Recently, the world's largest digital universe map has been released to the public including mapping billions of stars and galaxies. These data have been obtained from an international Pan-STARRS project undertaken by scientists from Queen's University in Belfast. This study has also predicted the discovery of new objects in the universe. In space exploration, astronomers and cosmologists use a 1.8 meter telescope located on the summit of Haleakala, Maui - Hawaii. This digital telescope repeatedly draws three quarters of the sky visible for more than four years.



Digital Map of the Universe

The space captured by Pan-STARRS1 equipment consists of three billion separate sources, including stars, galaxies, and other space objects. This collection of two petabytes of computer data, equivalent to one billion selfi photos or a hundred times the current Wikipedia content. Then Pan-STARRS with the University of Hawaii Institute of Astronomy began releasing data found to the general public. The study is also supported by NASA and funded through several leading universities in the United States.

The released digital maps of the universe will allow everyone to access millions of stellar images and use databases containing precision measurements from billions of stars and galaxies. Pan-STARRS has made the discovery of near-Earth objects and Kuiper Belt in the solar system that is far among the stars. This image has also mapped dust in three dimensions in the Milky Way galaxy and discovered new star paths. Exploration also finds the type of stellar explosion and quasars that formed early in the universe.

At least scientists have been working on this project for more than five years and have found the brightest explosion in the universe, as well as the nearest asteroid in the solar system. In May 2010, the Pan-STARRS observatory embarked on a digital survey of mapping a space visible with infrared light. This is the first survey aimed at observing outer space, searching for moving objects and variable objects including asteroids potentially threatening Earth.

The digital map of the universe is titled 'Static Sky' which includes the average values ​​for the positions of celestial bodies, the brightness and color of individually captured objects. It is the largest and most complete digital map along the space exploration, the data provided is very complete and concrete following the positions of celestial bodies. Officially, the digital map of the universe will be released in 2017, including the catalog and pictures of each Snapshot. For now everyone can access online at Pan-STARRS official website.

Reference

Astronomers release largest digital survey of the visible Universe, Dec 16, 2016, by Queen's University Belfast.