The world's largest digital survey of the visible universe, mapping billions of stars and galaxies, has been published for the first time.
Researchers will now be able to study the 'farthest reaches of the universe and gain insights into elusive dark energy and dark matter' using the map, experts say.
The map is the product of a project using a 6 foot (1.8 metre) telescope at the summit of the Haleakala volcano in Maui, Hawaii, which captured large images of the sky every 30 seconds for four years.
The Panoramic Survey Telescope & Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS) captures fast-moving objects and tracked exploding stars across the sky.
The project is part of an international collaboration including the universities of Edinburgh and Durham, and Queen's University Belfast, and was also supported by Nasa and the National Science Foundation.
Images from the project, released today by the Space Telescope Science Institute and the University of Hawaii, will now be analysed to identify and catalogue astronomical objects.
http://www.hawaii.edu/news/2016/12/19/largest-digital-sky-survey-released-by-pan-starrs/
