Closer Look at the Largest Optical Lens in the World, Used in the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (L
Closer Look at the Largest Optical Lens in the World, Used in the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST)
SEPTEMBER 29, 2019 2 MINS READ
Photo credit: SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
Located on the El Peñón peak of Cerro Pachón mountain in Coquimbo, Chile, the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) is a wide-field survey reflecting telescope with an 8.4-meter primary mirror that will photograph the entire available sky every few nights. It uses a 3-mirror design to enable a compact telescope to deliver sharp images over a very wide 3.5-degree diameter field of view. Images will be recorded by a 3.2-gigapixel CCD imaging camera, the largest digital camera ever constructed, and here’s an up-close look at its lens. Read more for a video, additional pictures and information.
The largest CCD image sensor mosaic in the world is comprised of 189 individual sensors combined into a single 3.2-gigapixel imaging area capable of capturing a 15-second exposure of the night sky every 20 seconds, or the entire visible southern sky every few nights. The sensor has three large mirrors, and two lens elements, which are a 5.1-foot wide L1 lens element (pictured) and a “smaller” companion measuring 3.9-feet wide.
More:
https://www.techeblog.com/worlds-largest-optical-lens-lsst/
