DESI

The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument has completed its originally planned five-year mission and mapped more than 47 million galaxies and quasars, creating the largest high-resolution 3D map of our universe to date. Because of the instrument’s excellent performance and hints that dark energy might evolve, DESI will continue observations into 2028 and further expand the map.

A new data release from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument is now available for researchers to explore. The collection contains information on 18.7 million galaxies, quasars, and stars — the largest dataset of its kind ever shared.

The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument used millions of galaxies and quasars to build the largest 3D map of our universe to date. Combining the DESI data with other experiments shows signs that the impact of dark energy may be weakening over time — and the standard model of how the universe works may need an update.

This year there were many major advances in our understanding of the Universe, including in the areas of particle physics and astrophysics. Included in this line-up are stories from DESI, LHC, The James Webb Space Telescope and more.

Researchers used the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument to map how nearly 6 million galaxies cluster across 11 billion years of cosmic history. Their observations line up with what Einstein’s theory of general relativity predicts.

Here’s what recent DESI measurements suggest — and why it’s too early to update conventional predictions about the Universe’s distant future.

Researchers have used the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument to make the largest 3D map of our universe and world-leading measurements of dark energy, the mysterious cause of its accelerating expansion.

The first batch of data from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument is now available for researchers to mine. Taken during the experiment’s “survey validation” phase, the data include distant galaxies and quasars as well as stars in our own Milky Way.

Scientists have proposed new instruments that would use spectroscopy to decode dark matter, dark energy and cosmic inflation.

Collaborators on the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument breathe a sigh of relief as they successfully restart the state-of-the-art experiment.