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Explore The Amazing Views Of The Euclid Telescope’s Atlas

Explore The Amazing Views Of The Euclid Telescope’s Atlas

Last year, the European Space Agency (ESA) launched the Euclid telescope with the goal of surveying a significant portion of the sky to shed light on the enigmatic nature of dark matter. After navigating through some initial icy obstacles, the ESA has unveiled the first glimpse of the expansive cosmic catalog that Euclid is creating.

Constructed from 260 observations made over a span of just two weeks in March and April of this year, the first segment of the cosmic map is a massive mosaic featuring 208 gigapixels. A zoomed-in view of various sections reveals intricate details of the Southern Sky, showcasing 14 million distant galaxies and tens of millions of stars within our own Milky Way.

“This captivating image represents the initial part of a map that will ultimately illustrate more than a third of the sky within six years. Although this is only 1% of the entire map, it’s teeming with diverse sources that will assist scientists in formulating new models to understand the Universe,” stated Valeria Pettorino, the Project Scientist for Euclid at ESA.

An area of the cosmic mosaic released by ESA’s Euclid space telescope on October 15, 2024. The area is zoomed in twelve times compared to the large mosaic. In the middle left, spiral galaxy NGC 2188 is visible edge-on at a distance of 25 million light-years. In the top right corner, galaxy cluster Abell 3381 is prominently viewable, located 678 million light-years away.
This image illustrates a section of the mosaic released by ESA’s Euclid space telescope on October 15, 2024. The segment is magnified twelve times relative to the larger mosaic. On the left side, spiral galaxy NGC 2188 is revealed edge-on at a distance of 25 million light-years. In the upper right corner, the galaxy cluster Abell 3381 stands out clearly, despite being 678 million light-years away. SA/Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA, CEA Paris-Saclay, image processing by J.-C. Cuillandre, E. Bertin, G. Anselmi (CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO)

In addition to the captivating images, ESA has highlighted several particularly striking views from the mosaic, with zoom levels ranging from 12 to 150 times compared to the complete dataset. These images feature stunning spiral galaxies, vast clusters of galaxies, and faint, small dwarf galaxies.

This image shows an area of the mosaic released by ESA’s Euclid space telescope on 15 October 2024. The area is zoomed in 150 times compared to the large mosaic. On the left of the image, Euclid captured two galaxies (called ESO 364-G035 and G036) interacting with each other, 420 million light-years from us. On the right of the image, galaxy cluster Abell 3381 is visible, 678 million light-years away from us.
This image highlights an area of the mosaic unveiled by the ESA’s Euclid space telescope on October 15, 2024. The section is magnified 150 times in comparison to the extensive mosaic. On the left, two interacting galaxies (ESO 364-G035 and G036) can be observed, located 420 million light-years away. On the right side, the galaxy cluster Abell 3381 is visible, positioned 678 million light-years distant. ESA/Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA, CEA Paris-Saclay, image processing by J.-C. Cuillandre, E. Bertin, G. Anselmi (CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO)

“We’ve already witnessed breathtaking, high-resolution observations of individual celestial objects and groups from Euclid. This latest image offers an initial glimpse into the vast expanses of the sky that Euclid will examine, enabling detailed analyses of billions of galaxies,” said Jason Rhodes from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).

This image shows an area of the mosaic released by ESA’s Euclid space telescope on 15 October 2024. The area is zoomed in 36 times compared to the large mosaic. In this image, the core of galaxy cluster Abell 3381 is visible, 678 million light-years away from us. The image shows many different galaxies of various shapes and sizes, from massive elliptical to modest spiral galaxies, down to tiny and dim dwarf galaxies.
This image features a section of the mosaic that was revealed by ESA’s Euclid space telescope on October 15, 2024. This particular area is magnified 36 times compared to the overall mosaic. The core of galaxy cluster Abell 3381 is visible, situated 678 million light-years away. The image showcases a variety of galaxies, ranging from massive elliptical forms to smaller spiral ones and even tiny, faint dwarf galaxies. ESA/Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA, CEA Paris-Saclay, image processing by J.-C. Cuillandre, E. Bertin, G. Anselmi (CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO)

Looking ahead, the next phase of this extensive cosmic mapping effort will see a release scheduled for March 2025. This reveal will include extraordinarily detailed images from specific areas of interest known as the Euclid Deep Fields. Currently, the mission has completed about 12% of its large-scale survey, which means there are many more awe-inspiring discoveries awaiting us from this remarkable telescope.

“What truly amazes me about these new images is the vast range of physical scales they capture,” commented Mike Seiffert from JPL. “These images encompass details from clusters of stars adjacent to individual galaxies all the way to some of the universe’s largest structures. We’re starting to glimpse the early signs of what the complete data from Euclid will reveal once the primary survey is finished.”

  • rukhsar rehman

    A University of California alumna with a background in mass communication, she now resides in Singapore and covers tech with a global perspective.

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