Euclid completes the first part of a large-scale map of the Universe

The European Space Agency (ESA) has released the first part of a large-scale 3D map of the Universe, based on data from the Euclid telescope. This telescope is designed to study dark matter and dark energy, which together make up 95% of our Universe. Over the next six years, it will collect data to help scientists better understand these mysterious phenomena. 

Space mosaic created from data of the Euclid Space Telescope. Image: ESA

The first image has a resolution of 208 gigapixels and covers an area of the southern sky that is about 500 times the size of the full Moon. The panoramic photograph contains 14 million galaxies and tens of millions of stars from the Milky Way. This is just 1% of the complete survey which is planned by Euclid, covering billions of galaxies and providing a glimpse into the deep past of the Universe. 

“This stunning image is the first piece of a map that will reveal more than one third of the sky in six years,” says Valeria Pettorino, project scientist. 

One of the galaxies in the mosaic is located 420 million light-years away from Earth. The individual part of the image that shows this galaxy is only 0.0003% of the full 208-gigapixel mosaic. 

This image shows a section of the mosaic unveiled by ESA’s Euclid Space Telescope on October 15, 2024. The region is magnified 12 times compared to the larger mosaic. In the center left, the spiral galaxy NGC 2188 is visible from the edge at a distance of 25 million light-years. In the upper right corner, the galaxy cluster Abell 3381, located 678 million light-years away, is now clearly visible.
The region is magnified 36 times compared to the large mosaic. This image shows the nucleus of the Abell 3381 galaxy cluster, located 678 million light-years away. The image shows many different galaxies of various shapes and sizes, from massive elliptical galaxies to modest spiral galaxies, up to tiny and dim dwarf galaxies.
The region is magnified 150 times compared to the large mosaic. The two galaxies on the left of the image are ESO 364-G035 and G036, which are interacting with each other 420 million light-years away. On the right side of the image you can see the Abell 3381 galaxy cluster, located 678 million light-years away.
The area is magnified 600 times compared to the large mosaic. This image shows in great detail one spiral galaxy, ESO 364-G036, 420 million light-years away. This image shows 0.0003% of the original 208 gigapixel image, which is 1/330,000 of the area of the main Euclid mosaic.

The current phase of the survey has already covered 12% of the plan. About 100 gigabytes of data from the telescope are sent to Earth every day. These data not only provide spectacular images, but also help to study the distribution of dark matter and its manifestations, particularly gravitational lenses. 

The first images from Euclid were unveiled in November 2023. Then the images of the Perseus cluster, galaxies of different types, globular clusters and the Horsehead Nebula were released. These images confirmed the power of the telescope and its ability to fulfill the mission’s ambitious goals. 

We previously reported on how Euclid discovered 1.5 trillion orphan stars in the largest structure of space.

According to mpia.de

Advertising