Dark Energy Revealed: DES Maps the Cosmos Across 669 Million Galaxies
Using six years of DES data from the Dark Energy Camera, researchers mapped 669 million galaxies (2013–2019) to trace how dark energy drives cosmic expansion and how matter clusters, applying four probes (Type Ia supernovae, weak lensing, galaxy clustering, and baryon acoustic oscillations). The results largely support ΛCDM and wCDM expansion scenarios but show a growing mismatch in current matter clustering, hinting at potential new physics or gaps in existing models; DES will merge with Rubin Observatory's LSST to map ~20 billion galaxies and sharpen tests of gravity and dark energy.