# DESI Legacy Surveys releases 5.6-trillion-pixel sky map

_Thursday, August 20, 2026 at 5:42 PM EDT · Science · Latest · Tier 2 — Notable_

![DESI Legacy Surveys releases 5.6-trillion-pixel sky map — Primary](https://newscenter.lbl.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Newscenter_Feature_1400px-DR11-M96_DECam_TAR-CC9.jpg)

The DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys team has released a 5.6-trillion-pixel, two-dimensional color map containing nearly 4 billion celestial objects. The public dataset covers roughly 75% of the sky in visible and near-infrared light and combines 263,407 telescope exposures from three ground-based surveys with other data. It is publicly viewable through the Legacy Survey Sky Viewer and is intended to support object selection for DESI and broader research use.

## Sources

- [Hacker News: Front Page](https://newscenter.lbl.gov/2026/08/10/scientists-release-biggest-2d-map-of-the-universe/)

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Canonical: https://techandbusiness.org/newswire/GDoQdkUBhro9iGu55C7mPI
Retrieved: 2026-08-21T04:07:28.849Z
Publisher: Tech & Business (techandbusiness.org)