Scientists reveal the first data from the Euclid telescope, providing a glimpse into cosmic history

Scientists fired The first set of scientific data Captured by the Euclid telescope, they show an exciting glimpse into the universe’s distant past.

The telescope, which was launched in July 2023, is part of the Dark Energy Satellite mission, which aims to map the dark universe.

Led by the European Space Agency in collaboration with the Euclid Consortium – which includes astronomers from the University of Manchester in leadership positions – the mission seeks to solve the mysteries of dark matter and dark energy, and to reveal how and why the universe looks as it does today. .

Early observations, described in a series of Scientific papers Published today, it includes five never-before-seen images of the universe.

The papers also describe several new discoveries, including free-floating newborn planets, newly identified extragalactic star clusters, new low-mass dwarf galaxies in a nearby galaxy cluster, the intracluster distribution of dark matter and light in galaxy clusters, and very distant galaxies. . Bright galaxies from the first billion years of the universe.

The results give insight into the unprecedented power of the Euclid Telescope, which was designed to provide the most accurate map of our universe over time, and demonstrate Euclid’s ability to uncover the secrets of the universe.

Christopher Conselice, Professor of Extragalactic Astronomy at the University of Manchester, said: “Euclid will completely revolutionize our view of the universe. These results are already revealing important new findings about local galaxies, new unknown dwarf galaxies, exoplanets and some of the first dwarf galaxies.” Galaxies, these results are just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what’s to come. Soon Euclid will discover hitherto unknown details about dark energy and provide a complete picture of how galaxy formation occurs throughout all cosmic eras.

Michael Brown, Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Manchester, added: “The exceptional data Euclid is providing over a large part of the sky promises to revolutionize our understanding of dark energy. It is extremely exciting to be part of the team working to extract these key scientific results.”

The early launch observations program was conducted during Euclid’s first months in space as a first look at the depth and diversity of science that Euclid would provide. A total of 24 hours were allocated to target 17 specific astronomical objects, from nearby gas and dust clouds to distant galaxy clusters, producing stunning images invaluable for scientific research. In just one day, Euclid produced a catalog of more than 11 million objects in visible light and another five million objects in infrared light.

The images published today follow the return of the first full-color images of the universe from the space telescope produced in November 2023.

In addition to contributing to the mission’s primary goals, scientists at the University of Manchester, in collaboration with the University of Massachusetts Amherst, conducted preliminary research on data from distant galaxies. The red galaxies in the image show the cluster acting as a magnifying glass to reveal more distant sources behind them. In all, 29 galaxies were discovered, providing insight into the first billion years of the universe.

Dr Rebecca Buller, Ernest Rutherford Fellow at the University of Manchester, said: “In these stunning images we can see galaxies that were previously invisible, because more distant galaxies can only be detected using the longer near-infrared wavelengths that Euclid saw.” This initial data was invaluable for testing our search algorithms and identifying challenges, such as confusing distant galaxies with brown dwarfs in our Milky Way, before we start working on the main data later this year.

“What’s amazing is that these images cover an area of ​​less than 1% of the entire deep observations, showing that we expect to discover thousands of early galaxies in the next few years with Euclid, which will be revolutionary in understanding how and when galaxies formed.” Formed after the Big Bang “

The images obtained by Euclid are at least four times sharper than those that can be obtained from ground-based telescopes. They cover large areas of the sky at an unparalleled depth, peering far into the distant universe using visible and infrared light.

The next data release from the Euclid Consortium will focus on Euclid’s core scientific goals. The first global rapid release is currently scheduled for March 2025, while a broader data release is scheduled for June 2026. At least three more rapid releases and two more data releases are expected before 2031, which corresponds to a few months after the end of Euclid. Initial scanning.

The Euclid Consortium has more than 2,600 members, including more than 1,000 researchers from more than 300 laboratories in 15 European countries, as well as Canada, Japan and the United States, and covers various fields in astrophysics, cosmology, theoretical physics and particle physics.

“Euclid demonstrates European excellence in frontier science and cutting-edge technologies, and demonstrates the importance of international cooperation,” said Joseph Aschbacher, Director General of ESA.

“The mission is the result of many years of hard work from scientists, engineers and industry across Europe and from members of the Euclid Science Consortium around the world, all brought together by ESA. They can be proud of this achievement – ​​the results are no small feat for such an ambitious mission.” “With such complex fundamental science, Euclid is at the beginning of his exciting journey to map the structure of the universe.”