The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) has finished its originally planned five-year mission, creating the largest high-resolution three-dimensional map of the universe, according to an April 15 announcement. Adam Myers, a professor at the University of Wyoming, played a key role in developing and executing observation plans for this global scientific effort.
The completion of DESI’s survey marks a significant milestone in cosmology. The instrument mapped more than 47 million galaxies and quasars, allowing researchers to study dark energy—the force believed to be driving the accelerating expansion of the universe.
Myers served as joint level 2 manager for survey operations. He oversaw how each night’s observations were selected and sequenced, writing code that identified which objects DESI would observe next based on newly gathered data. “I find it remarkable that, every day, we process detailed observations of tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of objects in the sky and use them to plan another set of observations for the subsequent night within a few hours,” Myers said.
DESI is operated by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory with funding from the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science and uses technology mounted on the National Science Foundation’s Nicholas U. Mayall Telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona. The project involves over 900 researchers from more than 70 institutions worldwide.
The survey was completed ahead of schedule with more data than expected—six times as many galaxies and quasars measured as all previous efforts combined. Michael Levi, DESI director at Berkeley Lab, said: “The instrument performed better than anticipated… We’re going to celebrate completion… then get started on… churning through the data because we’re all curious about what new surprises are waiting for us.” Kathy Turner from DOE added: “From its inception, we envisioned a project that would push boundaries… To see it come to such a spectacularly successful completion… is incredibly rewarding.”
Early results have suggested dark energy may not be constant but could evolve over time—a potential shift in understanding cosmic history if confirmed by further analysis using DESI’s full dataset. Myers noted: “To my astonishment, the map from only the first year … strongly suggested that this dark energy is dynamic and is evolving through time … This was a completely new discovery in basic physics.” With continued support from several international organizations and agencies, DESI will extend its work into 2028.
