Space: The first “amazing” images from Euclid, the European space telescope

The first pictures have arrived. After its launch last July, the Euclid Telescope revealed a dazzling Horsehead Nebula, never-before-seen distant galaxies, and even… “Indirect evidence” The existence of dark matter is elusive. It’s about The first global mission to study cosmic mysteries Dark matter and dark energy. It accomplishes its mission by mapping a third of the sky to create what has been described as the most accurate 3D map of the universe. After joining another space telescope, the James Webb, at an observation point about 1.5 million kilometers from Earth, the European probe began sending its first observations, which it revealed on Tuesday at the European Space Operations Center in Darmstadt, Germany.

Five pictures “surprising”Joseph Aschbacher, head of the European Space Agency (ESA), responded with congratulations “More than 3,600 people” Participate in the mission. He welcomed in a message from Seville, where the space summit is being held “An important landmark for European science and exploration”. Among the pictures is oneThe fourth image of the Horsehead Nebula Within the nearby constellation Orion, a dwarf galaxy, and another hidden galaxy… For René Lorig, the project’s scientific director, the most… “arousing” It is the Perseus Cluster, a distant group that includes more than a thousand galaxies. Because in the background there are more than 100,000 additional galaxies, some of which are located 10 billion light-years away and have never been observed before.

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Wide field of view

The peculiarity of Euclid is to have a wide field of view “Unprecedented in the history of astronomy”Where james webb “Look at the sky through the eye of a needle” In particular, to explore the early ages of the universe, as Jean-Charles Coulander, an astronomer at the Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) and member of the Euclid Consortium, explained to AFP. Thanks to this wide vision, a telescope equipped with two instruments (optical and near-infrared) can do this Take such wide photoswith one “maximum precision”This was confirmed by Carol Mundell, Scientific Director of the European Space Agency. It was all done very quickly: the first five images took only about eight hours. The European Space Agency describes Euclid as “Detective in the Dark Universe”is tasked with investigating why 95% of the universe is made up of dark matter and dark energy, about which we know almost nothing.

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Dark matter, attractive, acts as glue for galaxies, preventing stars from escaping. Dark and disgusting energy, “It is the driving force behind the acceleration of the expansion of the universe.”Deciphering Carol Mundell. Euclid’s first rendition has already been highlighted “Indirect evidence” About the existence of dark matter, according to Rene Lorig. For example, it is “surprising” that the probe did not detect any stars tracking the globular cluster NGC 6397 – a cluster of stars. “One theory is that there could be dark matter around us.”. The European mission must continue until at least 2029.