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New Observations Reveal the Staggering Scale of the Universe’s Largest Galaxy

As new observations reveal the outer edges of IC 1101 for the first time, scientists have confirmed it is the largest known galaxy. The galaxy’s statistics are staggering, containing an estimated 3.4 trillion solar masses of stars and spanning roughly 1.7 million light-years, eclipsing every other known galaxy.

IC 1101 belongs to a class known as brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs), which form as massive galaxies spend billions of years absorbing smaller neighboring galaxies.

The new images are the deepest ever taken of the galaxy, and were revealed in a recent paper accepted for publication in a future issue of Astronomy and Astrophysics, but available now in preprint form on the arXiv server.

Blending into the Cosmic Background

Despite their enormous sizes, BCGs are notoriously difficult for astronomers to study. Because they are built through the gradual merger of many smaller galaxies, their outer regions are extremely faint, containing diffuse stellar halos and tidal tails left behind by ancient collisions. These wispy edges often blend into the free-floating gas and stars that fill galaxy clusters, making it difficult to determine precisely where the galaxy ends and the surrounding cluster begins.

Carlos Marrero-de la Rosa of the Astrophysical Institute of the Canary Islands led the new study, focusing on IC 1101, the dominant galaxy at the center of the Abell 2029 galaxy cluster.

The research relied on ultra-deep images captured with the Wide Field Camera at the Isaac Newton Telescope, allowing astronomers to resolve the galaxy’s diffuse outer boundary in unprecedented detail.

IC1101 galaxy composite
Applying a star subtraction algorithm to the composite image of the IC 1101 galaxy provides a new level of detail and contrast. Credit: Carlos Marrero-de la Rosa et al. (2026)

Battling Light Pollution

With the number of satellites orbiting Earth increasing dramatically in recent years, astronomers have raised concerns about artificial light pollution. In this case, however, the researchers faced interference from a far more distant source: foreground stars within our own galaxy.

These stars, located between Earth and IC 1101, scatter light across telescope images, washing out the extremely faint structures astronomers are attempting to detect. Since the galaxy’s outermost regions are already difficult to distinguish, any additional scattered light significantly reduces image contrast.

To overcome this problem, the researchers constructed a detailed model of how the telescope spreads light using dozens of calibration stars. The model allowed the team to accurately subtract scattered light from more than 250 foreground stars, bringing IC 1101’s faintest structures into much sharper contrast and enabling a more precise measurement of its true extent.

The Largest Known Galaxy

IC 1101’s immense scale becomes even more striking when compared with our own Milky Way. The astronomers measured IC 1101 at roughly 520 kiloparsecs across—about 17 times wider than the Milky Way’s approximately 30-kiloparsec diameter. Even after accounting for all forms of mass, including elusive dark matter, scientists estimate that the Milky Way contains only about 1 to 1.5 trillion solar masses of material, compared with the 3.4 trillion solar masses contained in the stars of IC 1101 alone.

Researchers also found evidence that the giant galaxy continues to grow. They identified eight structures beyond its main edge, two of which align with previously observed X-ray disturbances that suggest ongoing accretion. According to the team, IC 1101 likely collided with another galaxy group between two and three billion years ago, producing a merger that continues to shape the galaxy today.

The paper, “How Large Can Galaxies Be? Ultra-Deep Imaging of IC 1101, the Most Extended Known Galaxy,” is available on arXiv, ahead of later publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics.

Ryan Whalen covers science and technology for The Debrief. He holds an MA in History and a Master of Library and Information Science with a certificate in Data Science. He can be contacted at ryan@thedebrief.org.

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Apple’s rumored security camera: Privacy-focused HomeKit device expected as part of broader smart home push

Apple’s rumored security camera. (Image: Grok Imagine)
(Image: Grok Imagine)

Apple has not officially announced any first-party security camera, but multiple reports from analysts and journalists indicate the company is developing one (and possibly related products like a video doorbell) to compete more directly with Amazon’s Ring and Google’s Nest. The effort forms part of a wider smart-home hardware expansion that also includes a home hub and updated speakers.

Core Rumors and Sources

Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported in late 2024 that Apple was preparing a wireless smart home IP camera for mass production in 2026, with ambitions for millions of units annually and assembly by Goertek. The device is described as designed for tight wireless integration with other Apple products and expected to leverage Siri and Apple Intelligence.

Bloomberg News’ Mark Gurman has repeatedly covered Apple’s smart-home plans, stating the company is working on multiple types of cameras and home-security products. One reported design is a battery-powered camera lasting several months to a year on a charge. It would include facial recognition and infrared sensors to identify people in a room, supporting automation such as turning lights off when someone leaves or playing preferred music for a recognized family member. Users are expected to place cameras throughout the home for both security and presence-based automation.

A Face ID-equipped video doorbell has also been rumored; it could recognize residents and wirelessly unlock a compatible deadbolt. Reports suggest the doorbell may lag behind the primary security camera in development.

Internal code references to a device codenamed J229 (mentioned in late 2025 reporting) describe capabilities including image capture, alarm-sound detection, and multiple sensors (features obviously consistent with a security camera). Some coverage linked support for it to a spring 2026 software window, though timelines have since been described as more fluid.

Expected Features and Ecosystem Fit

Any Apple camera would almost certainly rely on HomeKit Secure Video, which already provides end-to-end encrypted streaming and recording to iCloud+ (with local analysis on a home hub such as a HomePod or Apple TV). Apple has recently expanded the platform: iOS 27 and related software add 4K support for compatible cameras, AI-generated text descriptions of footage, natural-language search across clips (e.g., “package delivery”), and grouping of noteworthy events across multiple cameras. These AI features reportedly require a higher-tier (2 TB) iCloud+ plan.

An official Apple camera would be expected to offer deeper, native integration than third-party options—potentially stronger on-device intelligence, seamless Siri/Apple Intelligence features, and privacy guarantees aligned with Apple’s usual approach (encrypted video that even Apple cannot access). Specifics on resolution, night vision, field of view, indoor vs. outdoor designs, or exact form factor remain unconfirmed.

Timing and Status

Early reports pointed toward 2026 availability, with some speculation around a spring window or a March 2026 “Apple Experience” event. More recent coverage (as of mid-2026) treats the latter half of 2026 or later as the more realistic window, noting that earlier expectations have slipped and that no official confirmation, pricing, detailed specs, or prototypes have been made public.

Apple already supports a limited selection of third-party HomeKit Secure Video cameras (from brands such as Eve, Aqara, Logitech, and others). A first-party device would give the company direct hardware control and a clearer path to showcase new Home app and Apple Intelligence capabilities.

MacDailyNews Take: Credible info from Kuo, Gurman, and others consistently points to Apple developing at least one battery-powered, privacy-oriented security camera with facial/presence sensing for automation, plus possible related products such as a Face ID doorbell. Everything remains unannounced and speculative on exact design, price, and launch date as of late July 2026. Further clarity will depend on official statements or stronger supply-chain evidence.


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The post Apple’s rumored security camera: Privacy-focused HomeKit device expected as part of broader smart home push appeared first on MacDailyNews.

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“SpiderCam, SpiderCam, Does Whatever a Spider Can?” 3D Camera Inspired by Jumping Spider is First to Operate Below One Watt


Northwestern University engineers have unveiled an extremely energy-efficient 3D camera, called SpiderCam, inspired by how jumping spiders judge depth before making a calculated leap.

The research team behind the novel device said their technology could help engineers build wearable technologies, assistive devices, robots, drones, and other futuristic technologies that benefit from quickly and efficiently gauging their surroundings.

How Jumping Spiders Inspired Energy-Efficient SpiderCam

According to a statement announcing SpiderCam, 3D cameras typically estimate image depth in two ways. The first approach involves captured images from multiple viewpoints and comparing them, and the second involves projecting a light source, often an infrared (IR) laser, and then measuring the reflection.

Although both methods can produce realistic three-dimensional images, they can require significant computing power, additional operational energy, and often expensive hardware such as lasers.

Fortunately, millions of years of evolution have resulted in a creature that possesses a hyper-efficient way of estimating depth: the jumping spider.

“Jumping spiders jump to catch prey, to avoid predators and to get around, and that requires excellent vision,” said Northwestern’s Emma Alexander, the study’s corresponding author and an expert in bio-inspired computer vision. However, the researcher notes that their brains are extremely small, requiring the ability to calculate distances in an energy- and computationally efficient way.

According to Alexander, jumping spider eyes have multiple layers of retinas in each eye, rather than just one as in human eyes. When measuring distance, each retina focuses on an image at a slightly different distance, resulting in some images being blurrier than others.

“They see multiple levels of focus at all times,” Alexander explained. “So, they are always collecting pairs of images.”

After collecting these images in real time, the fly’s poppyseed-sized brain compares their sharpness, yielding a surprisingly accurate depth estimate, as evidenced by the creature’s ability to jump with precision.

Prototype Captures Images at Two Distances and Compares Their Blurriness

Inspired by nature’s hyper-efficient, extremely accurate depth estimation method, Alexander’s team decided to build a 3D camera using the same basic approach.

“We wanted to understand whether we could borrow some of the same principles to create an extremely energy-efficient depth sensor that could be used in resource-constrained situations where users don’t have unlimited access to power,” Alexander explained.

SpiderCam camera jumping spiders
Called SpiderCam, the new device senses depth the same way that jumping spiders judge distances before making a high-precision hop. The camera produces real-time 3D maps while consuming less than a watt of power. That’s less energy than used by a standard nightlight. Image Credit: Emma Alexander/Northwestern University.

Instead of capturing images at multiple distances, as the jumping spider’s eye does, the Northwestern team’s initial design captures two images of the same scene at different focal lengths. Next, the system uses a custom algorithm to analyze the sharpness of the edges and textures captured in each image. The team said this analysis acts as a “translator between blur and distance” in the fly’s brain, resulting in “depth measurements in real time.”

To best approximate the naturally evolved energy efficiency of a jumping spider’s eye, Alexander’s team built the algorithm directly into a customizable computer chip specifically optimized for energy efficiency called a field-programmable gate array (FPGA).

The final prototype integrating the team’s dual-lens system generates depth maps at 32.5 frames per second. Critically, it generates this level of accurate 3D maps while consuming 624 milliwatts of power. For comparison, the team notes that 624 milliwatts is “less energy than used by a standard nightlight.”

Future Versions Could be Even More Energy Efficient

Although the team said that the current version of the SpiderCam is the “first passive FPGA-based 3D camera system to operate below one watt,” they hope to improve its optics and expand its field of view. Once they have a commercial-grade version, the team hopes to integrate SpiderCam into wearable devices and small robots.

Beyond proposed applications, the Northwestern team said that they “envision” a future, ultra-energy-efficient version  of the chip capable of “bringing 3D vision to applications where conventional depth sensors are impractical.”

“I’m very interested in settings where you’re very resource constrained and can’t just plug a camera into a wall,” Alexander explained. “For example, it could be deployed in field settings with limited power.”

“Separately, I also think it’s particularly exciting for applications like augmented reality where you’re interfacing with the physical world and need to know the locations of objects around you,” the researcher added.

The study’s co-first authors, Marcos Ferreira and Tianao Li, presented this work at the Computer Vision Foundation’s Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (CVPR) in Denver. Complimentary registration is available for members of the media.

Christopher Plain is a Science Fiction and Fantasy novelist and Head Science Writer at The Debrief. Follow and connect with him on X, learn about his books at plainfiction.com, or email him directly at christopher@thedebrief.org.

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