Here’s a fascinating look at the 570-megapixel DECam, also known as Dark Energy Camera, the world’s most powerful digital camera. It’s result of eight years of planning and construction by scientists, engineers, and technicians spanning three continents. The image above (bottom) shows globular star cluster 47 Tucanae, which lies about 17,000 light years from Earth. Continue reading for three videos, more pictures, and additional information.
This camera will allow astronomers to take more sensitive images in the red part of the visible spectrum and in the near infrared, in comparison to current equipment installed at Victor M. Blanco Telescope. In addition, DECam has one of the widest field of view available for ground-based optical and infrared images.
According to the official website, its field is so large that a single image will record data from an area of the sky 20 times the size of the moon as seen from the earth. The survey will image 5000 degrees of the southern sky and will take five years to complete.
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