Largest Digital Camera Looks Out for Dangerous Asteroids

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World's Largest Image Sensor

The world’s largest digital camera has been installed in Maui, Hawaii, joining the search for potentially dangerous asteroids in space.

The camera system was installed on a PS1 telescope as part of the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS).

At the heart of the giant camera are 60 large CCD silicon chips arrayed as a giant image sensor 16 inches across. It has a resolution of 1.4 Gigapixels or 1,400 megapixels.

The Pan-STARSS project aims to detect asteroids down to 300 meters in size and send out warnings on those that could be hurtling towards earth.

Video here.

[Via: Space.NewScientist.com]

Published by Chris Malinao

Chris teaches Lightroom as workflow software to photography students at the FPPF, Federation of Philippine Photographers Foundation. He also teaches smartphone photography.