Rodney Rafols Science 12.19.2016 22:Dec PM EST

Astronomers Go Public With The Largest Digital Survey Of The Universe

The universe is a vast place. Astronomers have yet to totally look into its entirety, which would be a great undertaking. Yet there are a number of projects to map the universe. Astronomers go public with the largest digital survey of the universe so far.

What astronomers and scientists see so far is the visible universe. This is the part of the universe that has been studied in some way. With the universe so big, there is still much to cover. While that would take a long time to happen, astronomers have come out with a digital survey that encompasses what has been studied. That in itself is already big, as it shows a universe that has billions of stars and galaxies.

The large digital survey has been made by the Pan-STARRS project. This project includes scientists from the Queen's University Belfast. For the project, the 1.8-meter telescope in Maui, Hawaii has been used. The mapping of the entire universe has been a four year project.

The large digital survey is vast. It takes 2 petabytes of data for the survey to be loaded on a computer, according to Phys Org. That would be the equivalent of 100 times the content of what Wikipedia has now.

The Pan-STARRS project has already made many discoveries, as said by Ken Chambers, director of the Pan-STARRS Observatories in Hawaii. These include near-Earth objects (NEO), Kuiper Belt objects and even planets between stars. He also said that through it, there are new discoveries such as new types of exploding stars and quasars.

There are still many discoveries waiting for the Pan-STARRS project. Many researchers hope that the best discoveries are still out there for it, as UPI reports. With a vast universe, that is more than likely to be the case.

For the rollout of the digital survey, two steps are being made for it. The first rollout is known as the Static Sky. This will give out the position, brightness and colors of objects that have been found. In 2017 the second part of the rollout will come. The second part will have images of individual snapshots of a given region.

With a vast universe, mapping it out is an equally vast undertaking. The Pan-STARRS project is one that took time to accomplish, but then astronomers go public with the largest digital survey of the universe. Planets like in "Star Wars" could also be possible in the universe.