virtual tour of the universe

Welcome to ViewSpace

Hero interactive.

Explore the Universe with Interactives and Videos

About ViewSpace

What is viewspace.

ViewSpace is a free, web-based collection of digital interactives and videos highlighting the latest developments in astronomy and Earth science.

ViewSpace gives you the opportunity to explore our planet, solar system, galaxy, and universe. Provided free with the support of NASA, ViewSpace is developed by a team of scientists, educators, and communication specialists who collaborate to ensure that content is accurate, up-to-date, engaging, relevant, and accessible to a wide audience.

Interactives

ViewSpace interactives allow you to explore objects and materials from different perspectives, discovering how we can combine information to better understand the universe.

Different forms of light: Explore visible and invisible wavelengths of light that help us understand features like the dusty brim of the Sombrero Galaxy roughly 30 million light-years away.

Hidden objects: Unveil invisible light to reveal hidden objects like the stars forming inside Mystic Mountain, a pillar of gas and dust 7,500 light-years from Earth.

ViewSpace videos tell the stories of the planets, stars, galaxies, and universe, giving viewers the opportunity to experience space and Earth as seen with satellites and telescopes.

Astronomy: Explore the sky with stories told through spectacular imagery from space telescopes.

Earth science: Gain new perspectives on our home planet based on data gathered by Earth-orbiting satellites.

ViewSpace is produced by the Office of Public Outreach at the Space Telescope Science Institute , in partnership with the NASA's Universe of Learning project and NASA's Earth Observing System, Hubble Space Telescope Project, and James Webb Space Telescope Project.

ViewSpace has been exhibited in museums, planetariums, and science centers across the country since 2000.

What Will You Explore?

The Latest Discoveries in Astronomy and Astrophysics

Recent Natural Events and Satellite Views of Earth

In-depth Stories of How Science and the Universe Work

Stunning Imagery and Accessible Explanations

Sample Images from ViewSpace

What objects and materials make up the universe, and how do we study the invisible as well as the visible?

Data from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and Chandra X-Ray Observatory are used to create a map of dark matter (blue) in galaxy cluster MACS J0717.5+3745.

What are galaxies; how do they vary; and how do they form, interact, and change over time?

The Penguin and the Egg (Arp 142) is a pair of galaxies that are being distorted by their mutual gravitational attraction.

How do the Sun, planets, moons, comets, and asteroids interact as a system?

Saturn’s moon Titan casts a shadow as it passes between the planet and the Sun.

How do telescopes help us better understand the objects and materials that light up the sky?

With telescopes, we can see details of the Milky Way, including glowing clouds of dust and gas like the Lobster Nebula.

How fast is the universe expanding and what does this tell us about its past and future?

Over time, space expands, stretching the wavelenghts of light and causing the distant galaxies seen in the Ultra Deep Field image from the Hubble Space Telescope to look redder than the closer galaxies.

How do we detect and study planets orbiting other stars?

Changes in the brightness of starlight, measured by NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope, indicates the presence of a planet orbiting the star.

What happens to stars at the end of their lives, and how do stellar explosions affect the space around them?

Visible, infrared, and X-ray light from supernova remnant Cassiopeia A reveal remains of an exploded star.

How can we use interactions between light and matter to probe the deep universe?

The enormous mass of galaxy cluster Abell 370 bends the space around it, magnifying and distorting the light from more distant galaxies into arc-like streaks.

How are astronomers combining data from space and ground-based telescopes, particle detectors, and gravitational wave detectors to understand cosmic objects, processes, and events?

An artist’s illustration depicts the detection of neutrino particles and gamma rays emitted by a supermassive black hole at the center of a distant galaxy.

How and where do stars form, and how do they shape their surroundings?

Pillars of gas and dust in the Eagle Nebula are sculpted and illuminated by stellar winds and high-energy radiation of bright stars.

How can we use satellites to map, study, and monitor Earth’s land surface, oceans, and atmosphere?

An image captured by the Landsat 8 satellite in May 2018 shows active lava flows from Kilauea volcano in Hawaii.

What evidence supports our theories of how the universe formed and how it has evolved over time?

A map of the sky from the Planck Space Telescope highlights variations in the cosmic microwave background radiation—energy left over from the big bang some 13.8 billion years ago.

What tools and methods do scientists use to study Earth and space?

NASA’s Soil Moisture Active Passive satellite (SMAP) helps scientists monitor droughts, predict floods, and improve farm productivity.

Is Earth unique? Are we alone?

Observations from space telescopes have revealed thousands of exoplanets of different of sizes, compositions, temperatures, and atmospheres, including seven rocky Earth-sized planets of the TRAPPIST-1 system, 40 light-years from Earth (artist’s illustration).

Where Is ViewSpace?

ViewSpace videos are on exhibit at museums, science centers, and planetariums across the country.

ViewSpace interactives are available online.

Use the map to find a ViewSpace video location near you.

Location Spotlight

Worcester, Massachusetts

Westcave Preserve

Round Mountain, Texas

Lowell Observatory

Flagstaff, Arizona

Maryland Science Center

Baltimore, Maryland

Edelman Planetarium at Rowan University

Glassboro, New Jersey

Clark Planetarium

Salt Lake City, Utah

Becoming a ViewSpace Venue

ViewSpace provides informal learning sites with engaging, accurate, relevant, and up-to-date astronomy and Earth science content. Access to ViewSpace is free, requiring only registration, a computer or Smart TV, and persistent internet access. ViewSpace content is self-updating and videos can be set to play automatically, requiring minimal staff effort to maintain.

Join hundreds of others in featuring ViewSpace as part of your exhibits.

Who Produces and Supports ViewSpace?

ViewSpace is produced by the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland, and is provided free of charge through financial support and subject matter expertise from the NASA’s Universe of Learning project, NASA’s Earth Observing System Project Science Office, NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope Project, and NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope Project.

Funded by NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, NASA’s Universe of Learning is an integrated astrophysics STEM learning and literacy project developed through a partnership between the Space Telescope Science Institute, Caltech/IPAC, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, and Sonoma State University.

NASA’s Earth Observing System (EOS) is a coordinated series of satellites designed to observe Earth’s land, atmosphere, oceans, and biosphere. As part of the Earth Science Division of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, the EOS Project Science Office (EOSPSO) is committed to sharing information with both researchers and the general public.

The Hubble Space Telescope and James Webb Space Telescope are two of NASA’s flagship missions designed to explore and advance our understanding of the universe. The missions’ communications programs are dedicated to sharing scientific advances and making the world’s astronomical information accessible to all.

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NASA’s Eyes

Events on Earth

More to explore.

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Experience Curiosity

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Experience InSight

The Nine Planets

Solar System Tour

Solar System Scope is an incredibly accurate solar system tour, allowing you to explore the solar system, the night sky and outer space in real-time.

All of the objects on the tour are accurately positioned based on where they are right this very second, and the tour contains interesting facts and information about the many objects in space.

Every now and then, don’t you wish you could just pack your bags and jet off on an exciting, awe-inspiring journey across our breathtaking solar system? Ever wondered what it’d be like to skim past the gas giants or marvel at the icy rings of Saturn up close? Well, while Elon Musk is still working on making that a reality, I’ll be your virtual guide on a one-of-a-kind solar system tour – an enlightening adventure, without the risk of being lost in space!

Our journey starts right here, on our very own life-logged planet, Earth. As we embark on this space voyage, we’ll traverse through the neighboring rocky planets, glide past the incredible asteroid belt, and sweep across the majestic giants, their icy rings and numerous satellites. Towards the end, we’ll be gracefully riding the gravitational waves, leaving the outer edges of our solar system, where you’ll get a rare glimpse of the enigmatic region populated by icy objects known as the Kuiper Belt.

But before we start our engines and head for the inky vastness of space, it’s important to remember that although space explorations have given us a fair idea about these celestial bodies, there’s still an ocean of mysteries waiting to be unfolded. The real beauty of our cosmic neighborhood lies in its sheer vastness, diversity and the endless scope of discovery that it harbors. From the scorching heat of Mercury to the frigid reaches Pluto and beyond, brace yourself for an  out-of-this-world experience !

The Exciting Experience of a Solar System Tour

Imagine the prospect of a real-life  solar system tour . It’s akin to a child’s joy on their first trip to a theme park. A hands-on space exploration that goes beyond the textbooks, casting a mesmerizing spell on minds open to the wonders of the universe.

Propelling past Earth’s atmosphere, you’d first mark a date with our closest celestial neighbor—the Moon. The Apollo astronauts traversed its dusty plains more than five decades ago. Yet for us, it would still be a once-in-a-lifetime event. Next on the itinerary is our scorched twin, Venus. Here’s a fun fact,  Venus  is the only planet in our solar system that spins opposite to Earth.

Then we arrive at the pièce de résistance: our bloodline, the Sun. During the visit, you could learn more about its billion-year lifespan and its constant solar storms. The solar system tour would not be complete without a stopover at Mars. Known as the Red Planet, it’s been the subject of numerous  space missions , most notably the Mars Rover mission seeking evidence of life.

Here’s a quick tabular overview:

From the asteroid belt to Jupiter’s turbulent storms, every celestial body sits ready to unfold its story. With the tour continuing to the outer reaches of the universe, you’d experience the icy solitude of the outer planets like Neptune and Uranus.

However, we shouldn’t forget about an often overlooked, yet significant part of our solar system. Those are the  comets  and asteroids, remnants from the formation of our system almost 4.6 billion years ago.

Being part of a solar system tour , you wouldn’t just be observing the cosmos. Instead, you’d immerse yourself in a cosmic ocean, each wave presenting a new revelation about the universe. It’s not merely an experience; it’s the chance to physically connect with the vast expanse of space that usually only feels a speck away in the night sky. This would indeed be a ticket to the greatest show in the cosmos.

Traveling through the Solar System: What to Expect

Imagine blasting off into the cosmos on a spaceship designed for a thrilling expedition! As we set off on our  solar system tour , the things we’ll perceive are extraordinarily vast and stunningly diverse. This voyage will give us a newfound respect for the majesty of the cosmic neighborhood we inhabit.

Our first stop will be  Mercury , the closest planet to the sun. It’s a small, bare, and intensely heated planet. We shouldn’t forget the sunscreen as daytime temperatures can soar up to 800 degrees Fahrenheit!

Next, we’ll swing by  Venus  – the hot, hurricane-ridden planet awaits us with an unbelievably corrosive atmosphere. It’s interesting to note that Venus rotates in the opposite direction to most planets, including Earth.

Continuing our journey, we’ll visit  Mars . Mars has the tallest volcano in the solar system, Olympus Mons, three times the height of Mount Everest. And don’t forget about the giant canyon, Valles Marineris, which would stretch from New York to Los Angeles if it was on Earth!

Yet, our extraordinary adventure won’t be all about planets. We’ll have a chance to marvel at the  Asteroid Belt , a ring composed of millions of rocky bodies. This celestial obstacle course lies between Mars and Jupiter.

Of course, we’ll also encounter the majestic giants of our solar system. The gas giants,  Saturn  and  Jupiter , as well as the icy giants,  Uranus  and  Neptune , will present captivating sights. We’ll see Jupiter’s Great Red Spot, an anticyclonic storm larger than Earth, and Saturn’s intricate ring system. Uranus and Neptune, on the other hand, will dazzle us with their stunning cool-blue hues.

Admittedly, going further to behold the beauty of  Pluto , once a planet, now a dwarf planet in the Kuiper Belt, caps off this unique expedition. The journey end will leave us with an understanding of the infinite yet harmonious chaos that forms our solar system.

So buckle up, folks. The adventure through our heavenly bodies is par for the cosmic course. Our solar system, with its varied and breathtaking celestial bodies, offers a journey like no other. It’s going to be a wild ride! Just remember, despite the vastness of space, we’re never too far away from our home planet, Earth.

Conclusion: Reflecting on Our Intergalactic Journey

Wraping up, we’ve journeyed past planets and stars, across cosmic fields, and brushed alongside cosmic neighbors throughout our solar system tour.  Isn’t it just incredible that we live in such an expansive universe that holds so many unseen wonders?

Throughout our intergalactic expedition, we’ll forever remember the unique characteristics of each celestial body. Let’s just take a quick review again:

• Mercury,  with its sweltering days and frigid nights,
• Venus,  stunningly bright yet shrouded in clouds,
• Mars,  our red neighbor that pique our curiosity about extraterrestrial life,
• Jupiter’s  giant gas storms,
• Saturn’s  enchanting rings,
• Uranus  and  Neptune’s  icy allure,
• And let’s not forget about our little cosmic sibling, the dwarf planet  Pluto .

Something important stood out during our journey, invoking a sense of interconnectivity. Each exists in symbiosis, drawing and relying upon the sun’s energy. Just like how everything on Earth is connected, so are we connected to our cosmic counterparts.

So, what’s the takeaway? Should we plan to pack our bags and ship off to Mars? I’ll leave that up to you. What I will stress, though, is the importance of space exploration. It’s not just a testament to human curiosity, it’s a driver of scientific breakthroughs and a reminder of the vast unexplored universe that lies ahead of us.

It might seem frightening, or perhaps intriguing. Yet isn’t that the essence of exploration? Stepping into the unknown, learning new things, using that newfound knowledge to improve and innovate. And in doing so, perhaps we’ll find more about ourselves along the way.

To sum it up, our universe offers infinite mysteries and wonders for us to discover. As we move forward, let’s keep looking up and fueling our curiosity. Remember, no question is a bad question and our solar system tour just has begun. As we continue to explore the stars, who knows what we’ll uncover? The only thing for sure is that the stars await, ready to share their secrets with us.

Due to errors in the way the solar system model works embedded on this page, we now link directly to Solar System Scope.

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Exoplanet Travel Bureau

Even the closest exoplanets are too far away to visit. But... what if they weren't? We worked with NASA scientists, futurists and artists to imagine exoplanet tourism. Choose your adventure with guided tours, in English and Spanish. Read along or turn your sound up as you scroll through.

Explore Alien Worlds

Strange New Worlds

Historic Timeline

Universe simulator

SpaceEngine is a realistic virtual Universe you can explore on your computer. You can travel from star to star, from galaxy to galaxy, landing on any planet, moon, or asteroid with the ability to explore its alien landscape. You can alter the speed of time and observe any celestial phenomena you please. All transitions are completely seamless, and this virtual universe has a size of billions of light-years across and contains trillions upon trillions of planetary systems. The procedural generation is based on real scientific knowledge, so SpaceEngine depicts the universe the way it is thought to be by modern science. Real celestial objects are also present if you want to visit them, including the planets and moons of our Solar system, thousands of nearby stars with newly discovered exoplanets, and thousands of galaxies that are currently known.

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All types of celestial objects

represented

Galaxies, nebulae, stars and star clusters, planets and moons, comets and asteroids

Thousands of known

celestial objects

Known galaxies, stars, planets, asteroids, nebulae are represented using catalogs: HIPPARCOS, NGC/IC, Messier, MPC, NASA Exoplanet Archive and many others

procedural generation

for uncharted regions

Uncharted regions of space feature procedurally generated objects: galaxies, stars, star clusters, nebulae and planetary systems

Incredibly huge

and realistic Universe

Trillions of galaxies with billions of star systems in each, everything is realistically scaled

free to move

around the universe

Seamless transition from the surface of a planet to the most distant galaxies, and free game-like movement with the WASD keys

Easy navigation

many useful tools

Click on any visible object with the mouse and hit the 'G' key to fly directly to it. Search for objects by name, search by parameters within a certain radius, browse an interactive map of the surrounding space and view a map of the current planetary system

Save locations

and name objects

Save a favorite point in space and time and share it with friend. Give a name to any discovered planet, star or galaxy, and write a description for it.

Observe the Universe

Accelerate, decelerate, or reverse the flow of time to see the orbital motion of planets and moons, and watch sunsets and eclipses

Tools to learn

how the Universe works

Read detailed physical and astronomical data of any celestial body using the built-in Wiki system. Look at the orbital path lines of planets and moons, and compare their size side-by-side

3D landscapes on planets

volumetric galaxies and nebulae

Solar System bodies have real terrain models obtained by space probes; realistic hi-detail terrain on procedural planets

Photorealistic

Photorealistic lighting and atmospheric model

Space ships

with realistic orbital mechanics

Pilot star ships with realistic orbital mechanics, Alcubierre warp drives, and aerodynamics in planetary atmospheres

Multilanguage

Localization in 20 languages, with a simple system for creating new translations

Huge modding

Import space ship models, planetary surface textures and terrain, astronomical catalogs, and more

And much more

Movement made possible with free, spacecraft or aircraft mode

``Select and fly`` autopilot to automatically go directly to the object

Automatic binding of the observer to moving objects

Automatic selection of optimum flight speed

Built-in wiki system with descriptions and ability to extend

Ability to import user addons: models, textures, catalogs

3D models of galaxies and nebulae with interstellar dust clouds

Accurate planetary atmosphere models

Controllable space ships

Original music with context-dependent track switching

Localization in many languages, with the ability to add new ones

• CPU: Intel Core i3-3220T, AMD FX-4100
• GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti, AMD Radeon RX 460; 3+ GB dedicated video memory (VRAM)
• OS: Windows 10

Recommended

• CPU: Intel Core i5-4430, AMD FX-8350
• GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060, AMD Radeon RX 480; 5+ GB dedicated video memory (VRAM)
• OS: Windows 10/11

If you like SpaceEngine, buy the latest version on Steam , and receive free updates as we make improvements and add new features!

At the moment, we are no longer accepting donations via PayPal. If you want to support SpaceEngine beyond purchasing it for yourself, consider buying a copy for a friend or simply tell your friends and family about SpaceEngine and why you love it. No matter what you do, we deeply appreciate your support!

A Virtual Field Trip with NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory

As NASA’s premier X-ray telescope, Chandra gives us a powerful tool to investigate hot regions of the Universe, from black holes, to exploding stars, colliding galaxies and more. Because X-rays are absorbed by Earth’s atmosphere, Chandra must orbit in space to do its job.

Chandra means "moon" or "luminous" in Sanskrit.

On July 23, 1999, under the command of Col. Eileen Collins, the shuttle lifted off the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Its mission: to carry NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory into space.

Chandra has been helping scientists ever since to better understand these turbulent regions of space, answering fundamental questions about the origin, evolution, and destiny of our Universe. The Chandra's Operations Control Center (OCC) in Burlington, MA,* oversees the Chandra spacecraft and ensures its health and safety.

Chandra staff design observing plans for efficient scheduling of the observatory. The time spent moving Chandra from looking at one target to another is minimized, while avoiding radiation from the Sun and making sure that Chandra stays healthy.

The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, MA, hosts the Chandra X-ray Center which operates the satellite, processes the data, and distributes it to scientists around the world for analysis.

Chandra travels about a third of the way to the Moon at its farthest distance from Earth in order to get as much observing time of the X-ray Universe as possible.

Chandra was named after the late Indian-American Nobel laureate, Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (pronounced: su/bra/mon'/yon chandra/say/kar). Known to the world as Chandra (which means "moon" or "luminous" in Sanskrit), he was widely regarded as one of the foremost astrophysicists of the twentieth century.

1. The X-ray telescope, whose mirrors focus X-rays from celestial objects

2. The science instruments which record the X-rays so that X-ray images can be produced and analyzed

3. The spacecraft, which provides the environment necessary for the telescope and the instruments to work.

Chandra carries four very sensitive mirrors nested inside each other. The energetic X-rays strike the insides of the hollow shells and are focussed onto electronic detectors at the end of the of the telescope. The mirrors on Chandra are the largest, most precisely shaped and aligned, and smoothest mirrors ever constructed.

22 years (so far) in operation

25 trillion bytes of data collected

3,00 trips around Earth

3.8 million lines of code written to operate, collect and analyze data

2.4 billion kilometers traveled

14 meters in length - about the size of school bus

63.5 hours to take one trip around Earth

Try it yourself!

Let’s head out from the Milky Way!

The Connecticut Science Center is currently CLOSED to the public due to public health concerns about COVID-19. For more information about COVID-19 and FAQs, please follow this link. Learn More

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Virtual Field Trip: NASA’s Kennedy Space Center

• Nick Villagra
• April 3, 2020

The Apollo moon landing.  The Hubble Space Telescope.  The Curiosity Rover. For over 60 years, NASA has been behind some of the most iconic feats of engineering in modern history, making it one of our nation’s most cherished institutions.  At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida, exhibits tell the story of NASA’s successes and setbacks, and the scientific frontiers they’ve expanded. Circumstances may not be allowing visitors to experience these exhibits firsthand, but Studies Weekly has produced a “virtual field trip” of the Kennedy Space Center that takes you on a tour of its halls so that even from home you can enjoy the many wonders of the Space Age.

On this 11-minute tour , you can step into an astronaut’s quarters, marvel at the real-life space shuttle Atlantis, see the history and variety of actual rockets in a “rocket garden,” and uncover the answer to the greatest mystery of the Universe: how do people go to the bathroom in space?  

You can also check out this astronaut’s tour of the International Space Station if you want to learn more about what it’s like to live 250 miles above the Earth.  Browse through this nearly 30-minute video of Commander Sunita Williams diving through the labyrinthine metallic passages of the station, stopping at various locations to explain the zero-gravity routine of sleeping, exercising, and eating.  Don’t miss the gorgeous view of Earth out the window!

Finally, if you’re eager to begin doing space science yourself, head over to the citizen science platform Zooniverse: Galaxy Zoo to classify beautiful images of galaxies, which helps researchers in their work to discover what “galaxies can tell us about the past, present, and future of the Universe.”

But wait, there’s more! NASA has released a list of resources for books you can read with your family at home. There are books for both children readers and adult readers . Plus, join astronauts as they read books from space in Storytime From Space . 

The Connecticut Science Center is always looking to share new ways for you to explore the science of our world and beyond.  We hope you’ll join us next Friday for another virtual field trip! 

Stay connected! Be sure to subscribe to Down to a Science— The Official Blog of the Connecticut Science Center and follow us on social media.

Nick Villagra is a STEM Educator at the Connecticut Science Center, responsible for developing and delivering science experiences, including classroom lab programs, stage shows, and vacation camps. Nick holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Engineering from Swarthmore College. and has been a speaker at the New England Museum Association conference. Always looking to put a unique stamp on the Science Center’s offerings, Nick enjoys incorporating custom-designed 3D printed materials for students to interact with.

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Largest 3D map of our universe could 'turn cosmology upside down'

Scientists using the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument have unveiled the largest 3D map of the universe ever. The results suggest that dark energy, the mysterious force pulling the universe apart, may be weakening, challenging prevailing theories of cosmology.

It has been over two decades since the discovery of dark energy .

Scientists have therefore had more than 20 years to decode the secrets of this invisible substance that appears to be pulling the universe apart. Yet, they still know close to nothing about it. Dark energy, in fact, may not even be a substance. It could be a force or even an intrinsic property of space itself.

For instance, the standard model of cosmology — our leading theory of cosmic evolution — does suggest dark energy is unwavering across the universe and throughout time, making it a fundamental property of space. If constant, the mysterious dark energy that makes up a whopping 70 percent of the universe would push away all stars and galaxies. However, the biggest survey of the universe's cosmic history could indicate that dark energy, also known as a hypothetical "anti-gravity" force, may evolve with time rather than remain constant, hinting at a less lonely future for residents of the universe.

If this early result holds with future observations, cosmologists may have to, at the very least, explore systematic uncertainties in the prevailing Lambda CDM (LCDM) model, a mathematical model of the universe in which lambda represents dark energy. They may also need to start sifting through dozens of other models of our universe to find the true best fit. Still, the evidence is tentative — it does not reach what's known as the "5-sigma threshold," which determines whether a signal can be celebrated as an official discovery. So, continuously emerging interpretations about dark energy's evolution could change with more data scheduled to come within the next few years.

"If this is true, this just turns cosmology upside down," said Dillon Brout of Boston University, who measures the acceleration of the universe with supernovas. Such a discovery would be a "paradigm shift in our thinking of what our best understanding of our universe is."

Related: James Webb telescope confirms there is something seriously wrong with our understanding of the universe

Streetlights of the universe

Perched atop the Nicholas U. Mayall 4-meter telescope at Arizona's Kitt Peak National Observatory, the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument, or DESI, pinpoints positions of a million galaxies each month. Through these observations, cosmologists can measure the universe's expansion rate as it increased over the past 11 billion years. These faraway galaxies, which can be likened to the "streetlights of the universe," are thus helping cosmologists study the universe-permeating enigma of dark energy.

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And, on April 4, the DESI collaboration shared the largest-ever 3D map of the universe. It includes high-precision measurements of the universe's expansion rate over the past 11 billion years as well. In its first year of operations alone, DESI has proven to be twice as powerful at measuring the expansion history of the early universe as its predecessor, the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, which took more than a decade to build a similar 3D map.

This "is the next generation of data we've been waiting a long time for, so it's really nice to see it having arrived," said Brout, who is not involved with the DESI collaboration.

In addition to countless galaxies clustered together like knotted threads, DESI's new 3D map spotlights a faint pattern in the early universe known as Baryon Acoustic Oscillations, or BAO. These subtle, 3D wrinkles had flown through matter that existed during the first 380,000 years of our universe's history, freezing with time and turning into relics of an infant cosmos. By mapping the sizes of those frozen BAOs, researchers managed to estimate the distances to galaxies and infer how fast the universe was expanding at various points in time.

Because light from typical galaxies is too faint to see, as those galaxies sit very far away from us and the light they emit is relatively low-intensity, the DESI collaboration also studied over 400,000 intensely bright objects called quasars. As light from these objects glides through interstellar space, it gets absorbed by clouds of gas and dust, helping cosmologists map pockets of dense matter in a similar way to mapping galaxies.

"It lets us look out further to when the universe was very young," Andreu Font-Ribera, a scientist at the Institute for High Energy Physics in Spain and a member of the DESI collaboration, said in a  statement . "It's a really hard measurement to do, and very cool to see it succeed."

'If this is real, we're in uncharted territory'

The preliminary conclusion that dark energy could be evolving with time comes from an early analysis of DESI data combined with data from other cosmological data. The researchers found a varying dark energy model agreed better with the data compared to the standard model. To be clear, no single dataset by itself convincingly reveals the time-evolving nature of dark energy, but the signal becomes slightly stronger when all datasets are combined.

"It is not a strong enough preference that I would say Lambda CDM is wrong," Kyle Dawson, the co-spokesperson for DESI at the University of Utah, told Space.com. "We've actually never found deviations from that model before with any real meaning."

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From the early analysis, however, it appears dark energy is transitioning from being a strong driver of acceleration of our universe to tapering off to some degree, said Dawson.

"If this is real, we're in uncharted territory," said Brout. The DESI collaboration used the second simplest model of our universe after Lambda CDM, which is unremarkable except for its ability to help cosmologists check for deviations from the standard model. If future observations in the pipeline indeed find dark energy is evolving with time, dozens of other models too would become viable, and cosmologists would have to start testing all of them individually, said Brout.

"If it's not Lambda CDM, who knows?"

Originally posted on Space.com .

Sharmila Kuthunur is a Seattle-based science journalist covering astronomy, astrophysics and space exploration. Follow her on X @skuthunur

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Through astronaut eyes, virtual reality propels gateway forward  .

Dylan Connell

Briana R. Zamora

NASA astronauts are using virtual reality to explore Gateway. When they slip on their headsets, they're not just seeing the station—they're in it, meticulously surveying every detail and offering crucial insights on design and functionality.

Astronauts living aboard the Gateway lunar space station will be the first humans to make their home in deep space. To fine-tune the design of the next-generation science lab, solar-powered spaceship, and home-away-from home for international teams of astronauts, NASA calls on the likes of Raja Chari and Nicole Mann, experienced astronauts who know a thing or two about living and working on a space station.  

Commanders of the SpaceX Crew-3 and Crew-5 missions to the International Space Station, respectively, Chari and Mann recently brought their long-duration mission experience to bear when they strapped into virtual reality (VR) headsets to tour Gateway, humanity’s first space station to orbit the Moon.  

During VR testing, astronauts engage in a variety of tasks that they expect to encounter in their day-to-day life on Gateway during real Artemis missions, including performing science experiments, retrieving supplies, and preparing warm meals. By combining VR models with real-world astronaut experience, NASA designers can make tweaks to Gateway’s interior design for a safer and comfier space station.  

Gateway is poised to revolutionize deep space exploration at the Moon and beyond as a testbed for next-generation technology and new science to better understand the impact of space on humans. This space station is a critical component of the Artemis campaign to return humans to the lunar surface for scientific discovery and pave the way for the first human missions to Mars. 

Image credits: NASA/Bill Stafford/Josh Valcarcel