A Better Map

Here is a better map. Still not perfect—plus, it’s a few years old—but better: the Sloan Digital Sky Survey 3D Map of the Cosmos. To the left of time, are we seeing light that is so dense, it’s burning up? To the right of time, are we seeing light that is so diffuse, it’s precipitating out of solution? In between the two (not shown) is the 2D plane that I refer to as the baseline.

Image: Sloan Digital Sky Survey