Space
Constructing a 3D Map of Cosmic Large-Scale Structure
Mark Hoffman
First Posted: Aug 09, 2013 04:26 PM EDT
An international team led by astronomers from Kyoto University, the University of Tokyo and the University of Oxford has released its first version of a 3D map of the universe from its FastSound project, which is surveying galaxies in the universe over nine billion light-years away. Using the Subaru Telescope’s new Fiber Multi-Object Spectrograph, the team’s 3D map includes 1,100 galaxies and shows the large-scale structure of the universe nine billion years ago.
The FastSound project began its observations in March 2012 and will continue them into the spring of 2014. Although surveys with 3D maps of the universe have been conducted on the nearby universe, the FastSound project distinguishes itself by developing a 3D map of the far-distant universe, covering the largest volume of the universe farther than ten billion light-years away. Hawai-based Subaru Telescope’s FMOS facilitates this goal in being a powerful wide-field spectroscopy system. The spectrograph’s location at prime focus allows an exceptionally wide field of view when combined with the light collecting power of the 8.2 m primary mirror of the telescope.
The final 3D map of the distant universe will serve a primary scientific goal of the project: to precisely measure the motion of galaxies and then measure the rate of growth of the large-scale structure as a test of Einstein’s general theory of relativity. Although scientists know that the expansion of the universe is accelerating, they do not know why; it is one of the biggest questions in contemporary physics and astronomy. An unknown form of energy, so-called “dark energy,” appears to uniformly fill the universe, accounting for about 70% of its mass-energy content and apparently causing its acceleration. Alternatively, a fundamental theory of gravity on cosmological scales may differ from that of general relativity, which reigns as the dominant theory of gravitation and spacetime. A comparison of the 3D map of the young universe with the predictions of general relativity could eventually reveal the mechanism for the mysterious acceleration of the universe. -- Source: National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
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First Posted: Aug 09, 2013 04:26 PM EDT
An international team led by astronomers from Kyoto University, the University of Tokyo and the University of Oxford has released its first version of a 3D map of the universe from its FastSound project, which is surveying galaxies in the universe over nine billion light-years away. Using the Subaru Telescope’s new Fiber Multi-Object Spectrograph, the team’s 3D map includes 1,100 galaxies and shows the large-scale structure of the universe nine billion years ago.
The FastSound project began its observations in March 2012 and will continue them into the spring of 2014. Although surveys with 3D maps of the universe have been conducted on the nearby universe, the FastSound project distinguishes itself by developing a 3D map of the far-distant universe, covering the largest volume of the universe farther than ten billion light-years away. Hawai-based Subaru Telescope’s FMOS facilitates this goal in being a powerful wide-field spectroscopy system. The spectrograph’s location at prime focus allows an exceptionally wide field of view when combined with the light collecting power of the 8.2 m primary mirror of the telescope.
The final 3D map of the distant universe will serve a primary scientific goal of the project: to precisely measure the motion of galaxies and then measure the rate of growth of the large-scale structure as a test of Einstein’s general theory of relativity. Although scientists know that the expansion of the universe is accelerating, they do not know why; it is one of the biggest questions in contemporary physics and astronomy. An unknown form of energy, so-called “dark energy,” appears to uniformly fill the universe, accounting for about 70% of its mass-energy content and apparently causing its acceleration. Alternatively, a fundamental theory of gravity on cosmological scales may differ from that of general relativity, which reigns as the dominant theory of gravitation and spacetime. A comparison of the 3D map of the young universe with the predictions of general relativity could eventually reveal the mechanism for the mysterious acceleration of the universe. -- Source: National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone