Astronomers have created the most comprehensive cosmic map ever, revealing over 800,000 galaxies and images of the early universe dating back to 13.5 billion years. The COSMOS-Web field project uses data from the James Webb Space Telescope’s mirror to chart nearly 98% of cosmic history in a 0.54 square degree survey area equivalent to three full moons.
The team, led by Caitlin Casey and Jeyhan Kartaltepe, spent two years turning raw images into user-friendly catalogs. The map shows galaxies more faintly than expected, as well as supermassive black holes previously invisible to the Hubble telescope. This raises new questions about early universe formation and cosmic mysteries like dark matter.
The dataset is now publicly available, encouraging graduate and undergraduate astronomers to explore and uncover new clues. By analyzing the same data set differently, researchers can unlock secrets about the physics of the early universe.
Source: https://newatlas.com/space/largest-map-universe-reveals-800000-galaxies