Scientists Release Biggest 2D Map of the Universe
The DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys team has released the largest 2D color map of the universe, featuring nearly 4 billion celestial objects. This data is publicly available to help researchers study dark matter, dark energy, and other cosmic phenomena.
Why it matters
This map provides a massive, open-access resource for astronomers worldwide to advance our understanding of the universe's structure and evolution.
This video tour provides a few highlights from the DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys' map of nearly 4 billion objects.
Among the nearly 4 billion objects in the DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys’ map is the galaxy Messier 96, a spiral galaxy approximately 35 million light-years from Earth. This image was captured with the 570-megapixel Department of Energy-fabricated Dark Energy Camera (DECam) mounted on the U.S. National Science Foundation Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope at NSF Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) in Chile, a Program of NSF NOIRLab.
DESI is an international experiment with more than 900 researchers from over 70 institutions around the world; it is managed by DOE’s Berkeley Lab and operates at the NSF Nicholas U. Mayall 4-meter Telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory.
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