Scientists release biggest 2D map of the universe

The DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys team has unveiled the largest-ever 2D color map of the universe, containing nearly 4 billion celestial objects. Astronomers and citizen scientists can explore and analyze the map, which is publicly available through the Legacy Survey Sky Viewer. The data combines 263,407 telescope exposures from three ground-based sky surveys and NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) satellite mission, along with additional public data.

The map covers 75% of the sky in visible and near-infrared light, providing a deep view of the extragalactic universe not obstructed by the dust and stars of our Milky Way. This comprehensive dataset is crucial for understanding the expansion history of the universe, the formation of our galaxy, and the distribution of dark matter and dark energy.