Scientists on the Dark Energy Survey have released the first in a series of dark matter maps of the cosmos. These maps, created with one of the world’s most powerful digital cameras, are the largest contiguous maps created at this level of detail and will improve our understanding of dark matter’s role in the formation of galaxies.
With its second year under way, the Dark Energy Survey team posts highlights and prepares to release images from its first year
Eight billion years ago, rays of light from distant galaxies began their long journey to Earth. That ancient starlight has now found its way to a mountaintop in Chile, where the newly constructed Dark Energy Camera, the most powerful sky-mapping machine ever created, has captured and recorded it for the first time.
Scientists announced that the Dark Energy Survey soon expects to make a substantial leap forward in our understanding of why the universe is accelerating and the nature of dark energy.