And because Pixim's chip is accumulating more data per pixel--14 bits versus 8 bits for a CCD pixel--it generates higher resolutions and truer colors with only 400, 000 pixels on a sensor versus millions in most CCD cameras.
Meanwhile, the 2, 016-pixel RGB metering sensor provides precise data to the camera's Scene Recognition System, which optimises exposure, autofocus and white balance immediately before the shutter is released.
The team of astronomers is using data from the VISTA Variables in the Via Lactea programme (VVV), one of six public surveys carried out with VISTA. The data have been used to create a monumental 108 200 by 81 500 pixel colour image containing nearly nine billion pixels.