Astronomy · Galaxies and quasars
DESI DR1
Explore the structure of the universe through an interactive visualization of the DESI DR1 catalog: 15,786,217 galaxies and quasars in a 3D navigation experience.
Open the full experience in a new tab.
Downloading the data may take a while. Use the application’s fullscreen control or open it in another tab for more space. Performance depends on your device and connection.
Exploration guide
Start your journey
Load the catalog
Wait for the initial download and scene construction to finish.
Explore in 3D
Use the controls displayed in the application to navigate the visualization.
Expand your view
Open the experience separately if you need the entire browser window.
The science behind the map
Explore the universe. Understand its structure.
A map to study dark energy
DESI (Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument) measures how the universe expands. By locating galaxies and quasars in three dimensions, it helps investigate dark energy and the evolution of cosmic structure. Discover the DESI project.
5,000 eyes on the sky
At the 4-meter Mayall telescope at Kitt Peak, 5,000 robotic positioners aim optical fibers at astronomical targets. The light reaches ten spectrographs, which separate it into wavelengths to measure its spectrum. Explore the instrument.
From light to distance
Cosmic expansion stretches light toward longer wavelengths. This redshift is measured by comparing spectral lines with their known wavelengths. Combined with a cosmological model, it allows distances to be estimated and the sky to become a three-dimensional map. How redshift works.
Reading the cosmic web
Galaxies form clusters, filaments and regions with fewer objects. These patterns help scientists study how structure grows under gravity. The map also reflects survey coverage and target selection: an empty-looking region does not necessarily mean an absence of galaxies. How DESI maps the universe.
Data and interpretation
What does DR1 mean?
DR1 is DESI’s first major public data release. It includes observations from the first year of its main survey, from May 2021 to June 2022, together with reprocessed survey-validation data. The official release contains spectra of more than 18 million unique targets, including stars. Read the DR1 documentation.
TinyPlanet brings a visualization of 15,786,217 galaxies and quasars to your browser. This experience and the complete official release have different scopes. Use the scene to explore spatial relationships and the official documentation to understand the measurements and their scientific context.
About this experience
DESI DR1 is one of TinyPlanet’s astronomical visualization projects. The scene represents catalog data; it is not a photographic reconstruction of observatories.
The experience complements the Gaussian Splats collection by bringing astronomical data exploration to the browser.