Euclid mission goals<\/strong><\/h2>The Euclid mission<\/a> is tasked with studying the mysterious phenomena known as dark energy<\/a> and dark matter<\/a>.<\/p>Dark matter is a substance that cannot be directly detected, but which is thought to make up about 25% of the entire Universe; dark energy is the name given to the unknown force causing the expansion of the Universe<\/a> to speed up.<\/p>Euclid’s mission will see it study the web-like structures of the Universe, map billions of galaxies<\/a> and explore how the Universe formed and evolved over time.<\/p>It will do this by observing two billion galaxies to create a 3D map of the universe.<\/p>
These new images are at least four times sharper than what can be captured using ground-based telescopes, and provide astronomers with new views of the distant cosmos in visible and infrared<\/a> light.<\/p>The images accompany the mission\u2019s first scientific data and 10 forthcoming science papers, and follow the release of Euclid’s first colour images<\/a> in November 2023.<\/p>New Euclid science papers include one by Professor Mark Cropper from UCL Mullard Space Science Laboratory<\/a> in the UK.<\/p>Prof Cropper led design and development of Euclid’s VIS optical camera, which is one of the largest ever sent into space and was supported by \u00a320 million of UK Space Agency<\/a> funding.<\/p>Let’s take a look at each of the images in turn.<\/p>
Messier 78<\/strong><\/h2>![\"Euclid](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2024\/05\/Euclid-Messier-78.jpg\")
Euclid spacecraft image of Messier 78, a star-forming region 1,300 lightyears away in the constellation Orion. Click on image to expand. Credit: ESA\/Euclid\/Euclid Consortium\/NASA, image processing by J.-C. Cuillandre (CEA Paris-Saclay), G. Anselmi; CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO or ESA Standard Licence.<\/figcaption><\/figure>Messier 78<\/a> will be well-known to astronomers and astrophotographers who’ve spent time exploring the constellation Orion<\/a>.<\/p>It’s a star-forming region 1,300 lightyears from Earth that can be found within Orion.<\/p>
Euclid’s infrared view enables it to peer deep into M78 because it can see through the blanket of interstellar dust that would normally obscure views in visible light.<\/p>
Euclid has exposed hidden regions of star formation for the first time, mapping M78’s filaments of gas and dust: the ingredients out of which new stars will be born.<\/p>
It’s seen star formation in action, too, uncovering newborn stars and planets and detecting objects just a few times the mass of Jupiter.<\/p>
Euclid’s infrared instruments \u2013 the VIS and NISP cameras \u2013 have uncovered over 300,000 newly-seen objects in this field of view.<\/p>
Astronomers will use the data to study the number of stars and sub-stellar objects and learn more about how stars form and evolve.<\/p>
Could sub-stellar objects like brown dwarfs and rogue planets be candidates for dark matter?<\/p>
Data on these objects from the Euclid observations will help astronomers get closer to answering this question.<\/p>
Abell 2390<\/strong> <\/h2>![\"Euclid](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2024\/05\/Euclid-Abell-2390.jpg\")
Euclid spacecraft image of Abell 2390, a galaxy cluster 2.7 billion lightyears away in the constellation of Pegasus. Click to expand the image. Credit: ESA\/Euclid\/Euclid Consortium\/NASA, image processing by J.-C. Cuillandre (CEA Paris-Saclay), G. Anselmi; CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO or ESA Standard Licence.<\/figcaption><\/figure>Abell 2390 is a galaxy cluster<\/a>, a huge grouping of galaxies held together by gravity, 7 billion lightyears away in the constellation of Pegasus.<\/p>Consider just how huge a galaxy is, then consider that Abell 2390 contains over 50,000 of them all grouped together.<\/p>
Euclid observations will enable astronomers to measure distances<\/a> to these galaxies.<\/p>Galaxy clusters like this can collectively contain mass up to 10 trillion times that of the Sun.<\/p>
Much of this is in the form of dark matter, which can’t be directly detected, but its presence can be inferred through its gravitational interactions with visible matter.<\/p>
Euclid used a technique called gravitational lensing<\/a> to probe the undetectable matter in Abell 2390.<\/p>This is a technique that was predicted by Einstein and involves the warping of spacetime<\/a> by matter.<\/p>![\"Cutout](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2024\/05\/Euclid-Abell-2390-cutout.jpg\")
Cutout of the Euclid image of Abell 2390, a galaxy cluster 2.7 billion lightyears away in the constellation of Pegasus. The red arcs show the gravitational lensing of a distant galaxy. Click to expand. Credit: ESA\/Euclid\/Euclid Consortium\/NASA, image processing by J.-C. Cuillandre (CEA Paris-Saclay), G. Anselmi; CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO or ESA Standard Licence.<\/figcaption><\/figure>In the case of a galaxy cluster, light from more distant galaxies is bent and warped by the mass of the cluster, and appears as giant curved arcs in this image.<\/p>
Some of these arcs are even multiple views of the same object, such is the distortion of light caused by gravitational lensing.<\/p>
This information helps astronomers learn more about the distribution of dark matter, how galaxy clusters change over time, and the evolution of the Universe.<\/p>
NGC 6744<\/strong><\/h2>![\"Euclid](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2024\/05\/Euclid-NGC-6744.jpg\")
Euclid spacecraft image of spiral galaxy NGC 6744, 30 million lightyears away within the Local Group. Click to expand. Credit: ESA\/Euclid\/Euclid Consortium\/NASA, image processing by J.-C. Cuillandre (CEA Paris-Saclay), G. Anselmi; CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO or ESA Standard Licence.<\/figcaption><\/figure>NGC 6744 is a spiral galaxy 30 million lightyears away within the Local Group<\/a>, which is a group of galaxies containing our own Milky Way galaxy.<\/p>Galaxy NGC 6744 is one of the largest spiral galaxies beyond our local patch of space and is an active star-forming galaxy.<\/p>
Euclid\u2019s wide field of view means it’s been able to capture the entire galaxy and surrounding area, revealing the galaxy’s spiral structure and lanes of dust.<\/p>
The Euclid observations will enable astronomers to count individual stars within the galaxy and trace the distribution of stars and dust.<\/p>
Cosmic dust and gas fuel star formation, and so these observations provide insight into how stars form and how that star formation affects galaxy evolution.<\/p>
This could help answer some fundamental questions surrounding why our Universe looks the way it does today.<\/p>
The dataset will help astronomers learn more about the role played by dust and gas in the formation of stars and how populations of stars are distributed throughout galxies.<\/p>
It will also provide information on the role that spiral structures play in star formation and why galaxies look and behave the way they do.<\/p>
And Euclid has already found a new dwarf satellite galaxy of NGC 6744, showing even more discoveries could be on the way.<\/p>
Abell 2764 (and bright star)<\/strong><\/h2>![\"Euclid](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2024\/05\/Euclid-Abell-2764.jpg\")
Euclid spacecraft image of galaxy cluster Abell 2764, 1 billion lightyears away in the direction of the Phoenix constellation. Click to expand. Credit: ESA\/Euclid\/Euclid Consortium\/NASA, image processing by J.-C. Cuillandre (CEA Paris-Saclay), G. Anselmi; CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO or ESA Standard Licence.<\/figcaption><\/figure>Galaxy cluster Abell 2764 can be seen in the top right of this Euclid image.<\/p>
It’s a cluster containing hundreds of galaxies within a halo of dark matter, 1 billion lightyears away in the direction of the Phoenix constellation.<\/p>
Euclid’s view shows background galaxies, distant galaxy clusters and interacting galaxies<\/a>.<\/p>It’s allowing astronomers to measure the radius of the galaxy cluster and its outskirts.<\/p>
Theses observations, and those of Abell 2390, allow astronomers to study distant galaxies that existed during the cosmic dark ages.<\/p>
Because light from these distant galaxies takes billions of years to reach us, when we look deep into space we’re looking back in time<\/a>, seeing the galaxies as they existed when the Universe was just 700 million years old.<\/p>
Dark matter is a substance that cannot be directly detected, but which is thought to make up about 25% of the entire Universe; dark energy is the name given to the unknown force causing the expansion of the Universe<\/a> to speed up.<\/p> Euclid’s mission will see it study the web-like structures of the Universe, map billions of galaxies<\/a> and explore how the Universe formed and evolved over time.<\/p> It will do this by observing two billion galaxies to create a 3D map of the universe.<\/p> These new images are at least four times sharper than what can be captured using ground-based telescopes, and provide astronomers with new views of the distant cosmos in visible and infrared<\/a> light.<\/p> The images accompany the mission\u2019s first scientific data and 10 forthcoming science papers, and follow the release of Euclid’s first colour images<\/a> in November 2023.<\/p> New Euclid science papers include one by Professor Mark Cropper from UCL Mullard Space Science Laboratory<\/a> in the UK.<\/p> Prof Cropper led design and development of Euclid’s VIS optical camera, which is one of the largest ever sent into space and was supported by \u00a320 million of UK Space Agency<\/a> funding.<\/p> Let’s take a look at each of the images in turn.<\/p> Messier 78<\/a> will be well-known to astronomers and astrophotographers who’ve spent time exploring the constellation Orion<\/a>.<\/p> It’s a star-forming region 1,300 lightyears from Earth that can be found within Orion.<\/p> Euclid’s infrared view enables it to peer deep into M78 because it can see through the blanket of interstellar dust that would normally obscure views in visible light.<\/p> Euclid has exposed hidden regions of star formation for the first time, mapping M78’s filaments of gas and dust: the ingredients out of which new stars will be born.<\/p> It’s seen star formation in action, too, uncovering newborn stars and planets and detecting objects just a few times the mass of Jupiter.<\/p> Euclid’s infrared instruments \u2013 the VIS and NISP cameras \u2013 have uncovered over 300,000 newly-seen objects in this field of view.<\/p> Astronomers will use the data to study the number of stars and sub-stellar objects and learn more about how stars form and evolve.<\/p> Could sub-stellar objects like brown dwarfs and rogue planets be candidates for dark matter?<\/p> Data on these objects from the Euclid observations will help astronomers get closer to answering this question.<\/p> Abell 2390 is a galaxy cluster<\/a>, a huge grouping of galaxies held together by gravity, 7 billion lightyears away in the constellation of Pegasus.<\/p> Consider just how huge a galaxy is, then consider that Abell 2390 contains over 50,000 of them all grouped together.<\/p> Euclid observations will enable astronomers to measure distances<\/a> to these galaxies.<\/p> Galaxy clusters like this can collectively contain mass up to 10 trillion times that of the Sun.<\/p> Much of this is in the form of dark matter, which can’t be directly detected, but its presence can be inferred through its gravitational interactions with visible matter.<\/p> Euclid used a technique called gravitational lensing<\/a> to probe the undetectable matter in Abell 2390.<\/p> This is a technique that was predicted by Einstein and involves the warping of spacetime<\/a> by matter.<\/p> In the case of a galaxy cluster, light from more distant galaxies is bent and warped by the mass of the cluster, and appears as giant curved arcs in this image.<\/p> Some of these arcs are even multiple views of the same object, such is the distortion of light caused by gravitational lensing.<\/p> This information helps astronomers learn more about the distribution of dark matter, how galaxy clusters change over time, and the evolution of the Universe.<\/p> NGC 6744 is a spiral galaxy 30 million lightyears away within the Local Group<\/a>, which is a group of galaxies containing our own Milky Way galaxy.<\/p> Galaxy NGC 6744 is one of the largest spiral galaxies beyond our local patch of space and is an active star-forming galaxy.<\/p> Euclid\u2019s wide field of view means it’s been able to capture the entire galaxy and surrounding area, revealing the galaxy’s spiral structure and lanes of dust.<\/p> The Euclid observations will enable astronomers to count individual stars within the galaxy and trace the distribution of stars and dust.<\/p> Cosmic dust and gas fuel star formation, and so these observations provide insight into how stars form and how that star formation affects galaxy evolution.<\/p> This could help answer some fundamental questions surrounding why our Universe looks the way it does today.<\/p> The dataset will help astronomers learn more about the role played by dust and gas in the formation of stars and how populations of stars are distributed throughout galxies.<\/p> It will also provide information on the role that spiral structures play in star formation and why galaxies look and behave the way they do.<\/p> And Euclid has already found a new dwarf satellite galaxy of NGC 6744, showing even more discoveries could be on the way.<\/p> Galaxy cluster Abell 2764 can be seen in the top right of this Euclid image.<\/p> It’s a cluster containing hundreds of galaxies within a halo of dark matter, 1 billion lightyears away in the direction of the Phoenix constellation.<\/p> Euclid’s view shows background galaxies, distant galaxy clusters and interacting galaxies<\/a>.<\/p> It’s allowing astronomers to measure the radius of the galaxy cluster and its outskirts.<\/p> Theses observations, and those of Abell 2390, allow astronomers to study distant galaxies that existed during the cosmic dark ages.<\/p> Because light from these distant galaxies takes billions of years to reach us, when we look deep into space we’re looking back in time<\/a>, seeing the galaxies as they existed when the Universe was just 700 million years old.<\/p>Messier 78<\/strong><\/h2>
Abell 2390<\/strong> <\/h2>
NGC 6744<\/strong><\/h2>
Abell 2764 (and bright star)<\/strong><\/h2>
![\"Euclid](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2024\/05\/Euclid-Dorado.jpg\")