ESA releases first images from Euclid mission – “many galaxies never seen before”

The Euclid space telescope aims to solve the mystery of dark matter and dark energy. The first images promise revolutionary visions.

Darmstadt – The universe consists of Astronomy According to 95 percent of dark matter and dark energy. No one has yet been able to see or prove the “dark universe” in practice. But the European Space Agency (ESA) has an ambitious plan: The Euclid Space Telescope, launched in July, aims to create the largest 3D map of the universe to date within six years, thus enabling researchers to explore the “dark universe.” “.

Euclid has already sent the first images back to Earth, which have now been published by the European Space Agency. “We have never seen astronomical images with so much detail before,” Euclid project scientist Rene Lorig said in an ESA statement. “It is more beautiful and clearer than we had hoped, and shows us many features previously unseen in known regions of the nearby universe.”

The European Space Agency’s Euclid space telescope is designed to explore the dark universe

The Euclid Space Telescope is scheduled to begin regular operations in early 2024 and will help solve one of the great mysteries of astronomy: What lies behind the dark universe? Euclid will collect data to help scientists understand how dark matter and dark energy affect the shape of our universe.

The dilemma: The existence of dark energy and dark matter leads to only very slight changes in the appearance and motion of objects in the universe. To detect this “dark” effect on the observable universe, Euclid will observe the universe over the next six years – at a distance of up to ten billion light-years.

Euclid observes countless galaxies in the universe

What distinguishes Euclid’s view of the universe is its ability to produce an exceptionally clear visible and infrared image of a large portion of the sky in just one sitting. Therefore, we have been eagerly awaiting the first images from the space telescope.

The European Space Agency published a total of five images. These show, among others, the Perseus Cluster, a group of galaxies 240 million light-years away. The image shows 1,000 galaxies belonging to the Perseus cluster, as well as more than 100,000 more distant galaxies – “a revolution in astronomy,” the European Space Agency comments on the image.

What is the “dark universe”?

“Many of these faint galaxies have never been seen before,” says the image description from the European Space Agency. “By mapping the distribution and shape of these galaxies, cosmologists can learn more about how dark matter shaped the universe we see today.”

The Perseus Cluster is one of the largest known structures in the universe. Astronomy has already proven theoretically that galaxy clusters like Perseus can only exist if dark matter exists. Euclid is now supposed to prove his existence.

Euclid is expected to scan a third of the sky over the next six years, photographing billions of galaxies. These data should also show the influence of dark matter and dark energy. “We are now ready to observe billions of galaxies and study their evolution over cosmic time,” Lorig asserts. (unpaid bill)

Automated assistance was used in writing this article by the editorial team. The article was carefully examined by editor Tanya Banner before publication.