00:00At an altitude of 2,700 meters, this observatory in Chile will completely change the way that
00:07we observe and capture images of the cosmos.
00:13We are the window to the universe today.
00:15We are the present of world astronomy and, above all, the future.
00:19The world's largest digital camera will be attached to this huge telescope with a mirror
00:24of 8.4 meters.
00:27It cost 165 million dollars, provided by the U.S. Department of Energy, and was built at
00:33Stanford University's SLAC laboratory in California.
00:42Nowadays scientists ask to observe something specific because they have a theory they want
00:47to prove.
00:48So the telescope is pointed at a specific space in the sky at a specific time for hours
00:53or for several nights.
00:55What we are going to do is to take pictures of everything.
00:59And the scientists will be able to generate their own hypothesis and thesis directly from
01:04what we are going to give them in real time.
01:10The results from the 144-megapixel test camera are already astonishing.
01:16The new device will have 3,200 megapixels, allowing for an exceptional field of view.
01:23It will take about 400 Ultra HD TV screens to display just a single image from the Vera
01:29Rubin project.
01:33We're switching between a color photograph to HD video of the universe, skipping all
01:39those black and white TV stages.
01:43We're jumping straight from color photography to HD video.
01:53From static observation to a purpose a thousand times more dynamic.
01:59With this automatic comparison of images, the system will be able to detect if a star
02:04exploded, if it became a supernova, or if a body like an asteroid is coming towards
02:11the Earth.
02:13It is assumed that we currently know only about 5% of the universe.
02:18Once the new camera is operational, the remaining 95%, which is essentially dark energy and
02:23dark matter, will be discoverable.
02:27The advantage of this integrated system of mirrors and camera is that you will be able
02:31to see very far away, or you will be able to see objects that are very faint, ones that
02:37today are not visible to any telescope, let alone the human eye.
02:41In addition, as it will have a very fast movement per night, it will be able to capture many
02:46images that will be compared over 10 years to see how these objects are changing and
02:51how the movement, life and death of the stars, the planets, is changing.
02:56How they are born, how they become extinct, how they work.
03:00Today, scientists are fine-tuning the details, so that the telescope and camera will be operational
03:06in 2025.
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