The Dark Energy Camera features 62 charged-coupled devices (CCDs), which record a total of 570 megapixels
per snapshot. Credit: Fermilab.
Why is the expansion of the universe accelerating? We’re not quite sure. But like every other problem, we may be able to solve it with more megapixels. 570 megapixels seems like it might be enough, and Fermilab has just fired up its massive Dark Energy Camera to see what it can find.
It’s gigapixels that are all the rage nowadays, and all of those gigapixel images come from little tiny cameras taking lots of pictures and stitching them together. DECam works sort of the same way, in that it’s made up of 62 individual “cameras” all stitched together in one huge sensor. Every time DECam takes a picture, all of these cameras team up to record 2.2 degrees worth of sky, which is about the equivalent as the size of a full Moon as seen from Earth twenty times over.
via DVICE
