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Fermilab Builds 500-Megapixel Camera

heyitsme writes "Fermilab, a U.S. Department of Energy research lab, is part of a collaboration on an experiment to measure the properties of dark energy. The Dark Energy Survey would measure the history of the expansion rate of the universe more precisely than ever before, using the largest camera ever built with Charge Coupled Devices (CCD). The 500 megapixel Dark Energy Camera (DECam) would be placed on an existing 4-meter telescope located in north-central Chile at the National Optical Astronomy Observatory's Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory. The DECam together with the CTIO 4-meter telescope will allow for a survey of 15 percent of the sky to light levels faint enough to measure the colors of galaxies at redshift one."

21 of 180 comments (clear)

  1. I'm glad by toddhunter · · Score: 5, Funny

    That they were able to save money by using an existing telescope.
    Because the compact flash cards for this thing cannot be cheap.

  2. but by trs9000 · · Score: 2, Funny

    cool but does it fit in my pocket?
    im going to japan soon and i need a good camera......

    1. Re:but by JaredOfEuropa · · Score: 2, Funny
      im going to japan soon and i need a good camera......
      Buy one there on the cheap :)
      --
      If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
    2. Re:but by supergiovane · · Score: 5, Funny

      I dont't know that, but I heard that it has quite good lenses and an amazing zoom. You really don't need to go to Japan with it: you can take detailed photos of Japan directly from home!

      --
      Signatures are for stupids.
  3. 500 megapixel?? by fodi · · Score: 5, Funny

    I dont EVER want to be photographed in that much detail !!

  4. Ah to open this bad boy... by Xuranova · · Score: 2, Funny

    in Photoshop, it be a sight to behold. Or even better, embed one of these pics in a pdf file and EMAIL it to a friend. Ah yes good times for admins, systems, and users everywhere to enjoy!

    --
    "There is no real right or wrong, just what the majority accepts at the time."
  5. Finally!!! by Eberlin · · Score: 5, Funny

    Finally something that has higher system requirements than Longhorn!!!

  6. I bet.. by platypibri · · Score: 5, Funny

    Even at this level of digital imaging, it has a weak, useless flash, intolerable low light noise, and sucks batteries in no time. Actually, I'm really looking forward to seeing the images this thing captures

    --
    Yeah, I guess I'm funny like that.
  7. DECam? by spare.dave · · Score: 2, Funny

    Time to dig up the old Digital icon?

  8. Nice, but... by Bill_Royle · · Score: 5, Funny

    Is there Linux support for it?

  9. Re:My Scanner.. by tasinet · · Score: 3, Funny

    Hmm.. Attach a pair of 5$ binoculars to your 106$ scanner and you have your personal deep-space telescope!
    Now attach that to a $1 paper airplane and you have DIY Hubble! yay!
    total cost: 106$
    Makes you wonder how NASA managed to spend
    so much on Hubble!

  10. Taking a rule of thumb too far... by supercytro · · Score: 4, Funny

    [Person A]I told you before, megapixels don't matter... [Person B]But it's 500 Megapixels... [Person A]500 megapixels, 5 megapixels... it doesn't matter. Everyone knows that. It's common knowledge that megapixels is just a marketing trick. [Person B]But... [Person A]Look I read slashdot and everyone says the same. [Person B]ok...

  11. Meanwhile, in telescope control by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Scientist: Shouldn't the telescope be pointing into
    deep space rather than at that satellite with the
    big mirror on it?
    NRO guy: Nah, this is good.

  12. Search for Dark Energy by Chelloveck · · Score: 4, Funny

    How can they tell a picture of dark energy apart from a picture where they just forgot to take the lens cap off?

    --
    Chelloveck
    I give up on debugging. From now on, SIGSEGV is a feature.
  13. If you build it ... they will come.... by telstar · · Score: 3, Funny

    Didn't take long for somebody to come up with a use for that Cisco router...

  14. they should wait by lordmoose · · Score: 4, Funny

    I heard that the 502 mega-pixel camera is coming out in six months.

  15. Question is... by squidfrog · · Score: 2, Funny
  16. Dark matter in far away galaxies... by new+death+barbie · · Score: 2, Funny


    so... what kind of flash do I need?

    --

    It's supposed to be completely automatic, but actually you have to press this button.

    1. Re:Dark matter in far away galaxies... by mengel · · Score: 2, Funny
      Well...
      • Really Big
      • Way Back in Time
      Of course, that last one is the hard part :-)
      --
      - "History shows again and again how nature points out the folly of men" -- Blue Oyster Cult, 'Godzilla'
  17. Damn by hkb · · Score: 2, Funny

    I was expecting red shift .5 capabilities...

    --
    /* Moderating all non-anonymous trolls up since 2004 */
  18. Re:cost of storage by Psymunn · · Score: 2, Funny

    Better Yet, Why don't you just register coolAstroPicture_210@gmail.com and store your picture there. Total cost per gig of storage, nothing. Thanks google!

    --
    The Neo-Bohemian Techno-Socialist