The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument has capped off the first seven months of its survey run by creating the largest and most detailed map of the universe ever.

The instrument has smashed previous records for 3D galaxy surveys, yet it’s only about 10% of the way through its five-year mission.

Once completed, the map will yield a better understanding of dark energy, giving physicists and astronomers a better understanding of the past—and future—of the universe. Meanwhile, the technical performance and achievements of the survey are helping scientists reveal the secrets of the most powerful sources of light in the universe.

DESI scientists will present the performance of the instrument, and some early astrophysics results, this week at a Berkeley Lab-hosted webinar called CosmoPalooza, which will also feature updates from other leading cosmology experiments.

University of Michigan physicist and research professor Michael Schubnell, who was key in designing some of DESI’s instrumentation, says the project has collected more and better quality data in these first seven months than prior experiments have in the last decade.

“We are extremely happy with the performance of the instrument. This is not like a project where you work for a particular moment—in which you prepare for 10 years for this one moment or one day,” Schubnell said. “No, our experiment relies on working efficiently and reliably every night. It doesn’t stop. Even if you had a great first week, a great first six months, you have to go on, and you have to have a great five years. We’re getting fantastic data night after night, and we’re breaking our own records from now on.”

DESI is an international science collaboration managed by the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) with primary funding for construction and operations from DOE’s Office of Science.

“There is a lot of beauty to it,” said Berkeley Lab scientist Julien Guy. “In the distribution of the galaxies in the 3D map, there are huge clusters, filaments and voids. They’re the biggest structures in the universe. But within them, you find an imprint of the very early universe and the history of its expansion since then.”

DESI has come a long way to reach this point. Originally proposed over a decade ago, construction on the instrument started in 2015. It was installed at the Nicholas U. Mayall 4-meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory near Tucson, Arizona. Kitt Peak National Observatory is a program of the National Science Foundation’s NOIRLab, which the Department of Energy contracts with to operate the Mayall Telescope for the DESI survey.DESI has come a long way to reach this point. Originally proposed over a decade ago, construction on the instrument started in 2015. It was installed at the Nicholas U. Mayall 4-meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory near Tucson, Arizona. Kitt Peak National Observatory is a program of the National Science Foundation’s NOIRLab, which the Department of Energy contracts with to operate the Mayall Telescope for the DESI survey.

To read more of the story and view a short video, please click here for Morgan Sherburne's press release.

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Michael Schubnell
Gregory Tarlé