Astronomers just finished the biggest, sharpest 3D map of the universe-and it’s beautiful
Yahoo • • science
Key Points:
- Astronomers have created the largest high-resolution 3D map of the universe, charting over 47 million galaxies and massive objects, which may help unravel the mystery of dark energy.
- Dark energy, responsible for the universe’s accelerating expansion, remains poorly understood, with one leading theory suggesting it is the cosmological constant—a concept introduced by Einstein representing the energy density of empty space.
- The map was developed using data from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) over five years, a project led by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and involving international collaborators.
- Initial DESI data hinted that dark energy’s influence might vary over time, challenging existing cosmological models, with more definitive results expected by 2027 after thorough analysis of the expanded dataset.
- Although the five-year survey is complete, DESI will continue observations through 2028 to extend the map by 20%, focusing on harder-to-observe regions and fainter, more distant cosmic objects.
