The European Space Agency’s (ESA) Euclid space telescope has taken an exciting leap forward in the exploration of our cosmos. It just announced its inaugural set of data after launching in July 2023. Dedicated to unraveling the mysteries of dark matter and dark energy, Euclid's mission marks a pivotal step in understanding the universe's large-scale structure. As of writing this in late February 2024, Euclid just began their household collection. The goal of this thrilling endeavor is to image 1.5 billion galaxies during the next six years.
In Euclid’s first data release, we’ve scanned three large regions of the sky in incredible detail, with classifications of more than 380,000 galaxies. These galaxies represent just 0.4% of the full expected catalog. This incredible finding opens the door to a huge philosophical and scientific question—what is our universe made of? The telescope’s mission is to peer deeper into the cosmos. Over the last year, it has already snapped images of galaxies that are an amazing 10.5 billion light-years away!
"With the release of the first data from Euclid's survey, we are unlocking a treasure trove of information for scientists to dive into and tackle some of the most intriguing questions in modern science." – Carole Mundell, ESA's director of science
Euclid's mission is ambitious in its scope, intending to map the universe's large-scale structure while focusing on dark matter and dark energy, which together constitute approximately 95% of the universe. Euclid returns on the order of 100 gigabytes of data per day. This steady 24/7 stream of data will provide scientists with unprecedented glimpses into the universe’s most mysterious forces.
The Euclid space telescope provides a new view on galaxy evolution. It provides scientists an unprecedented chance to investigate the internal machinations of galaxies and their effects on outside environments.
"We're looking at galaxies from inside to out, from how their internal structures govern their evolution to how the external environment shapes their transformation over time." – Laigle
As Euclid continues its mission, it will periodically revisit regions to observe farther into space, thereby enriching the dataset and offering further insights into cosmic phenomena. This ongoing act of observation and experimentation is vital in fitting together the enormous puzzle that is the universe’s origin and development.
"Just think of the discoveries that await us." – Valeria Pettorino, Euclid project scientist at ESA
