Astronomers release largest 2D universe map and discover ancient black holes

Astronomers have achieved significant milestones in cosmic mapping and observation. The Legacy Imaging Surveys team, part of the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) project, has produced the largest 2D map of the universe to date. This map contains 5.6 trillion pixels and incorporates over 263,000 telescopic exposures collected over more than a decade. By combining visible and near-infrared light, the map allows researchers to see past the dust of the Milky Way, providing a detailed view of approximately 4 billion cosmic objects.

In a separate discovery, astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have identified the oldest pair of supermassive black holes ever observed. Known as LID-1166, the two black holes are located within a merging galaxy from a period when the universe was only 1.3 billion years old. Separated by approximately 4,900 light-years, this system provides a rare look at how dual black hole systems interact and grow in the early universe. The study utilized data from both the JWST and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile.