World’s biggest 3D map of the universe

In an incredible feat of science and technology, a group of scientists has used the help of thousands of tiny robots to create the biggest 3D map of the universe we’ve ever seen. This map gives us a peek into the universe’s history, showing us how it has expanded over a whopping 11 billion years.

To put together this massive cosmic map, scientists used a special tool called the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument, or Desi for short. This instrument is quite unique because it’s powered by 5,000 little robots. These robots work together to measure the light coming from faraway cosmic objects, which helps scientists figure out how fast the universe is growing.

One of the main reasons scientists are so excited about this map is that it helps them study something called dark energy. Dark energy is a mysterious force that’s thought to be behind the universe’s rapid expansion. Understanding dark energy is like solving a cosmic puzzle about why the universe is stretching out faster and faster.

Dr. Seshadri Nadathur, a key scientist in this project from the Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation at the University of Portsmouth, shared his enthusiasm about the findings. He said that the results from this map are thrilling and might reveal new clues about the nature of dark energy. However, he also mentioned that it’s a bit too soon to jump to conclusions since there’s still a lot more data to analyze.

This map isn’t just a one-time project. Scientists plan to keep using Desi to gather more data, hoping to deepen our understanding of the universe. This international team of researchers has already shown us a glimpse of what the cosmos looked like billions of years ago, and their work continues to unveil the mysteries of space, making these findings incredibly exciting for anyone curious about the stars and galaxies far beyond our reach.