{"id":51260,"date":"2023-11-07T13:21:05","date_gmt":"2023-11-07T13:21:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/d66aa555-d3be-42f5-bd51-d8d0b0d0c097"},"modified":"2023-11-07T13:32:37","modified_gmt":"2023-11-07T13:32:37","slug":"euclid-dark-universe-spacecraft-reveals-its-first-spectacular-images","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/euclid-dark-universe-spacecraft-reveals-its-first-spectacular-images\/","title":{"rendered":"Euclid dark Universe spacecraft reveals its first spectacular images"},"content":{"rendered":"

Euclid is tasked with exploring the nature of the unseen Universe. Here are the spacecraft’s first ever images. <\/p>

By Iain Todd\n <\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 07 November 2023 at 13:21 PM<\/p>

\n\n

The first images by the Euclid mission<\/a> reveal stunning vistas of the Horsehead Nebula, the Perseus Galaxy Cluster and a trio of crystal-clear deep-sky targets.<\/p>

The European Space Agency’s Euclid mission launched on 1 July 2023<\/a>, with the goal of discovering the nature of dark matter and dark energy.<\/p>

But before it begins its main science objectives, Euclid has captured 5 amazing images of the cosmos to test and demonstrate its instruments.<\/p>

Artist\u2019s impression of the Euclid spacecraft observing the dark Universe. Credit: ESA\/Euclid\/Euclid Consortium\/NASA. Background galaxies: NASA, ESA, and S. Beckwith (STScI) and the HUDF Team,\u00a0CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Euclid, dark matter and dark energy<\/strong><\/h2>
95% of the Universe is made up of dark matter and dark energy.<\/p>
That means all the visible matter we see with our eyes makes up just 5% of what’s in the Universe.<\/p>
Dark matter<\/a> is a substance that can’t be directly detected, while dark energy<\/a> is the name given to the force accelerating the expansion of the Universe<\/a>.<\/p>
Euclid will attempt to solve the mysteries surrounding these two cosmological enigmas by studying 2 billion galaxies.<\/p>
It will do this by creating the most extensive 3D map of the Universe ever created.<\/p>
$\"An$
An artist’s impression of the Euclid spacecraft in action. Credit: ESA\/ATG medialab (spacecraft); NASA, ESA, CXC, C. Ma, H. Ebeling and E. Barrett (University of Hawaii\/IfA), et al. and STScI (background)<\/figcaption><\/figure>
**How Euclid captures images<\/strong><\/h2>**Euclid is designed to produce a sharp visible and infrared<\/a> image across a huge part of the sky in just one sitting.<\/p>
These first images captured by Euclid are intended to showcase just what it can do.<\/p>
They show how bright stars and faint galaxies can all be captured in clear detail by the spacecraft.<\/p>
\u201cWe have never seen astronomical images like this before, containing so much detail,” says Ren\u00e9 Laureijs, ESA\u2019s Euclid Project Scientist.<\/p>
“They are even more beautiful and sharp than we could have hoped for, showing us many previously unseen features in well-known areas of the nearby Universe. Now we are ready to observe billions of galaxies and study their evolution over cosmic time.”<\/p>
Let’s take a look at Euclid’s first images.<\/p>
**Euclid’s first images<\/strong><\/h2>****The Perseus Cluster of galaxies<\/strong><\/h3>** $\"The$
Credit: ESA\/Euclid\/Euclid Consortium\/NASA, image processing by J.-C. Cuillandre (CEA Paris-Saclay), G. Anselmi; CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO<\/figcaption><\/figure>
The Perseus Cluster of galaxies is one of the most massive structures in the Universe that we know of.<\/p>
It’s located 240 million lightyears away, and this Euclid image reveals the cluster like never before.<\/p>
The Euclid image reveals 1,000 galaxies that are part of the Perseus Cluster, plus over 100,000 extra background galaxies.<\/p>
Many of these background galaxies are so distant and faint, they have never been seen before by human eyes.<\/p>
The galaxies are 10 billion lightyears away, meaning their light has been travelling since not long after the birth of the Universe before reaching Euclid’s camera sensors.<\/p>
Astronomers say galaxy clusters<\/a> like the Perseus Cluster can only exist if dark matter is present in the Universe.<\/p>
Euclid is tasked with observing a wealth of such clusters, to better understand the dark matter that holds them together.<\/p>
**Horsehead Nebula<\/strong><\/h3>** $\"The$
Credit: ESA\/Euclid\/Euclid Consortium\/NASA, image processing by J.-C. Cuillandre (CEA Paris-Saclay), G. Anselmi; CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO<\/figcaption><\/figure>
The Horsehead Nebula<\/a> is one of the most famous astronomical objects and a favourite target of astrophotographers.<\/p>
It’s so-called because of the shape of the prominent dark nebula that resemble’s a horse’s head.<\/p>
The Horsehead Nebula is in the constellation of Orion<\/a>, and is a place where stars are born known as a stellar nursery.<\/p>
This Euclid image of the nebula<\/a> is a detailed panoramic that shows the surrounding area in great detail.<\/p>
Mission scientists hope Euclid’s observations of the Horsehead could reveal young Jupiter-mass exoplanets<\/a> within, as well as baby brown dwarfs and stars.<\/p>
**Spiral galaxy IC 342<\/strong><\/h3>** $\"Spiral$
Credit: ESA\/Euclid\/Euclid Consortium\/NASA, image processing by J.-C. Cuillandre (CEA Paris-Saclay), G. Anselmi; CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO<\/figcaption><\/figure>
This is a wonderfully subtle yet beautiful image of spiral galaxy IC 342, also known as the ‘Hidden Galaxy’.<\/p>
It’s destined to become one of the best-loved Euclid images, because of how clearly it shows the galaxy’s intricate structure.<\/p>
Many of the most famous galaxies are face-on spirals like this, fortunately positioned so we can admire their beauty through telescopes.<\/p>
Euclid will image billions of galaxies, enabling astronomers to study how they’re influenced by dark matter and dark energy.<\/p>
According to the Euclid science team, the spacecraft’s infrared vision has already revealed important information about stars within IC 342.<\/p>
**Irregular galaxy NGC 6822<\/strong><\/h3>** $\"Irregular$
Credit: ESA\/Euclid\/Euclid Consortium\/NASA, image processing by J.-C. Cuillandre (CEA Paris-Saclay), G. Anselmi; CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Not all galaxies are beautiful face-on spirals! Some appear to us as edge-on galaxies (we can’t see their spiral structure from Earth), while others are irregular galaxies.<\/p>
This is irregular galaxy NGC 6822, which is located 1.6 million lightyears away: a stone’s throw in celestial terms.<\/p>
To create its 3D map of the Universe, Euclid will observe light from galaxies out to 10 billion lightyears. <\/p>
In doing so, it will effectively be able to look back in time to the early Universe.<\/p>
Back then, most galaxies in the early Universe don\u2019t look like neat spirals, but are instead irregular and small.<\/p>
These early galaxies are the building blocks for bigger spiral galaxies like our Milky Way, yet we do find irregular galaxies relatively close by.<\/p>
**Globular cluster NGC 6397<\/strong><\/h3>** $\"Globular$
Credit: ESA\/Euclid\/Euclid Consortium\/NASA, image processing by J.-C. Cuillandre (CEA Paris-Saclay), G. Anselmi; CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Globular clusters<\/a> are some of the oldest objects in the Universe, and often look like cosmic snowglobes!<\/p>
They are densely-packed clusters of hundreds of thousands of stars, all bound together by gravity<\/a>.<\/p>
The last of the Euclid images to be released, globular cluster NGC 6397 is the second-closest globular cluster to Earth, just 7,800 lightyears away. <\/p>
The Euclid team say no other telescope can observe a whole globular cluster in a single observation while also distinguishing so many stars.<\/p>
These faint stars reveal the history of the Milky Way and where dark matter is located.<\/p>
What next for Euclid?<\/strong><\/h2>
$\"Artist's$
Artist’s impression of ESA’s Euclid spacecraft in space. Credit: ESA. Acknowledgement: Work performed by ATG under contract for ESA., CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Now that we’ve seen the first Euclid images, what next?<\/p>
Since its launch, scientists and engineers have been testing and calibrating Euclid\u2019s scientific instruments.<\/p>
Euclid’s science observations are due to begin early 2024, marking the beginning of a 6-year project to survey one third of the sky.<\/p>
Euclid mission data will be released once per year, and will be made available to scientists around the world.<\/p>
It seems the next 6 years could see some major breakthroughs in astronomers’ understanding of dark matter and dark energy.<\/p>
“Dark matter pulls galaxies together and causes them to spin more rapidly than visible matter alone can account for; dark energy is driving the accelerated expansion of the Universe. Euclid will for the first-time allow cosmologists to study these competing dark mysteries together,” says ESA Director of Science, Professor Carole Mundell.<\/p>
“Euclid will make a leap in our understanding of the cosmos as a whole, and these exquisite Euclid images show that the mission is ready to help answer one of the greatest mysteries of modern physics.”<\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n
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Artist\u2019s impression of the Euclid spacecraft observing the dark Universe. Credit: ESA\/Euclid\/Euclid Consortium\/NASA. Background galaxies: NASA, ESA, and S. Beckwith (STScI) and the HUDF Team,\u00a0CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Euclid, dark matter and dark energy<\/strong><\/h2>
95% of the Universe is made up of dark matter and dark energy.<\/p>
That means all the visible matter we see with our eyes makes up just 5% of what’s in the Universe.<\/p>
Dark matter<\/a> is a substance that can’t be directly detected, while dark energy<\/a> is the name given to the force accelerating the expansion of the Universe<\/a>.<\/p>
Euclid will attempt to solve the mysteries surrounding these two cosmological enigmas by studying 2 billion galaxies.<\/p>
It will do this by creating the most extensive 3D map of the Universe ever created.<\/p>
$\"An$
An artist’s impression of the Euclid spacecraft in action. Credit: ESA\/ATG medialab (spacecraft); NASA, ESA, CXC, C. Ma, H. Ebeling and E. Barrett (University of Hawaii\/IfA), et al. and STScI (background)<\/figcaption><\/figure>
**How Euclid captures images<\/strong><\/h2>**Euclid is designed to produce a sharp visible and infrared<\/a> image across a huge part of the sky in just one sitting.<\/p>
These first images captured by Euclid are intended to showcase just what it can do.<\/p>
They show how bright stars and faint galaxies can all be captured in clear detail by the spacecraft.<\/p>
\u201cWe have never seen astronomical images like this before, containing so much detail,” says Ren\u00e9 Laureijs, ESA\u2019s Euclid Project Scientist.<\/p>
“They are even more beautiful and sharp than we could have hoped for, showing us many previously unseen features in well-known areas of the nearby Universe. Now we are ready to observe billions of galaxies and study their evolution over cosmic time.”<\/p>
Let’s take a look at Euclid’s first images.<\/p>
**Euclid’s first images<\/strong><\/h2>****The Perseus Cluster of galaxies<\/strong><\/h3>** $\"The$
Credit: ESA\/Euclid\/Euclid Consortium\/NASA, image processing by J.-C. Cuillandre (CEA Paris-Saclay), G. Anselmi; CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO<\/figcaption><\/figure>
The Perseus Cluster of galaxies is one of the most massive structures in the Universe that we know of.<\/p>
It’s located 240 million lightyears away, and this Euclid image reveals the cluster like never before.<\/p>
The Euclid image reveals 1,000 galaxies that are part of the Perseus Cluster, plus over 100,000 extra background galaxies.<\/p>
Many of these background galaxies are so distant and faint, they have never been seen before by human eyes.<\/p>
The galaxies are 10 billion lightyears away, meaning their light has been travelling since not long after the birth of the Universe before reaching Euclid’s camera sensors.<\/p>
Astronomers say galaxy clusters<\/a> like the Perseus Cluster can only exist if dark matter is present in the Universe.<\/p>
Euclid is tasked with observing a wealth of such clusters, to better understand the dark matter that holds them together.<\/p>
**Horsehead Nebula<\/strong><\/h3>** $\"The$
Credit: ESA\/Euclid\/Euclid Consortium\/NASA, image processing by J.-C. Cuillandre (CEA Paris-Saclay), G. Anselmi; CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO<\/figcaption><\/figure>
The Horsehead Nebula<\/a> is one of the most famous astronomical objects and a favourite target of astrophotographers.<\/p>
It’s so-called because of the shape of the prominent dark nebula that resemble’s a horse’s head.<\/p>
The Horsehead Nebula is in the constellation of Orion<\/a>, and is a place where stars are born known as a stellar nursery.<\/p>
This Euclid image of the nebula<\/a> is a detailed panoramic that shows the surrounding area in great detail.<\/p>
Mission scientists hope Euclid’s observations of the Horsehead could reveal young Jupiter-mass exoplanets<\/a> within, as well as baby brown dwarfs and stars.<\/p>
**Spiral galaxy IC 342<\/strong><\/h3>** $\"Spiral$
Credit: ESA\/Euclid\/Euclid Consortium\/NASA, image processing by J.-C. Cuillandre (CEA Paris-Saclay), G. Anselmi; CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO<\/figcaption><\/figure>
This is a wonderfully subtle yet beautiful image of spiral galaxy IC 342, also known as the ‘Hidden Galaxy’.<\/p>
It’s destined to become one of the best-loved Euclid images, because of how clearly it shows the galaxy’s intricate structure.<\/p>
Many of the most famous galaxies are face-on spirals like this, fortunately positioned so we can admire their beauty through telescopes.<\/p>
Euclid will image billions of galaxies, enabling astronomers to study how they’re influenced by dark matter and dark energy.<\/p>
According to the Euclid science team, the spacecraft’s infrared vision has already revealed important information about stars within IC 342.<\/p>
**Irregular galaxy NGC 6822<\/strong><\/h3>** $\"Irregular$
Credit: ESA\/Euclid\/Euclid Consortium\/NASA, image processing by J.-C. Cuillandre (CEA Paris-Saclay), G. Anselmi; CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Not all galaxies are beautiful face-on spirals! Some appear to us as edge-on galaxies (we can’t see their spiral structure from Earth), while others are irregular galaxies.<\/p>
This is irregular galaxy NGC 6822, which is located 1.6 million lightyears away: a stone’s throw in celestial terms.<\/p>
To create its 3D map of the Universe, Euclid will observe light from galaxies out to 10 billion lightyears. <\/p>
In doing so, it will effectively be able to look back in time to the early Universe.<\/p>
Back then, most galaxies in the early Universe don\u2019t look like neat spirals, but are instead irregular and small.<\/p>
These early galaxies are the building blocks for bigger spiral galaxies like our Milky Way, yet we do find irregular galaxies relatively close by.<\/p>
**Globular cluster NGC 6397<\/strong><\/h3>** $\"Globular$
Credit: ESA\/Euclid\/Euclid Consortium\/NASA, image processing by J.-C. Cuillandre (CEA Paris-Saclay), G. Anselmi; CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Globular clusters<\/a> are some of the oldest objects in the Universe, and often look like cosmic snowglobes!<\/p>
They are densely-packed clusters of hundreds of thousands of stars, all bound together by gravity<\/a>.<\/p>
The last of the Euclid images to be released, globular cluster NGC 6397 is the second-closest globular cluster to Earth, just 7,800 lightyears away. <\/p>
The Euclid team say no other telescope can observe a whole globular cluster in a single observation while also distinguishing so many stars.<\/p>
These faint stars reveal the history of the Milky Way and where dark matter is located.<\/p>
What next for Euclid?<\/strong><\/h2>
$\"Artist's$
Artist’s impression of ESA’s Euclid spacecraft in space. Credit: ESA. Acknowledgement: Work performed by ATG under contract for ESA., CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Now that we’ve seen the first Euclid images, what next?<\/p>
Since its launch, scientists and engineers have been testing and calibrating Euclid\u2019s scientific instruments.<\/p>
Euclid’s science observations are due to begin early 2024, marking the beginning of a 6-year project to survey one third of the sky.<\/p>
Euclid mission data will be released once per year, and will be made available to scientists around the world.<\/p>
It seems the next 6 years could see some major breakthroughs in astronomers’ understanding of dark matter and dark energy.<\/p>
“Dark matter pulls galaxies together and causes them to spin more rapidly than visible matter alone can account for; dark energy is driving the accelerated expansion of the Universe. Euclid will for the first-time allow cosmologists to study these competing dark mysteries together,” says ESA Director of Science, Professor Carole Mundell.<\/p>
“Euclid will make a leap in our understanding of the cosmos as a whole, and these exquisite Euclid images show that the mission is ready to help answer one of the greatest mysteries of modern physics.”<\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n
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