NEWS: 1,400 megapixel (1.4 gigapixel) sensor!
in [Digital Cameras]
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From: John Navas on 17 Jun 2010 12:52 A new telescope facility in Hawaii designed to search for asteroids and comets which could threaten Earth has been made operational. The Pan-STARRS 1 telescope will map large portions of the sky each night to track not only close space objects, but also exploding stars (supernovae). The telescope has been taking science data for six months but is now operating from dusk-dawn each night. Pan-STARRS 1 (PS1) is expected to map one-sixth of the sky every month. The facility boasts a huge digital camera: a 1,400 megapixel (1.4 gigapixel) device that can photograph an area of the sky as large as 36 full Moons in a single exposure. "Although modest in size, this telescope is on the cutting edge of technology," said Dr Nick Kaiser, head of the Pan-STARRS project. The giant digital camera will take over 500 exposures each night, collecting about four terabytes of data (equivalent to what 1,000 DVDs can hold). MORE: <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science_and_environment/10340488.stm>
From: Rich on 17 Jun 2010 20:53 John Navas <jncl1(a)navasgroup.com> wrote in news:hjkk16teiesl9iq8opmralgq4odeoumi5h(a)4ax.com: > A new telescope facility in Hawaii designed to search for asteroids and > comets which could threaten Earth has been made operational. > > The Pan-STARRS 1 telescope will map large portions of the sky each night > to track not only close space objects, but also exploding stars > (supernovae). > > The telescope has been taking science data for six months but is now > operating from dusk-dawn each night. > > Pan-STARRS 1 (PS1) is expected to map one-sixth of the sky every month. > > The facility boasts a huge digital camera: a 1,400 megapixel (1.4 > gigapixel) device that can photograph an area of the sky as large as 36 > full Moons in a single exposure. > > "Although modest in size, this telescope is on the cutting edge of > technology," said Dr Nick Kaiser, head of the Pan-STARRS project. > > The giant digital camera will take over 500 exposures each night, > collecting about four terabytes of data (equivalent to what 1,000 DVDs > can hold). > > MORE: <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science_and_environment/10340488.stm> > They're doing this now because they know the future holds very bad things for astronomers. Like massive increase in space junk, which ruin image when caught on them.
From: krishnananda on 17 Jun 2010 23:31 In article <tvqdnRP0AIk6XofRnZ2dnUVZ_sudnZ2d(a)giganews.com>, Rich <none(a)nowhere.com> wrote: > John Navas <jncl1(a)navasgroup.com> wrote in > news:hjkk16teiesl9iq8opmralgq4odeoumi5h(a)4ax.com: > > > A new telescope facility in Hawaii designed to search for asteroids and > > comets which could threaten Earth has been made operational. > > > > The Pan-STARRS 1 telescope will map large portions of the sky each > night > > to track not only close space objects, but also exploding stars > > (supernovae). > > > > The telescope has been taking science data for six months but is now > > operating from dusk-dawn each night. > > > > Pan-STARRS 1 (PS1) is expected to map one-sixth of the sky every month. > > > > The facility boasts a huge digital camera: a 1,400 megapixel (1.4 > > gigapixel) device that can photograph an area of the sky as large as 36 > > full Moons in a single exposure. > > > > "Although modest in size, this telescope is on the cutting edge of > > technology," said Dr Nick Kaiser, head of the Pan-STARRS project. > > > > The giant digital camera will take over 500 exposures each night, > > collecting about four terabytes of data (equivalent to what 1,000 DVDs > > can hold). > > > > MORE: <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science_and_environment/10340488.stm> > > > > They're doing this now because they know the future holds very bad things > for astronomers. Like massive increase in space junk, which ruin image > when caught on them. Possibly. Remember, the first CCD telescope: 1975 - Gerald Smith, Frederick Landauer, and James Janesick use a CCD to observe Uranus, the first astronomical CCD observation That was 35 years ago. Surely one could expect continuous development of CCD and CMOS imaging for astronomy in the mean time. And as far as seeing past near-Earth space junk, the Hubble is equipped with several CCD telescopes: When launched, the HST carried five scientific instruments: the Wide Field and Planetary Camera (WF/PC), Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph (GHRS), High Speed Photometer (HSP), Faint Object Camera (FOC) and the Faint Object Spectrograph (FOS). WF/PC was a high-resolution imaging device primarily intended for optical observations. It was built by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and incorporated a set of 48 filters isolating spectral lines of particular astrophysical interest. The instrument contained eight charge-coupled device (CCD) chips divided between two cameras, each using four CCDs. The "wide field camera" (WFC) covered a large angular field at the expense of resolution, while the "planetary camera" (PC) took images at a longer effective focal length than the WF chips, giving it a greater magnification.
From: Alfred Molon on 18 Jun 2010 02:10 In article <hjkk16teiesl9iq8opmralgq4odeoumi5h(a)4ax.com>, John Navas says... > The facility boasts a huge digital camera: a 1,400 megapixel (1.4 > gigapixel) device that can photograph an area of the sky as large as 36 > full Moons in a single exposure. What AF system do they use? -- Alfred Molon ------------------------------ Olympus E-series DSLRs and micro 4/3 forum at http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/MyOlympus/ http://myolympus.org/ photo sharing site
From: Grimly Curmudgeon on 18 Jun 2010 20:02
We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember John Navas <jncl1(a)navasgroup.com> saying something like: > >The facility boasts a huge digital camera: a 1,400 megapixel (1.4 >gigapixel) device that can photograph an area of the sky as large as 36 >full Moons in a single exposure. That's a helluva P&S. |