After launching in March and collecting near-infrared data throughout 2025, NASA’s SPHEREx observatory has completed its first map of the universe. The map, which is comprised of 102 infrared wavelengths, will allow SPHEREx’s team and astrophysicists to research the source of the early universe’s inflation and the distribution of organic molecules throughout the universe.
“It’s incredible how much information SPHEREx has collected in just six months — information that will be especially valuable when used alongside our other missions’ data to better understand our universe. We essentially have 102 new maps of the entire sky, each one in a different wavelength and containing unique information about the objects it sees. I think every astronomer is going to find something of value here, as NASA’s missions enable the world to answer fundamental questions about how the universe got its start, and how it changed to eventually create a home for us in it,” said director of NASA’s astrophysics division, Shawn Domagal-Goldman.
SPHEREx began assembling its first sky map in May after completing its first science observations in March and April. Located within a polar Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO), SPHEREx orbits Earth 14 times a day, taking approximately 3,600 images along a singular circular strip of the sky. As Earth (and, subsequently, SPHEREx) orbits around the Sun, different strips of the sky are visible to SPHEREx each day. After six months of daily imaging, SPHEREx had mapped the entire sky.
With the mapping data collected, the SPHEREx team stitched the data into a massive all-sky mosaic. This first map is just the first of four all-sky maps SPHEREx will generate during its two-year primary mission. When the remaining three maps have been created, all four will be merged to increase the sensitivity of the measurements. SPHEREx’s team publishes all of the observatory’s data online for use by scientists and the general public.
“SPHEREx is a mid-sized astrophysics mission delivering big science. It’s a phenomenal example of how we turn bold ideas into reality, and in doing so, unlock enormous potential for discovery,” said Dave Gallagher, director of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California, where SPHEREx is managed.
SPHEREx maps the sky using a single, wide-field aluminum telescope instrument designed for a single observing mode in either visible or near-infrared light. The instrument features three mirrors and six mercury cadmium telluride photodetector arrays with an aperture diameter of 20 cm. This gives SPHEREx an 11-degree by 3.5-degree field of view.
SPHEREx’s first map, as seen through infrared light emitted by stars and galaxies. (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)
Each of SPHEREx’s six photodetector arrays is coated with a filter that features a 17-color gradient. With each of the six arrays covering 17 wavelengths (or “colors”), a single SPHEREx map can be viewed through 102 different wavelengths. This also means that a single SPHEREx map is composed of 102 separate maps, with scientists able to view it at each of the 102 available wavelengths.
As mentioned, within SPHEREx’s first map, the observatory collected near-infrared data at 102 wavelengths, each providing unique information about the cosmic objects visible within the map. A wide range of wavelengths is required, as some objects — such as dense, dusty star-forming regions — emit infrared light at specific wavelengths while emitting none at others, rendering them invisible.
“The superpower of SPHEREx is that it captures the whole sky in 102 colors about every six months. That’s an amazing amount of information to gather in a short amount of time,” said SPHEREx project manager Beth Fabinsky of JPL.
SPHEREx’s first map, as seen through infrared light emitted by dust and hot gas. Dust appears red, while hot gas appears blue. (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)
SPHEREx is not the first mission to produce full-sky maps of the universe; however, it is the first to do so across so many optical and infrared wavelengths with a wide field of view. Other infrared missions, most notably the James Webb Space Telescope, can observe objects at wavelengths similar to those of SPHEREx, but are severely limited by a narrow field of view.
SPHEREx’s maps also differ from maps produced by other missions due to their three-dimensional nature. This will allow scientists to precisely measure the distances to galaxies and subtle variations in their distributions across the universe. These measurements will inform theories of the inflation of the universe — an event that occurred in the immediate moments following the Big Bang, when the universe expanded at an extremely rapid, exponential rate. Cosmic inflation is the backbone of much of modern cosmology and is responsible for many of our universe’s characteristics, such as its shape, size, and smoothness.
(Lead image: SPHEREx’s first all-sky map, seen primarily through infrared light emitted by stars, hot gas, and dust. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)
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