What does a map of the universe help us to understand?
As we look further away into the distant Universe, we are also looking farther back in time. Thus a 3-dimensional map of the Universe that extends billions of light-years into space not only gives us a picture of the Universe as it is today, but also traces its evolution over billions of years of cosmic history. The information we extract from such a map will allow us to determine how the Universe evolved from the Big Bang to the present – and help us project its future and ultimate fate. Equally important, the details of the expansion and evolution of the Universe revealed by this map contain critical information about the nature of Dark Energy – and understanding dark energy will almost certainly take us to the next great revolution in science.
