stargazer have released an unbelievable Modern map of the Universe . This two - dimensional figure is the culmination of six years worth of study for the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument ( DESI ) Legacy Imaging Surveys . This map is the largest ever in term of sky reporting , sensitivity , and full phone number of galaxies .

The sensational function can be explored in its entirety onthis site . It contains 10 trillion pixels   – or about 833,000 high - firmness of purpose smartphone photos . It was created over the form of 1,405 keep night at three observatories with years of data from Kitt Peak National Observatory , Cerro Tololo Inter - American Observatory , and NASA ’s Wide - field Infrared Survey Explorer ( WISE ) , thanks to the work of 150 observer and 50 other investigator . The last   resolution hold in 1 pebibyte of data , which is roughly one million gigabytes .

This phenomenal view is the most uniform and deep study that has ever been direct , and it is not the end , but the beginning . Researchers will point 35 million galaxies and 2.4 million quasars on the map and measure their exact distances , with some expected to be 12 billion easy - class forth . Over the next five class , the DESI study will create a gargantuan three - dimensional map of the universe , providing a much clearer picture of the distribution of galaxy in the cosmos and the rate at which the universe of discourse is expanding .

The survey was in fact designed to sympathise dark energy , the mysterious ( and presently hypothetical ) substance that is believed to be get the accelerated enlargement of the Universe . There are some major uncertainties when it comes to the dead on target nature of dark thing and dissimilar methods employed to assess the expansion pace of the universe , deliver different resultssuggesting that our theoretical account of cosmology might not be right .

To get all this information from the wandflower , research worker need to get their spectra . They need to get their light and break it aside into a rainbow , from which astronomers can work out out their situation and how quickly they are moving away from us . To get the spectra , a thin vulcanized fiber - optic cable is pointed at each individual wandflower .

Thanks to automatize golem , the office of these fiber - optics cables is adapted to each area of the sky the scope are looking , grow spectra for 5,000 galaxies at a time .

“ To figure out some of the big mysteries in fundamental physics today , we are driven to create huge digital databases of whizz and galaxy , which in turn enable a new data - excavation access to making additional astronomic uncovering , ” Adam Bolton , Director of NOIRLab ’s Community Science and Data Center , said in astatement .

Several exciting pieces of enquiry have come out from this map already , with many more on the fashion .