Vera Rubin Observatory, part one: rise of the discovery machine

This week, the first images were released from the world’s most powerful digital camera, nestled in the heart of a brand new telescope at the Vera Rubin Observatory. From October, the 3,200 megapixel camera will begin to create a decade-long film of the entire night sky, and promise to unlock some of the deepest mysteries of our universe—from how galaxies form and evolve to the nature of dark matter and dark energy. 

In the first of two episodes, we visit the Rubin Observatory, 2,700m high in the Chilean Andes to hear what this new facility can do and learn about the monumental engineering required to build it.

Host: Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor. Contributors: Victor Krabbendam, Stephanie Deppe and Leanne Guy of the Vera Rubin Observatory. 

Listen to our second episode from the Vera Rubin Observatory—uncovering how the telescope’s data get from the summit to astronomers’ desks around the world—here, or by searching for “astronomy enters its digital age” on your podcast app. 

Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.

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