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Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI)

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The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI)

The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) will measure the effect of dark energy on the expansion of the universe. It will obtain optical spectra for tens of millions of galaxies and quasars, constructing a 3D map spanning the nearby universe to 11 billion light years.

The DESI Survey is being conducted on the Mayall 4-meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory. DESI is supported by the Department of Energy Office of Science to perform this Stage IV dark energy measurement using baryon acoustic oscillations and other techniques that rely on spectroscopic measurements.

Latest News from DESI

As of 15 April 2026, DESI has completed observations for its originally planned five-year survey. It has now observed more than 47 million galaxies and quasars — far exceeding its original target of 34 million — along with over 20 million stars. DESI's work is not finished: the survey is continuing observations and extending its map across a larger region of the sky, enabling even tighter constraints on dark energy and other fundamental properties of the universe. Read more about this milestone in the April 2026 Berkeley Lab Press Release.
DESI Science
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5000 Eyes: Mapping the Universe with DESI is out now!

DESI's very own planetarium show is available for free to all planetariums. See the trailer and find more information here.
Translations in French, Spanish, Mandarin, and German are now available.

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DESI Begins

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Latest Blog Posts

DESI Reaches Mapping Milestone, Surpassing Expectations

  With DESI having mapped the sky faster than anticipated, and studied with more galaxies and stars than planned, four collaborators reflect on the achievement 15 April 2026 Joan Najita (NOIRLab) and Sindhu Satyavolu (IFAE) Today the DESI dark energy experiment reached the remarkable milestone of having successfully mapped all of the sky it originally […]

DESI Scientists Win Physics Video Contest

9 March 2026 Joan Najita (NOIRLab) and Andrea Muñoz-Gutiérrez (UNAM) Two DESI scientists were recently awarded first place in the 2025 Annual Review of Nuclear and Particle Science Video Contest for their contribution, “Neutrino masses, from ghost particles to cosmological tensions,” which explains DESI’s results on the neutrino mass. We sat down with the winners, Hernán Noriega […]

DESI DR2 cosmology chains and data products released

6 October 2025 Seshadri Nadathur (University of Portsmouth) To coincide with the official publication, today in Physical Review D, of the first DESI papers on cosmology results from baryon acoustic oscillations from Data Release 2 (DR2), the DESI collaboration has also released the full set of cosmology chains and other results supporting the papers. This […]

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Latest Press Releases

DESI Completes Planned 3D Map of the Universe and Continues Exploring
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 15 April 2026

New DESI Results Strengthen Hints That Dark Energy May Evolve
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 19 March 2025

DESI Opens Access to the Largest 3D Map of the Universe Yet
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 19 March 2025

New DESI Results Weigh in on Gravity
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 19 November 2024


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