The UK has been involved in this international project – the largest galaxy survey so far ever undertaken – since its 2004 conception.
The Science and Technology Facilities Council’s (STFC) Director of Programmes, Professor Grahame Blair said: “The Dark Energy Survey has given researchers access to unprecedented data of the Universe to make new discoveries.
“I am pleased that the UK’s knowledge of precision optics has made this survey possible, by making the lenses and therefore giving the eyes to the camera.
“As well as giving us a better understanding of dark energy, the data produced by the survey will also enable many other studies, from discovering new solar system objects to researching the nature of the first star-forming galaxies in the early Universe.”