PERIOD A
Run a comparison to load an image
Waiting for comparison…
A NEW WAY TO SEE THE UNIVERSE
Beyond what
the eye can’t see.
Explore the hidden universe through infrared eyes. Discover the stars, galaxies and cosmic stories revealed by NASA’s SPHEREx mission.
✧ One sky. 102 infrared colours. Endless stories.
INFRARED / 102 BANDS
LOOK CLOSER →
✦✧·
102infrared colour bands
All-skysurvey of the entire sky
6 monthsbetween planned sky maps
1B+celestial objects targeted
YOUR WINDOW INTO SPACE
Explore the cosmos.
Pick a cosmic destination and start discovering what infrared light can reveal.
REAL ARCHIVE SEARCH
IRSA DATAFind observations in the sky.
Enter J2000 sky coordinates and open the official NASA/IPAC IRSA explorer with your search pre-filled.
Search a familiar object instead of entering coordinates manually. COSMOS will find its sky position and fill RA and Dec.
TRY AN EXAMPLE
Your coordinates will be passed to the official SPHEREx Data Explorer. No waiting for the COSMOS proxy.
Open official SPHEREx Data Explorer ↗
COSMIC TIME MACHINE
TIME COMPARISONDid the sky change?
Search the same sky position in two different date windows. COSMOS compares real SPHEREx archive observations and links each result to its original data.
COSMOS checks the official archive for this sky position and lists only dates returned by SPHEREx.
WHILE WE SEARCH THE SKY
SPHEREx maps the entire sky in 102 near-infrared wavelength bands.
Enter sky coordinates above, then discover the observation dates available for that position.
REAL SPHEREx IMAGERY
See the sky in both periods
Compare real observations from the official SPHEREx archive.
Your images are not loaded yet.After comparing, scroll down to the observation lists. Tap View sky image on a record in Period A or Period B. Its image will appear in the matching panel above.
PERIOD B
Run a comparison to load an image
Waiting for comparison…
Real archive FITS cutouts, shown with an automatic grayscale stretch. Different dates or bands can change the appearance; this is a visual comparison, not a calibrated change-detection measurement.
PERIOD A
PERIOD B
The records above link to original SPHEREx FITS products. The image previews show small cutouts when the archive provides a compatible image product.
THE COSMOS DISCOVERY LAB
Go beyond the image.
Compare loaded observations and explore the survey timeline. Learn how SPHEREx divides near-infrared light into 102 wavelength bands.
Switch between two periods
Load a sky image in both Period A and Period B above, then switch between them here.
Load both FITS previews to activate the blink comparator.
Reveal one image over another
Move the divider to reveal more of Period A or Period B. Both previews must be loaded.
Load both sky images to use the wipe.
Scrub through available dates
Use dates discovered from the real archive. Select a date, then compare it with Period A.
Discover dates to build your timeline.
Sky position details
Label the region you are investigating. Coordinates are taken from the archive search fields.
RA —Dec —Radius —
Save an interesting finding
Record a note about the region you explored. Entries stay in this browser on this device.
No discovery saved yet.
Scientific note: archive images are real when successfully loaded. The wavelength-band graphic is a schematic, not measured source data or instrument response curves. The discovery log records your own notes; COSMOS does not automatically identify asteroids, comets, variable stars or other anomalies.
Advanced diagnostics · Test all observations at this sky position
This optional check ignores dates and is mainly for troubleshooting whether the selected coordinates have any archive observations.
Run this only if you need to troubleshoot the sky position.
POPULAR SEARCHES
No matches yet. Try another search. ✨
ⓘ These are introductory topic cards, not live SPHEREx detections. Use the archive explorer above to search real observations and preview their FITS imagery.
SPHEREx
MAPPING THE ENTIRE SKYMEET THE MISSION
Same universe.
Different light.
NASA’s SPHEREx space telescope surveys the entire sky in 102 colours of near-infrared light. Those wavelengths help scientists study everything from nearby stars to the history of galaxies.
Explore the official SPHEREx archive ↗THE BIG IDEA
The sky is always
telling a story.
As SPHEREx builds repeated maps of the sky, scientists can study objects and cosmic environments in new ways. COSMOS is being designed to make those observations easier for everyone to explore.
About NASA SPHEREx ↗