• Scientists collect vast datasets to map the Universe in 3D
• Early findings hint that the force driving the Universe’s expansion may be changing

An international team of scientists has created the largest high-resolution 3D map of the Universe ever made, following a five-year sky survey using one of the world’s most powerful ground-based telescopes.

The project relied on an instrument called the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI), mounted on a telescope in Arizona, USA, and has already observed more than 47 million galaxies as well as extremely bright objects linked to supermassive black holes.

The aim is to better understand “dark energy” — the mysterious force believed to make up about 70% of the Universe and drive its accelerated expansion, rather than slowing it down as once thought.

Researchers say the new map shows how galaxies are distributed across roughly 11 billion years of cosmic history, allowing scientists to study how the structure of the Universe has evolved over time.

Early results also suggest that dark energy may not be constant, but could be changing, a finding that may reshape current ideas about the Universe’s ultimate fate.

Although the main survey phase is complete, scientists say work is ongoing, with data collection continuing until 2028 and the map expected to expand by around 20%.

In the next stage, researchers will analyse the massive dataset in detail in hopes of gaining more precise answers about how the Universe works, evolves, and may eventually end.