One of the largest-ever maps of the universe charts 4 billion objects
The largest 2D map of the universe just dropped, and it’s a stunner. Compiled from more than a decade of observations, the new map charts 4 billion stars, galaxies, black holes, asteroids and other objects of interest throughout the cosmos.
The map reveals about three-quarters of the night sky in high resolution, spanning both visible and near-infrared light wavelengths and charting the areas of the universe not blocked by dust or gas. The map is so big, in fact, that it’s impossible to reproduce as a single image here; instead, astronomers invite you to explore their vision of the universe using the free Legacy Survey Sky Browser webpage.
It took 13 years and three ground-based sky surveys, using telescopes from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the University of Arizona to gather the information for the map. The results are available for other scientific investigators to use and will likely help other telescopes to search the cosmos. [Continue reading…]