Building the camera that will map the gamma-ray sky

NectarCAM is a specialized camera that detects gamma rays by catching the faint light they produce when hitting Earth's atmosphere. With 1,855 pixels and ultra-fast electronics sampling at gigahertz speeds, it achieves microsecond-level timing precision—crucial for pinpointing cosmic explosions and black hole jets. The first production unit ships in mid-2026 and will equip the Cherenkov Telescope Array, a global facility that will transform high-energy astrophysics the way modern radio arrays transformed astronomy.