The European Space Agency (ESA) has just unveiled a mesmerizing “mosaic” created by the dark universe explorer, Euclid.
According to Space.com, the special image recently released by ESA is the “first page” of the cosmic map that Euclid – often referred to as the “dark universe telescope” – is currently constructing.
ESA describes it as a vast cosmic mosaic, stitched together from 260 observations taken from March 25 to April 8 of this year, containing 208 gigapixels of data.
A stunning and mesmerizing piece of the sky created from the initial observations of the dark universe explorer, Euclid – (Photo: ESA).
While we are looking at a small image, it is actually a 2D representation of a region of space that is 500 times larger than the full moon visible in Earth’s sky and extends to 10 billion light-years deep.
Euclid is called the “dark universe telescope” because its 6-year mission aims to create the largest 3D map of the universe ever made by humanity.
Not only does it help us see distant objects clearly, but this super map will also assist scientists in exploring the mysteries of dark matter and dark energy, often collectively referred to as “dark universe.”
Two galaxies named ESO 364-G035 and ESO G036 are interacting in an image captured by Euclid – (Photo: ESA).
“This beautiful image is the first piece of a map that will reveal more than one-third of the sky in six years,” said Dr. Valeria Pettorino, a scientist from the Euclid Project at ESA.
She explained that what has just been released is only 1% of the map, yet it contains a wealth of information that astronomers can use to describe the objects and phenomena existing in this region of the universe.
Launched in July 2023, Euclid began conducting scientific observations in February of this year.
This wide-field space telescope has a 600-megapixel camera capable of capturing visible light and near-infrared light using a spectrograph.
It allows us to measure the redshift of distant objects, which is the red color produced when light from far-off celestial bodies shifts toward longer (redder) wavelengths in the spectrum.
This phenomenon occurs because those objects have been and are moving away from us at high speeds due to the expansion of the universe.
By “filming and photographing” a series of galaxies, Euclid can measure the effects of dark energy, a mysterious force driving the acceleration of the universe by expanding the space between galaxies.
