https://mapoftheuniverse.net/ The map of the Universe from the Milky Way to the edge of what can be seen [Down] Astronomers have observed millions of galaxies Each point on this page is a real galaxy This is what deep space looks like [leftthin] return to the map --------------------------------------------------------------------- We cannot see anything beyond this point. The light travel time to us is greater than the age of the Universe. billions of years ago 13.7 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 [Banner-Sid] [left] [Down] Scroll up to travel through the universe billions of years ago the edge of the observable Universe [black] redshifted quasars [black] quasars [Red] red elliptical galaxies [Ellipse] elliptical galaxies [Spiral] spiral galaxies [test_82] our galaxy, the Milky Way [cmbthin] the edge of the observable Universe This is an actual photograph of the first flash of light emitted soon after the big bang, 13.7 billion years ago. This light has been stretched by the expansion of the Universe and arrives at us as radiowaves. It is called the Cosmic Microwave Background. See the sky view. [black] [12] redshifted quasars At these distances, the expansion of the Universe is so great that the blue photons from quasars get stretched and appear redder. A bit farther, we encounter an epoch during which the Universe is filled with hydrogen gas that prevents the propagation of visible light we could observe today. This epoch is called the "dark ages". See the sky view. [black] [8] quasars Quasars are massive black holes located at the center of certain galaxies. As they accrete surrounding gas and stars, they become extremely bright and can be seen across the Universe. Their light is blueish. See the sky view. Beyond this distance, galaxies are harder to see. However, we can still see quasars. They are much brighter and bluer. [Red] [4] redshifted elliptical galaxies As the Universe expands, photons gets stretched and objects appear redder. This is the case for the elliptical galaxies. At these distances, they appear red to us.As we no longer detect the fainter spiral galaxies, the filamentary structure is less visible. See the sky view. [Ellipse] [1] elliptical galaxies Elliptical galaxies are yellowish and much brighter than spiral galaxies. We can see them farther away. See the sky view. [Spiral] [0] spiral galaxies Each dot is a galaxy shown with its apparent color. Spiral galaxies are faint and blue. Our galaxy, the Milky Way, is a blue spiral that would look like one of these if we could observe it from the outside. See the sky view. you are here angle on the sky redshift lookback time [billions of years] 2 4 8 10 12 13.7 0.2 0.5 1 2 5 0deg 60deg 90deg 30deg [total_line] [total] [Logo3] explore the map --------------------------------------------------------------------- description What is this map? This map shows a slice of our Universe. It was created from astronomical data taken night after night over a period of 15 years using a telescope in New Mexico, USA. We are located at the bottom. At the top is the actual edge of the observable Universe. In between, we see about 200,000 galaxies. The full map is actually a sphere. This visualization shows a thin slice of the Universe. Its thickness is about 10 degrees. More astronomical data is available but it is not possible to show all of it at once on a 2D map. The image would be completely saturated with dots. What are these dots? [Galaxy] Each tiny dot is a galaxy. About 200,000 are shown with their actual position and color. Each galaxy contains billions of stars and planets. We are located at the bottom. Our galaxy, the Milky Way is just a dot. Looking up, we see that space is filled with galaxies forming a global filamentary structure. Far away from us (higher up in the map), the filaments become harder to see. Why are the colors changing? The Universe expands with time. This expansion stretches the wavelength of light. The farther an object, the redder it will appear to us. The map shows two blue-to-red redshift sequences: one for galaxies (lower half) and one for quasars (upper half). [Redshift] Why is there an edge? The top of the map reveals the first flash of radiation emitted soon after the Big Bang. This happened 13.7 billion years ago. Today we observe this radiation not as visible light but as radio waves. It is called the Cosmic Microwave Background. It is the edge of the observable Universe. Any light emitted beyond that has not yet reached us as its travel time is longer than the age of the Universe. [cmb_illust] Why are we at the center? [3D] Our galaxy, the Milky Way, is not located at any special position in space. The expansion of the Universe and the redshift effect makes all other galaxies appear redder as we look farther. This map would look similarly if we were looking at the Universe from another galaxy. Which telescope was used? Observations were conducted using a dedicated 2.5-m wide-angle optical telescope at Apache Point Observatory in New Mexico, United States. [Sloan] This project is called the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. It has been running for more than 20 years. It has observed millions of galaxies. A fraction of all the available data has been used to create this map. The Cosmic Microwave Background was observed using the Planck space telescope by the European Space Agency. --------------------------------------------------------------------- download | poster Vertical Banner [thumbnail_] 2k 4k 8k poster * ----------------------------------------------------------------- Horizontal Banner [thumbnail_] 2k 4k 8k poster Beautiful [2K] 2k 4k 8k poster * ----------------------------------------------------------------- Educational [Poster] 2k 4k 8k poster * ----------------------------------------------------------------- for non-commercial use only. Otherwise, contact us at MapoftheUniverse.net@gmail.com. --------------------------------------------------------------------- [Logo3] explore the map description What is this map? This map shows a slice of our Universe. It was created from astronomical data taken night after night over a period of 15 years using a telescope in New Mexico, USA. We are located at the bottom. At the top is the actual edge of the observable Universe. In between, we see about 200,000 galaxies. The full map is actually a sphere. This visualization shows a thin slice of the Universe. Its thickness is about 10 degrees. More astronomical data is available but it is not possible to show all of it at once. The map would be completely covered with dots. What are these colorful dots? Each tiny dot is a galaxy. About 200,000 are shown with their actual position and color. Each galaxy contains billions of stars and planets. We are located at the bottom. Our galaxy, the Milky Way is just a dot. Looking up, we see that space is filled with galaxies forming a global filamentary structure. Far away from us (higher up in the map), the filaments become harder to see. [Galaxy] Why are the colors changing? The Universe expands with time. This expansion stretches the wavelength of light. The farther an object, the redder it will appear to us. The map shows two blue-to-red redshift sequences: one for galaxies (lower half) and one for quasars (upper half). [Redshift] Why is there an edge? The top of the map reveals the first flash of radiation emitted soon after the Big Bang. This happened 13.7 billion years ago. Today we observe this radiation not as visible light but through radio waves. It is called the Cosmic Microwave Background. It is the edge of the observable Universe. Any light emitted beyond that has not yet reached us as its travel time is longer than the age of the Universe. [cmb_illust] Why are we at the center? [3D] Our galaxy, the Milky Way, is not located at any special position in space. The expansion of the Universe and the redshift effect makes all other galaxies appear redder as we look farther. This map would look similarly if we were looking at the Universe from another galaxy. Which telescope was used? Observations were conducted using a dedicated 2.5-m wide-angle optical telescope at Apache Point Observatory in New Mexico, United States. [Sloan] This project is called the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. It has been running for more than 20 years. It has observed millions of galaxies. A fraction of all the available data has been used to create this map. The Cosmic Microwave Background was observed using the Planck space telescope by the European Space Agency. download | poster Vertical Banner [thumbnail_] 2k 4k 8k poster * ----------------------------------------------------------------- Horizontal Banner [thumbnail_] 2k 4k 8k poster Beautiful [2K] 2k 4k 8k poster * ----------------------------------------------------------------- Educational [Poster] 2k 4k 8k poster * ----------------------------------------------------------------- for non-commercial use only. Otherwise, contact us at MapoftheUniverse.net@gmail.com. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Visualization by B. Menard & N. Shtarkman, Johns Hopkins University. Credits (c) Menard & Shtarkman. All Rights Reserved --------------------------------------------------------------------- (c) Brice Menard & Nikita Shtarkman. All Rights Reserved Visualization by B. Menard & N. Shtarkman, Johns Hopkins University. view credits Credits [sdss] Data for galaxies and quasars are from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). [planck] The Cosmic Microwave Background image was obtained by the Planck Satellite. [jhu] Visualization created at Johns Hopkins University --------------------------------------------------------------------- Images of the Deep Field, Spiral Galaxies, and Elliptical Galaxies courtesy of ESA/Hubble & NASA Image of the CMB courtesy of ESA/Planck Image of the Black Hole courtesy of NASA Image of the SDSS Telescope courtesy of Sloan Foundation 3D Slice [3D] ABC Modal Heading [SkyView_01] They are massive black holes located at the center of certain galaxies. As they accrete surrounding gas, they become extremely bright and can be seen across the Universe. Their light is blueish. At these distances, galaxies have become too faint the Sloan Digital Sky Survey telescope. Map Information [3D] Each dot is a galaxy or a quasar. About 200,000 are shown with their actual position and color, from the Milky Way, all the way to the Cosmic Microwave Background -- the edge of the observable Universe.