NASA’s SPHEREx space observatory has begun its scientific operations, marking a significant milestone in the mission to discover new information about the origins of the Universe, galaxies, and the ingredients for life. Launched on March 11, the observatory is now capturing 3,600 daily photos across six unique detectors that capture different wavelengths of infrared light.
The SPHEREx space observatory will survey the entire sky over the next two years, creating a detailed three-dimensional map of the cosmos. This ambitious mission aims to answer some of the universe’s biggest questions, including what happened in the first fraction of a second after the Big Bang.
To achieve this feat, SPHEREx will perform more than 11,000 orbits above Earth, capturing images in circular strips as it orbits from north to south. The observatory’s field of view will shift as days pass, allowing it to look into space from every direction within six months.
The unique feature of SPHEREx is its infrared capabilities, which enable the detection of light across 102 different wavelengths. This allows scientists to create a map with unprecedented color depth and study the composition and distance of distant galaxies. The observatory’s performance has been deemed excellent, paving the way for groundbreaking discoveries that may uncover secrets about the universe’s earliest life.
By combining images from six detectors, SPHEREx will produce four all-sky maps in two years, providing a new understanding of the Universe’s origins and evolution. As one mission official notes, “We’re going to study what happened on the smallest size scales in the universe’s earliest moments by looking at the modern universe on the largest scales.”
Source: https://petapixel.com/2025/05/02/spherex-space-observatory-begins-mapping-the-entire-sky-in-102-wavelengths-of-light