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by Robert Lea
December 22, 2025
from
Space Website
A map of the entire
sky over Earth
in 102 colors
as seen by SPHEREx.
(Image credit:
NASA/JPL-Caltech)
"I
think every astronomer
is going
to find something of value here,
as NASA's
missions enable the world
to answer
fundamental questions
about how
the universe got its start,
and how it
changed to eventually create
a home for
us in it."
NASA's SPHEREx observatory has completed its first map of the entire
sky over Earth, and it is incredible.
Beyond its aesthetic value, the map and the rest of the data
collected by SPHEREx, which launched in March this year, will help
astronomers answer some of the biggest cosmic questions.
Among these are:
what happened during the first billionth of a
trillionth of a trillionth of a second after
the Big Bang, and how this has
influenced the 3D distribution of hundreds of millions of
galaxies in our universe?
Scientists will also use SPHEREx data to
investigate the evolution of galaxies over the
13.8 billion-year history of the cosmos.
This could include determining how the key
elements needed for life were disbursed.
The infrared colors
of the SPHEREx
cosmic map.
(Image credit:
NASA/JPL-Caltech)
"It's incredible how much information SPHEREx has collected in
just six months - information that will be especially valuable
when used alongside our other missions' data to better
understand our universe," Shawn Domagal-Goldman, director
of the Astrophysics Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington,
said in a statement.
"We essentially have 102 new maps of the
entire sky, each one in a different wavelength and containing
unique information about the objects it sees.
"I think every astronomer is going to find something of value
here, as NASA's missions enable the world to answer fundamental
questions about how the universe got its start, and how it
changed to eventually create a home for us in it."
SPHEREx orbiting the
Earth.
(Image credit: NASA)
SPHEREx, which stands for the "Spectro-Photometer for the History of
the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer," orbits
Earth just under 15 times per day from the North Pole to the South
Pole.
As it does, this conical spacecraft captures 3,600 images throughout
each of its orbits, with the orbit of Earth around the sun shifting
the space observatory's field of view.
Beginning operations in May, it took SPHEREx until this month to
complete its first map of the entire sky over our planet. During its
primary mission lasting two years, the spacecraft is expected to
complete another three all-sky scans.
This data will be merged with the existing map to
create an even more detailed picture of
the sky over Earth.
"SPHEREx is a mid-sized astrophysics mission
delivering big science," JPL Director Dave Gallagher
said.
"It's a phenomenal example of how we turn
bold ideas into reality, and in doing so, unlock enormous
potential for discovery."
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