Scientists Created the Biggest Map of the Universe

Scientists at the Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona, USA, have created the biggest 3D map of the universe ever with more than 7.5 million galaxies, which is twice as many as they could map before, Wired reports. And still, they are only 10% on the way through their mission for the next five years.

The map was created using DESI (Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument), which helped astrophysicists collect images of the universe over the course of seven months and combine them with each other. DESI measures the exact distance to galaxies and the light they emit, helping scientists to reveal new details about dark energy, which evenly fills the entire universe.

In five years, DESI should map about 14 thousand square degrees – about a third of the sky, which is approximately 40 million galaxies in total. As a result of analyzing the data, astrophysicists will be able to investigate how the universe is expanding.