New space telescope embarks on biggest 3D map of the universe

The European Space Agency (ESA) today

released the first pictures of galaxies

taken by its new space telescope, Euclid, which aims to help researchers understand the dark components that make up 95% of the universe. The telescope’s image of the Perseus Cluster (above), one of the most massive structures in the universe, shows 1000 of its galaxies 240 million light-years from Earth, as well as 100,000 more distant ones, some as far away as 10 billion light-years.

Over its 6-year mission, Euclid, launched in July, is

expected to take 30,000 such images

, cataloging 1 billion galaxies across one-third of the sky. Researchers will use them to create the biggest 3D map of the universe, spanning three-quarters of its history.

By recording the galaxies’ locations, clustering, and shapes, scientists hope for insights about two of the thorniest problems in astrophysics: the nature of dark matter, which is needed to explain the speedy rotation of galaxies, and dark energy, which accelerates the universe’s expansion.

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IC 342 is a nearby look-alike of the Milky Way but is obscured by dust in our galaxy. Euclid’s first look has revealed never-before-seen details.

ESA/Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA; J.-C. Cuillandre (CEA Paris-Saclay), G. Anselmi; CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO

Euclid’s view of globular cluster NGC ...

Source: ScienceNOW - November 7, 2023 Category: Science Source Type: news