Astronomers complete largest 2D map of the universe

Astronomers have completed the largest two-dimensional map of the universe to date, a project spanning 13 years of observations. The DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys have combined 263,407 telescopic images into a single digital rendering consisting of approximately 5.6 trillion pixels, covering roughly three-quarters of the sky.

The map identifies nearly 4 billion celestial objects, including galaxies, stars, quasars, asteroids, and black holes. This massive undertaking utilized data from the NSF Mayall and NSF Blanco telescopes located at Kitt Peak and Cerro Tololo in Chile, operating under the NSF NOIRLab network.

Developed to support the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI), the 2D map serves as a critical tool for identifying targets to create a 3D map of the universe and study its expansion history. By utilizing both visible and near-infrared spectrum data, researchers can observe objects obscured by galactic dust. The resulting dataset is now available to both the scientific community and the public.