The James Webb Space Telescope has unveiled the largest map of the universe ever created, covering almost 13 billion years of cosmic time. The massive dataset includes almost 800,000 galaxies, many of which are seen as they existed over 13 billion years ago. Created by scientists from the Cosmic Evolution Survey collaboration, the map was produced by processing two years’ worth of raw data collected by JWST and made publicly available.
The telescope spent 255 hours observing a region of space called the COSMOS field, allowing researchers to capture an incredible view of the universe stretching back to 13.5 billion years. The unique infrared capabilities of JWST enabled scientists to detect faint signals from distant galaxies that were previously invisible.
According to Caitlin Casey, co-lead for the COSMOS project, the raw data reveals about 10 times more galaxies than expected at these great distances. The team is also seeing supermassive black holes that are not visible with other telescopes like Hubble.
The map was made accessible through a collaborative effort between researchers and experts, allowing amateur astronomers, undergraduate researchers, and the general public to explore the universe. Viewers can access the interactive map using COSMOS’ viewer tool.
Source: https://www.livescience.com/space/cosmology/scientists-unveil-the-largest-map-of-the-universe-spanning-over-13-billion-years