The giant Camera Mera took the first -300 -200-megapixel digital photos


Full central plane of 3,200-megapixel digital camera.

Full central plane of a 3,200-megapixel digital camera.
Image: Jacqueline O’Reilly / SLAC National Acceleration Laboratory

Scientists at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have created the world’s first 3,200 megapixel digital photos. Vera c in Chile. Images were snapped by a large-sized digital camera set up for the Rubin Observatory, which is an early demonstration of the enormous potential of this feature.

It’s hard to imagine a photograph with 3.2 billion pixels. YOU will need a 378 4K ultra-high definition television to display one in its full resolution, According to a SLAC Press announcement.

Wow. Now imagine that this power applies to astronomy. Happily, that’s exactly the plan, as the SUV-sized camera used to create these images eventually came from Chile’s Vera C. Rubin will be installed at the observatory, which is similarly under construction.

Once Rubin is ready and up and running (hopefully in the next year or two), the 200,500-megapixel digital camera, or more briefly, the world’s first 2.2-gigapixel camera, will be captivated by the beautiful images of the entire southern sky that he created in 10 years. To do once every few days. This is known as the project Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST), will find the motion of billions of stars and galaxies, while creating this The world’s largest astronomy movie. This next-gen observatory is preparing to shed new light on the creation of the universe, dark matter and dark matter.

The head of Romanesco as visualized by the new camera mera.

The head of Romanesco as visualized by the new camera mera.
Image: SLAC

New images, which can be seen Here, Were created Acts as the “eye” of the camera, as a test of the system’s newly completed central plane. To take these photos, the team used a 150-micron pinhole to project images onto a focal plane. During the tests, SLAC researchers visualized a variety of substances, including Romanesco’s head, broccoli with a fairly detailed surface. Interestingly, the central plane needs to be cooled in the cryostat chamber and brought down to -150 degrees Fahrenheit in order to function properly.

The central plane, which measures more than 2 feet wide (0.6 meters), contains 189 individual sensors or charge-compliant devices, each of which can capture 16-megapixel images. EAch Lite-aggregation pixel is 10 microns wide-Small, yes, But typical camera phones are 10 times larger than pixels (for reference, the average human hair is 50 microns wide). The central plane is also super flat, allowing exceptionally crisp, sharp images to measure the tenth width of human hair. Multiple sets of nine Charge-pair devices Gathered in the squares dubRaft, ”21 of which were installed in the central aircraft, with four specialty rafts used for structural purposes. This requires six months of careThat, Such rafts, valued at 3 million, are extremely expensive Delicate.

The camera's central plane is large enough to capture any part of the sky about the size of 40 full moons, and its resolution is so high that a golf ball can be detected from 15 miles away.

The camera’s central plane is large enough to capture any part of the sky about the size of 40 full moons, and its resolution is so high that a golf ball can be detected from 15 miles away.
Image: Greg Stewart / SLAC National Acceleration Laboratory

The specs on this digital camera are not insignificant. At 3,200-megapixels, it can solve a golfb resolution from a distance of 15 miles (24 km), and its viewing area is large enough to cover 40 full moons. It will To be able to see objects that are 100 million times slower than visible to the naked eye, which would be like looking at a candle from a few thousand miles away.

SLAC researchers plan to add a camera exchange lens, shutter and filter exchange system later this year. Once testing is complete, the device will be transported to Chile and installed at the Rubin Observatory, which could take place in early 2021. All should go well, the LSST project will start in 2022 and run until 2032.

.