The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (or DESI for short) has created the largest 3D map of the universe we’ve ever seen.
DESI created the map over the course of seven months. Each month, DESI continues to build off of it. In fact, DESI is only 10 percent of the way through its proposed five-year mission. When the map is completed, it will give us a deeper look into the universe and its depth.
According to ScienceAlert, DESI has already managed to catalog more than 7.5 million galaxies. Additionally, it will continue adding a million new galaxies each month. When the scan finally completes in 2026, we’ll have data on more than 35 million galaxies in space. That should provide astronomers with a huge map of the universe to study and dig into.
The main objective of DESI is to reveal more about the dark energy found throughout the universe. Dark energy makes up around 70 percent of the universe, and it plays a big part in speeding up its expansion. Carlos Frenk, a cosmologist with Durham University in the UK recently told the BBC that DESI will help search for clues about dark energy’s nature.
Find more on the official home page.