First 3,200 Megapixel Images Taken By World's Largest Digital Camera

New submitter Crowchild Bob writes: The specific and intricate shape of the Romanesco plant is perfect as a testing ground for the new camera, which will be fitted into the Vera Rubin Observatory (VRO) in Chile. The 3,200 megapixel camera is set to uncover a huge amount of detail still unknown about astronomy, such as dark matter and dark energy. The plan for the VRO is to map out the sky by snapping pictures with the new digital camera every few nights for a decade. From moving and flashing phenomenon to billions of stars and galaxies, the camera will try and capture it all in precise detail. "We'll get very deep images of the whole sky. But almost more importantly, we'll get a time sequence," VRO director Steve Kahn told BBC. "We'll see which stars have changed in brightness, and anything that has moved through the sky like asteroids and comets," he continued. The camera is put together at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in the U.S. It's made up of a 25 inch (64 cm)-wide focal plane and 189 individual sensors. One of the biggest challenges of the assembly project was putting it all together given the required precision and complex electronics. The first images ever taken with the camera were released on Tuesday and provided record-breaking detail of the broccoli plant.

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