Launched by the European Space Agency last year, the Euclid space telescope has unveiled an astounding array of celestial objects, including spiral galaxies resembling the Milky Way, bright star nurseries, and galaxies. On a six-year mission to map two billion galaxies across a third of the sky, with a focus on dark matter and dark energy, this is Euclid’s second image release.
Among Euclid’s latest feats is an image of the massive galaxy cluster Abell 2390, which is located 2.7 billion light years away and comprises more than fifty thousand galaxies. According to NASA’s Jason Rhodes, Abell 2390 has a mass of about 10 trillion suns. Light is distorted by the cluster’s gravity, suggesting the existence of dark matter, which, along with dark energy, accounts for 95% of the universe.
Another image offers the deepest view of Messier 78, a star nursery 1,300 light years away in the Orion constellation, highlighting star formation in unprecedented detail. This complements the James Webb Space Telescope’s far-reaching capabilities. A third image of the galaxy cluster Abell 2764, despite a pointing error, shows Euclid’s ability to detect faint objects near bright stars.
Euclid also discovered a previously unknown dwarf galaxy in the Dorado cluster, and captured the spiral galaxy NGC 6744, similar to the Milky Way, against a starry backdrop. These images, taken in just one day, demonstrate Euclid’s powerful observational capabilities.
Initial scientific studies using Euclid’s data have begun, including research on orphan stars in the Perseus cluster, indicating dark matter’s influence. However, conclusions about dark energy are still premature. The mission has faced challenges, such as a delicate operation to remove ice clouding the telescope’s view, with signs of ice possibly returning. The team is exploring solutions to address this issue.
