a car.
The camera produces 3,200 megapixel photos, and it would take 400 ultra-high-definition TVs to view the entire image at its original resolution.
Every night, the data system transmits up to 20 terabytes of information - a huge number that reflects the overwhelming power of the Vera C. Rubin observatory.
The Vera C. Rubin Observatory aims to image 20 billion galaxies and discover new asteroids and celestial bodies. It's an ambitious goal that opens the door to discoveries never before seen in the history of astronomy.
Named after pioneering astronomer Vera C. Rubin, who provided the first convincing evidence for the existence of dark matter, the observatory continues her mission: to make dark matter a focus of research.
“We will look at up to 20 billion galaxies and analyze how their light is bent by the gravitational interaction of dark matter,” explains scientist Aaron Roodman. This will be the key to unlocking the mysteries of both dark matter and dark energy – elements that are thought to make up 95% of the universe but are still unknown to humanity.
In addition to its deep space exploration ambitions, the Rubin Observatory is also a powerful tool for planetary defense. In just 10 hours of observations, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory discovered 2,104 previously unknown asteroids in the Solar System—including seven near-Earth objects (NEOs), but fortunately none of them posed a threat to Earth.
By comparison, all other observatories—ground-based and space-based—combinedly detect only about 20,000 asteroids a year, suggesting that the Vera C. Rubin Observatory will play a key role in tracking and responding to threats from space.
More than 30 countries currently have telescopes in Chile, including the ALMA Observatory, the world's most powerful radio telescope. In addition, the Cerro Tololo Observatory here is the place that contributed to the great discovery of the accelerated expansion of the universe - a discovery that won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2011.
The Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), scheduled to be operational in 2027, also promises to reach depths of space that humans have never before reached./.
Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/chiem-nguong-vu-tru-ro-hon-bao-gio-het-nho-kinh-thien-van-tri-gia-800-trieu-usd-post1046064.vnp
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