Euclid: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Universe
While it was already anticipated that Euclid could decipher the secrets of the cosmos, new data now unequivocally confirms this capability.
Launched in June of last year, the brand-new Euclid telescope by the European Space Agency (ESA) aims to unlock the mysteries of dark matter and dark energy and reveal why the universe appears as it does today. Recently released images, unseen before, now leave researchers in awe. According to astronomers working with the data, the visuals exceed all expectations and affirm that Euclid can indeed uncover the universe’s secrets.
Newly Released Images
Below are some of the latest images. They are part of Euclid’s Early Release Observations, alongside the first scientific data from the mission released today. In addition, ten scientific papers are expected to be published soon. This initial data was released less than a year after the telescope’s launch and about six months after Euclid sent its first full-color images of the universe back to Earth.
Abell 2390
This image captures the cluster Abell 2390, showcasing around 50,000 galaxies and massive curved arcs due to gravitational lensing. Euclid’s snapshot of Abell 2390 reveals the light from stars ripped away from their parent galaxies, floating in intergalactic space. Observing this “intracluster light” is a specialty of Euclid and may help astronomers locate dark matter.
Messier 78
This image displays Messier 78, a star nursery enveloped in interstellar dust. Thanks to Euclid’s infrared camera, hidden star-forming regions are unveiled for the first time, revealing intricate gas and dust filaments. Euclid’s instruments can detect objects with masses just a few times that of Jupiter, unveiling more than 300,000 new stars and planets in this single field of view.
NGC 6744
This image shows NGC 6744, a galaxy with significant star formation in the local universe. Euclid’s large field of view captures both the grand spiral structure and fine details like filamentary dust lanes. Scientists use this data to understand the relationship between dust, gas, and star formation, unraveling the physics behind spiral galaxy structures.
Abell 2764 (and Bright Star)
This image features the galaxy cluster Abell 2764 (top right) consisting of hundreds of galaxies within a massive dark matter halo. Along with this cluster, Euclid captures background galaxies, more distant clusters, and interactions between galaxies. Euclid’s broad field of view enables the determination of the cluster’s radius and edges, with a bright foreground star (Beta Phoenicis) causing minimal interference, rendering faint, distant galaxies visible.
Dorado Group
Euclid captures galaxies evolving and merging in the Dorado group, with stunning tidal tails and shields resulting from their interactions. Scientists use this data to study galaxy evolution, cosmic history models, and galaxy formation within dark matter halos. This image demonstrates Euclid’s versatility, capturing both small and extensive features in one frame thanks to its wide field of view, remarkable depth, and high spatial resolution.
Seventeen Astronomical Objects
The complete series of early Euclid observations targeted 17 different astronomical objects, from nearby gas and dust clouds to distant galaxy clusters. These observations set the stage for Euclid’s primary goal: revealing the secrets of the dark cosmos and understanding why the universe looks the way it does today.
First Datasets
The images represent the first datasets released to the public. According to Valeria Pettorino, ESA’s Euclid Project Scientist, this is a “significant milestone.” “The images and associated scientific findings are impressively diverse concerning the observed objects and distances,” she says. “They cover a range of scientific applications yet represent just 24 hours of observations.”
Sharp Images
Images captured by Euclid are at least four times sharper than those from terrestrial telescopes. They cover vast portions of the sky with unprecedented depth, extending far into the distant universe in both visible and infrared light. These are not mere snapshots; Euclid’s new and unique observational capabilities reveal new physical properties of the universe.
Rogue Planets
The initial findings indicate that Euclid can discover free-floating planets, also known as rogue planets, with masses just four times that of Jupiter in star-forming regions. Additionally, the telescope can study the outer regions of star clusters in incredible detail, mapping various star populations to investigate galaxy evolution. Euclid can also detect individual star clusters in distant groups and galaxy clusters, identify new dwarf galaxies, and observe the light from stars torn away from their home galaxies. In just one day, Euclid produced a catalog of over eleven million objects in visible light and another five million in infrared light.
Rogue Stars
Thanks to Euclid, we now know that billions of so-called ‘rogue stars’ exist. The images reveal that the Perseus cluster, situated 240 million light-years from Earth, contains more than 1.5 trillion rogue stars. The Perseus cluster, one of the largest structures in the universe with thousands of galaxies, has seen Euclid capture faint, ghostly light – the rogue stars – drifting between the galaxies of the cluster. Since stars typically form within galaxies, the discovery of rogue stars outside these structures poses intriguing questions about their origin. “We were astonished by our ability to peer deeply into the cluster’s outer regions and distinguish the delicate colors of this light,” says project leader Nina Hatch. “This light may help us map dark matter if we understand where the intracluster stars came from. By studying their colors, brightness, and arrangement, we found they originated from small galaxies.”
Astronomical Library
Astronomers, including observatory cosmologist Professor Henk Hoekstra, anticipate that Euclid’s impact will be immense. “An average book contains 50,000 words, the same as the number of galaxies Euclid observes in a single shot,” he explains. “Hubble has read a bookshelf over the past 30 years, while Euclid does that in a few days, and in six years, it will read the entire library. You can learn much from the books on one shelf, but there’s far more to discover in an entire library.”
A New Beginning
The images mark just the beginning. “Euclid will completely change our view of the universe,” says Christopher Conselice from the University of Manchester. “The current results already reveal significant new insights into local galaxies, unknown dwarf galaxies, exoplanets, and some of the oldest galaxies. This is just the beginning of what is to come. Soon, Euclid will reveal new details about dark energy and provide a complete picture of galaxy formation throughout cosmic history.”
Looking Ahead
We can expect more exciting discoveries. “We are eagerly awaiting the first major dataset from Euclid, expected in February 2025,” says Professor Koen Kuijken. “These images further prove that the data exceeds expectations!”
