Universe's Biggest 2D Map Spans 75% of the Sky in 5.6 Trillion Pixels
Over 13 years, 263,407 images from NSF NOIRLab’s Mayall and Blanco telescopes using the 570‑megapixel Dark Energy Camera yielded the DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys, the largest 2D map of the universe, covering about 75% of the sky and containing nearly four billion objects. The 5.6‑trillion‑pixel map will underpin the DESI project’s upcoming 3D cosmic mapping and dark energy studies, and is already referenced in more than 1,800 scientific papers with data publicly accessible via the Legacy Imaging Viewer.