A cosmic ‘CT scan’ unlike anything before
Scientists have unveiled the most detailed three-dimensional map of the universe ever created, offering an astonishing new view of the cosmos across billions of years. Built by the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI), the map captures more than 47 million galaxies and quasars, making it the largest high-resolution 3D survey of the universe to date.
47 million galaxies captured in one stunning map
The five-year mission surpassed its original goal of 34 million objects by a huge margin. Along with distant galaxies and quasars, the survey also includes more than 20 million stars from the Milky Way, helping researchers better understand both the distant universe and our local cosmic neighborhood.
Astronomers describe the visualization as a kind of “CT scan” of the universe, because it reveals the large-scale structure of space in depth and layers rather than as a flat image. The map showcases the universe’s vast cosmic web — dense filaments of galaxies separated by enormous empty voids.
A major clue in the dark energy mystery
Because the farthest galaxies are billions of light-years away, the map also acts like a time machine, allowing scientists to trace how the universe evolved over nearly 11 billion years. Researchers hope the data will unlock new clues about dark energy, the mysterious force believed to be driving the accelerated expansion of the universe. Early results even hint that dark energy may change over time, a possibility that could challenge current physics models.
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