Free Astronomy Magazine November-December 2026

16 NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2026 ASTRO PUBLISHING acy Survey Sky Viewer. Astronomers and citizen scientists can combine the map with their own observa- tions to better understand our Uni- verse. Researchers can search for rare phenomena like gravitational lenses, observe fleeting events like supernovae, and investigate two of physics’ biggest mysteries: dark mat- ter, the invisible substance that ac- counts for most of the mass in our Universe, and dark energy, the force driving our Universe’s accelerating expansion. The new map builds on earlier versions from the DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys that have already proved invaluable. To date, more than 1800 science papers have been published referencing the Legacy Surveys’ data. Scientists release biggest 2D map of the Universe by NOIRLab Josie Fenske & Lauren Biron H old on to your telescopes: the DESI Legacy Imaging Sur- veys team has released the largest-ever 2D map of the Uni- verse. The 5.6-trillion-pixel map con- tains nearly four billion celestial objects, including stars, galaxies, black holes, and asteroids. The data are available for all to use and are publicly viewable through the Leg-