The world's largest digital camera was built: 3.2 billion pixels, 201 sensors, and a cost of 1.2 billion yuan

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2024-04-08 15:12Posted in Shanghai Digital Creators

The large-aperture panoramic survey telescope has reportedly been built recently, and the camera module is now being prepared for shipment to Chile for installation at the Vera C. Rubin Observatory. As the world's most powerful digital camera, the large-aperture panoramic survey telescope has 3.2 billion pixels, and it takes 1,500 high-definition displays to display a single photo.

It is understood that the camera was built by the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory of the US Department of Energy, and its size is about the same size as a small car, the weight is 3 tons, the lens is more than 1.5 meters wide, and the cost is 168 million US dollars, about 1.2 billion yuan.

The camera's focal plane consists of 201 individually custom-built CCD sensors with 3.2 billion pixels and is so detailed that an object the size of a golf ball can be clearly distinguished from 15 miles away.

Of course, because it is equipped with a large number of sensors, the heat generated by this camera is also extremely terrifying, so it will be placed in an environment of minus 100°C to perform photo work. It is understood that the camera's imaging system is designed to be exposed every 20 seconds, capturing light from ultraviolet to near-infrared wavelengths, and is expected to take about 1,000 photos per night, and then stitch the photos taken every few nights into an extremely detailed image of the sky.

The camera will capture data from the southern hemisphere sky over the next decade, helping scientists observe the universe, study dark energy, find dark matter, and dangerous near-Earth asteroids. The first photos taken by this camera are currently scheduled to be released to the public next spring.

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