MIND BLOWN! See 47 million galaxies in the largest 3D map of the universe. Each dot in this photo is a galaxy

Scientists have pieced together the largest CT scan of the universe, with a whopping 47 million galaxies and 20 million additional stars present in one picture. This was part of a project that ran for over five years to create the largest and most detailed 3D map of our cosmic outdoors. The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI)'s 5,000 eyes have been locking in on tiny portions of the sky since 2021, and we finally have the much-awaited picture. Now all of those images have been combined to create this unimaginable spectacle. The observations made by the DESI survey are a massive leap forward, combining observations from over six times as many galaxies and quasars—the brilliant signals emitted by black holes—than all previous surveys put together. The stunning image shows light from galaxies as old as 11 billion years, merely two billion years after the universe was born.

Map of galaxies

Dr Seshadri Nadathur, a Portsmouth University researcher, who serves as co–chair of the DESI galaxy and quasar clustering working group, said, "We've barely scratched the surface so far" and termed "this DESI map of galaxies" extremely important for cosmology. The fibre–optic lens with an accuracy of 10 microns, or less than the width of a hair, moved and observed a new spot every 20 minutes. By splitting the collected light into a spectrum of colours, ten spectrographs allowed researchers to determine the chemical composition, velocity, and spatial position of each target. This led to the creation of the most detailed and precise 3D map of the universe. Each dot in the photo is a galaxy, while the dark spots are areas where the thick edge of the Milky Way blocked out light from distant stars. Initially, DESI projected a view of 34 million galaxies and quasars, but it exceeded that number.

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Dark energy project

The project involved over 900 scientists from 70 institutions who started off with the aim of studying dark energy, the force believed to be responsible for the expansion of the universe. How and when the universe will end depends on the balance between matter and dark energy. The first three years of the program collected data, which showed that dark energy could be changing. Scientists are hoping that the full map will offer a view into whether this evolution is bigger or smaller than estimated. The first dark energy results from the five–year survey are expected in 2027.