The VLT's 268-Megapixel Sensor Array

If you didn't have chip envy before, well the ESO has just released picture's of it's 268-Megapixel sensor array. This is one Very Large Chip!

The ESO uses a 720kg OmegaCAM camera to snap shots, and in order to get the 268-megapixel images, it uses an array of 32 CCD sensors that you can see in this photo.

The OmegaCAM's so important that it has its own website, devoted to this monstrous camera which was built by a consortium of institutes from the Netherlands, Germany and Italy. The array is designed to record one square degree of night sky, recording an image at 16,000 pixels by 16,000 pixels, producing the unique 268-megapixel square photographs.

Check out one of the first images.