Reuters TV brings us a glimpse at the largest camera in the world: a massive machine housed at the Cerro Tololo observatory in the desert mountains of northern Chile. Used to look far into the depths of outer space, this 570-mexapixel behemoth can survey six times the area of a full moon in a single exposure:
Particularly interesting to the scientists operating this camera is the subject of dark energy, a hypothetical energy form which fills the universe and causes space to expand at a rapidly accelerating pace. Dark energy is of paramount importance to scientists because it has never been directly observed, but our scientific models depend on it making up three-quarters of the universe’s mass.
With the help of this and other emerging technologies in the field of digital imaging, the human race is able to peer further and further into the mysteries of the world around us, causing our collective understanding to expand with the universe at a rapidly accelerating pace.
Like This Article?
Don't Miss The Next One!
Join over 100,000 photographers of all experience levels who receive our free photography tips and articles to stay current:
Sorry folks, the gigapixel camera GPC1 on Pan-STARRS has 1400 mega pixels.