Reconstructing a 3D map Zhang and Green trained a neural network to generate model spectra based on a star's properties and the properties of the intervening dust.

Voluminous clouds of cosmic dust permeate our galaxy, but only recently has software allowed detailed observations of the stuff at scale.

Now, two astronomers have published a 3D map that documents the properties of dust all around us in unprecedented detail, helping us make sense of what we observe.