How do astronomers map the universe? Science responds!

The universe is still a mystery that science needs to decipher. Despite years of studies and investigations conducted by researchers and scientists, We are still unable to fully demarcate everything around us. However, current astronomers are already working to make this a reality.

The night sky has fascinated humanity since primitive times, a curiosity so intense that it has given rise to several scientific fields dedicated to the study of the universe. As a result, we are constantly trying to understand why reality appears the way we observe it.

To create a “map” of the universe, several teams of researchers use different methods to map all celestial bodies. Just as the world map represents the Earth, scientists' idea is to develop a cosmic atlas that displays all the stars, moons, planets, and everything in space.

While some groups attempt to map specific regions, others seek to actually create a map of the universe. After all, how can astronomers map everything in space?

It is an extremely complex task, as it is estimated that there are as many as 400 billion stars and 100 billion planets in the Milky Way alone, among countless other celestial structures. Furthermore, the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) estimates that there are about 2 trillion galaxies in the observable universe.

“The universe suddenly looks a lot more crowded, thanks to deep-sky counts compiled from surveys by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and other observatories. Astronomers have come to the surprising conclusion that there are at least 10 times as many galaxies in the observable universe,” NASA explains. than was previously thought.

“Maps” of the universe

One of the biggest challenges facing this type of mapping is the movement of celestial bodies.. For example, the Earth is constantly moving in a regular and predictable orbit around the Sun. On the other hand, there are millions of asteroids, many of which have paths that can vary and become irregular over the long term due to gravitational interaction with other bodies. heavenly.

Using mathematical calculations of interstellar distances, it is possible to understand where we are in the universe. Thus, the European Space Agency (ESA)'s Gaia mission created a map of the Milky Way with incredible accuracy.. Data from more than a billion stars was used, as well as comets, asteroids and other objects in the solar system.

Milky Way map.source: ESA/GAIA

How to draw a map of the universe?

It was through the study of North American astronomer Henrietta Swan Leavitt that scientists He discovered that Cepheid variable stars could be used to measure distances between galaxies.

Later, American astronomer Edwin Hubble determined redshift, which made understanding the vastness of the universe a little easier.

Redshift is the phenomenon of changing the frequency of light coming from a distant celestial body. For example, the farther away a star is in our expanding universe, the greater its redshift.

Euclid Space Telescope

Despite all the difficulties surrounding the goal, the ESA team is also developing a map of the observable universe. Using data collected by the Euclid Space Telescope, which launched in July 2023, mission researchers are compiling images to create a cosmic atlas.

The image released by the Euclid Space Telescope represents only 1% of what the mission plans to map.source: ESA/Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA/GAIA/DPAC/Planck Collaboration

The team has already released the first image, which reveals only a small portion of what is out there in space. The quality of the mosaic is 208 gigapixels and represents only 1% of the entire map; It is expected that within six years, more than a third of the universe will be mapped.

“This first part of the map already contains about 100 million sources: stars in the Milky Way and galaxies beyond them. About 14 million of these galaxies can be used to study the hidden influence of dark matter and dark energy in the universe.

Over the next six years, it is expected to collect billions of data points on galaxies up to 10 billion light-years away. The Euclid Space Telescope uses advanced equipment that captures images in the infrared spectrum. Furthermore, the mission seeks to unravel the nature of dark matter and dark energy.

The process of creating a “map” of the universe is an ongoing, time-consuming and expensive process. Furthermore, it will never be possible to map the entire universe, as there is an ongoing process of expansion. But within a few decades, we may have already mapped much of the universe.

Stay up to date on astronomy and science here at TecMundo. If you wish, seize the opportunity to discover where the edge of the universe is. Until next time!