Dark Energy Camera captures its first images
« Back to Article
Zoomed-in image of the center of the globular star cluster 47 Tucanae, around 17,000 light years from Earth (Image: Dark Energy Survey Collaboration)
Zoomed-in image of barred spiral galaxy NGC 1365, around 60 million light years from Earth (Image: Dark Energy Survey Collaboration)
Zoomed-in image of the Fornax cluster of galaxies, around 60 million light years from Earth (Image: Dark Energy Survey Collaboration)
Composite image of globular star cluster 47 Tucanae, around 17,000 light years from Earth (Image: Dark Energy Survey Collaboration)
Small Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf galaxy, around 200,000 light years from Earth, a satellite of the Milky Way (Image: Dark Energy Survey Collaboration)
The DEC features 62 charged-coupled devices (CCDs), which record a total of 570 megapixels per snapshot (Image: Fermilab)
The DEC, mounted on the Blanco telescope in Chile (Image: Dark Energy Survey Collaboration)
The DEC, mounted on the Blanco telescope in Chile (Image: Dark Energy Survey Collaboration)
DEC telescope simulator at Fermilab (Image: Fermilab)
Composite image of globular star cluster 47 Tucanae, around 17,000 light years from Earth (Image: Dark Energy Survey Collaboration)
Artist's rendering of the DEC inside the frame that supports the camera in the Blanco telescope (Image: Fermilab/Dark Energy Survey Collaboration)
Artist’s rendering of the 570-megapixel DEC (Image: Fermilab/Dark Energy Survey Collaboration)
The Blanco telescope in Chile as seen at nighttime (Image: T. Abbott and NOAO/AURA/NSF)
The Blanco telescope in Chile(Image: T. Abbott and NOAO/AURA/NSF)
The 4 meter Blanco telescope. The green circle marks the location of the prime focus cage where the Dark Energy Camera will be mounted (Image: CTIO/AURA/NSF)
Scientists build a prototype of the DEC (Image: Fermilab)
The Blanco telescope which the DEC is mounted upon, located in the Chilean Andes (Photo: NOAO/AURA/NSF)
Article Summary
The Dark Energy Camera (DEC) has captured an initial batch of images as part of an ongoing quest to afford scientists with a better understanding of dark energy. The images were taken by the 570-megapixel behemoth from its location within the Chilean Andes on September 12 while undergoing a series of tests. Scientists hope it may soon help answer one of the biggest mysteries in physics: why the expansion of the universe is speeding up.
Other Images from this Gallery
Related Articles
-
Cosmic Dawn simulation provides insights into the early universe
18th February, 2009
-
Astronomers use giant magnifying lens in space to probe dark energy
25th August, 2010
-
Hubble detects galaxy from the infancy of the universe
17th February, 2008
-
Dark matter filaments detected for the first time
14th July, 2012
-
World’s faster supercomputer models origins of the unseen universe
30th October, 2009
-
3.2 billion-pixel Large Synoptic Survey Telescope camera comes a step closer to reality
2nd May, 2012
