SPACE — On Tuesday, November 7, 2023, first image
from the dark universe telescope, Euclid was released. Astronomers who had been waiting immediately praised the telescope’s ability to capture the intricacies of the universe.
“We have never seen an astronomical image like this before, containing so much detail,” Euclid project scientist Rene Laureijs said in a statement before the release.
According to him, the images were even more beautiful and sharp than expected. It revealed many never-before-seen features in this well-known region of the nearby universe.
Mission scientists gathered in Darmstadt, Germany to reveal and discuss the first 5 Euclid telescope images from various spots in the universe. Previously, the first test image of Euclid was released at the end of July, but the visuals barely reached level 1 of the telescope’s capabilities.
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Rich in color and nuance, the 5 new images convince astronomers that the telescope is ready to take on its ambitious task: Map the dark, invisible side of our universe. The hope is that Euclid can uncover the mysteries of dark matter and energy by studying billions of galaxies located 10 billion light years from Earth.
Each of Euclid’s high-resolution images also includes more than 600 million pixels, allowing astronomers to see deep into the universe with clarity. Euclid only needed one day to immortalize these five cosmic objects.
Here are the first five pictures Euclid took:
1. Hidden Galaxies Come into View
The spiral galaxy IC 342 is located approximately 10.7 million light years from Earth. If it were not covered by the Milky Way’s gas and dust, it would be one of the brightest objects in the sky. Image: ESA
One of the first galaxies that Euclid observed was nicknamed the ‘Hidden Galaxy’ located about 11 million light years from Earth. It hides behind the disk of our galaxy, the Milky Way.
Galaxies like this are usually covered by a blanket of cosmic gas, dark dust and bright stars. But Euclid managed to use his near-infrared instruments to peer through the blanket. It collects light from stars in the galaxy within one hour of observation.
“This image may look normal, as if every telescope could produce such an image, but that’s not true,” said Leslie Hunt of the National Institute of Astrophysics in Italy. “What’s special here is that not only do we have a bird’s-eye view that covers the entire galaxy, but we can also zoom in to distinguish single stars and star clusters.”
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Hidden Galaxy or IC 342 is a spiral galaxy like the Milky Way. Therefore, studying IC 342 can teach you a lot about the Milky Way. New details from Euclid help scientists trace the history and evolution of star formation.
2023-11-07 17:08:00
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