He Euclid telescope is a space mission of the European Space Agency (ESA) It was launched on July 12, 2023. Its goal is to study the expansion of the universe, dark matter and dark energy. And now, four months after being in Earth’s orbit, it releases its first images, described as a wonder of the mysteries hidden in the cosmos.
NASA, in constant collaboration with ESA, echoes the report published by the Europeans regarding the images taken by Euclid.
It is important to clarify that these images are not part of its main objective, since in reality what the Euclid Space Telescope is going to study is dark matter. This work begins at the beginning of 2024.
The new images include views of a large cluster of thousands of distant galaxies, close-ups of two nearby galaxies, a group of gravitationally bound stars called a globular cluster, and a nebula (a cloud of gas and dust in space where stars form). . – all represented in vibrant colors
“The Euclid Observatory will uncover a treasure trove of scientific discoveries that will be used around the world, including by American scientists, for years to come. Together, NASA and ESA are paving the way to a new era of cosmology for NASA’s upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, which will build on what Euclid learns and also study objects on the outskirts of our solar system. and you will discover thousands of new planets. , explore nearby galaxies and more,” said Nicola Fox, associate administrator of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
During its planned six-year mission, Euclid will produce the most extensive 3D map of the universe yet, covering nearly a third of the sky and containing billions of galaxies up to 10 billion light years from Earth.
Below we share these four first images of Euclid, according to the NASA official site.