The universe has just become a little more understandable – or at least more visible. The project team of the project Cosmos-web released the creation of the largest map of cosmos ever built. With him, more than 800 thousand galaxies were mappedrevealing the cosmic web on an unprecedented scale.
The group used the James Webb Telescope (JWST) to collect data over more than two years. In all, the instrument captured the light of millions of celestial objects, allowing astronomers to rebuild the distribution of galaxies in deep space-some located at billions of light years away.
The team captured 10 times more galaxies than expected and even found some unpublished black holes. These findings raised questions about the Past Cosmos.
The full map of the project covers more than 13.5 billion years of cosmic records – Virtually the whole history of the universe, whose age estimated by the NASA it is 13.8 billion years. This represents about 98% of cosmic timea feat that marks a new chapter in modern astronomy.
“We agreed to more than 10,000 images of the sky to form the biggest JWST image. It was amazing to reveal galaxies that were once invisible and very rewarding to finally see them appear on our computers,” explained Maximilien Franco, a cosmos-Web participating researcher, in a communication.
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Project unites scientists and public
The launch of the map is not just the academic research. The entire data package is available to the public through a interactive website. The project’s official portal allows ordinary citizens to explore the cosmos in detail, with unpublished information accessible outside the scientific circles.
Now the group plans to understand what happened in the early days of the cosmos. With the data platform open, astronomers expect the public to view distant galaxies, identify patterns and even contribute to analyzes to assist in the research. These new looks can unravel clues about cosmic mysteries as dark matter and physics in the youth of the universe.
“The best science is really done when everyone thinks about the same data set differently. It is not just a group of people to unravel the mysteries,” said Professor Catlin Casey, the project participant.
With the largest map of the cosmos in hand, astronomers are now more equipped than ever to decipher the secrets of the universe. And for the first time, the general public can also embark on this journey.
