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This Is the Largest, Most Detailed 3D Map of the Universe. It'll Help Astronomers Investigate a Cosmic Mystery: Dark Energy
Key takeaways
- Earth is at the center, and each point marks a galaxy.
- The effort has produced the largest-ever high-resolution 3D map of the universe, which spans 11 billion years of cosmic history.
- The map was made thanks to observations by the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI).
The largest 3D map of the universe. Earth is at the center, and each point marks a galaxy. DESI Collaboration and DESI Member Institutions / DOE/KPNO / NOIRLab / NSF / AURA / R. Proctor, Image Processing: M. Zamani (NSF NOIRLab) An astronomical effort—both in the literal and metaphorical sense—to map the night sky in three dimensions has just concluded. The undertaking not only finished a bit ahead of schedule, but also gathered significantly more data than the huge team of collaborators had originally aimed for.
The effort has produced the largest-ever high-resolution 3D map of the universe, which spans 11 billion years of cosmic history. Scientists will now start processing this gargantuan amount of data, shedding further light on one of science’s greatest mysteries: dark energy, a mysterious ingredient thought to make up around 70 percent of the universe.
The map was made thanks to observations by the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI). It’s attached to the National Science Foundation’s Nicholas U. Mayall 4-meter Telescope at the Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona. DESI finished its celestial survey on April 15 after capturing more than 47 million galaxies and quasars—ultrabright objects powered by matter funneling into black holes—as well as 20 million stars.