Euclid — built and operated by ESA, with contributions from NASA — has captured full-color images of a large cluster of galaxies, close-ups of two nearby galaxies, a globular cluster, and a nebula. They show that Euclid is ready to create the most extensive 3D map of the Universe yet, to uncover some of its hidden secrets.
This image from ESA’s Euclid spacecraft shows the Horsehead Nebula, also known as Barnard 33, a giant star-forming region located 1,375 light-years away in the constellation of Orion. Image credit: ESA / Euclid / Euclid Consortium / NASA / J.-C. Cuillandre, CEA Paris-Saclay / G. Anselmi / CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO.
Launched on July 1, 2023, Euclid will observe billions of galaxies out to 10 billion light-years to create the largest, most accurate 3D map of the Universe, with the third dimension representing time itself.
This detailed chart of the shape, position and movement of galaxies will reveal how matter is distributed across immense distances and how the expansion of the Universe has evolved over cosmic history, enabling astronomers to infer the properties of dark energy and dark matter.
This will help theorists to improve our understanding of the role of gravity and pin down the nature of these enigmatic entities.
The images released today by the Euclid team include: the Perseus Cluster, the spiral galaxy IC 342, the irregular galaxy NGC 6822, the globular cluster NGC 6397 and the Horsehead Nebula.
“I wish to congratulate and thank everyone involved with making this ambitious mission a reality, which is a reflection of European excellence and international collaboration,” said ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher.
“The first images captured by Euclid are awe-inspiring and remind us of why it is essential that we go to space to learn more about the mysteries of the Universe.”
“Dark matter pulls galaxies together and causes them to spin more rapidly than visible matter alone can account for; dark energy is driving the accelerated expansion of the Universe,” said Professor Carole Mundell, ESA Director of Science.
“Euclid will for the first-time allow cosmologists to study these competing dark mysteries together.”
“Euclid will make a leap in our understanding of the cosmos as a whole, and these exquisite Euclid images show that the mission is ready to help answer one of the greatest mysteries of modern physics.”
“We have never seen astronomical images like this before, containing so much detail,” said ESA’s Euclid project scientist René Laureijs.
“They are even more beautiful and sharp than we could have hoped for, showing us many previously unseen features in well-known areas of the nearby Universe.”
“Now we are ready to observe billions of galaxies, and study their evolution over cosmic time.”
“Our high standards for this telescope paid off: that there is so much detail in these images, is all thanks to a special optical design, perfect manufacturing and assembly of telescope and instruments, and extremely accurate pointing and temperature control,” said ESA’s Euclid project manager Giuseppe Racca.
“The Euclid observatory will uncover a treasure trove of scientific discoveries that will be used across the world, including by U.S. scientists, for years to come,” said Nicola Fox, associate administrator in Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters.
“Together, NASA and ESA are paving the way for a new era of cosmology for NASA’s forthcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, which will build upon what Euclid learns and will additionally survey objects on the outskirts of our Solar System, discover thousands of new planets, explore nearby galaxies, and more.”
Euclid’s first images are not only beautiful, but also immensely valuable for the scientific community.
Firstly, they showcase that Euclid and its instruments are performing extremely well and that astronomers can use Euclid to study the distribution of matter in the Universe and its evolution at the largest scales.
Combining many observations of this quality covering large areas of the sky will show us the dark and hidden parts of the cosmos.
Secondly, each image individually contains a wealth of new information about the nearby Universe.
“In the coming months, scientists in the Euclid Consortium will analyze these images and publish a series of scientific papers, together with papers about the scientific objectives of the Euclid mission and the instrument performance,” said Euclid Consortium lead Yannick Mellier.
“And finally, these images take us beyond the realm of dark matter and dark energy, also showing how Euclid will create a treasure trove of information about the physics of individual stars and galaxies.”
