![]() ![]() Scientists can deduce how dark matter is distributed throughout the universe by studying these distortions. Euclid’s image shows small, faint galaxies in the cluster that haven’t been visible in other images.Įven the far-away galaxies in the background are of interest to astronomers because their light is distorted, an effect called weak lensing. According to astronomers, dark matter was essential to the formation of this cluster. Located 240 million light-years from Earth, the Perseus Cluster is one of the largest structures in the nearby universe. “It took just about one hour to take a single image. “This is an image that really shows what Euclid is made for and what it can do,” Valentijn continued. (Credit: ESA/Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA/J.-C. It shows 1,000 large galaxies that are relatively close by in the cluster, and behind those, you can see 100,000 more galaxies, all the way to the limit of what Euclid can observe, 10 billion years back in time.”Įuclid’s view on the Perseus Cluster of galaxies. “It is hard to see depth in a flat image, but you really can in this one. “My favorite image is the one of the Perseus Cluster,” said Valentijn enthusiastically. ![]() The first of which has now been released to the public. “I was always afraid to hear about this because that would mean we had real problems,” said Valentijn.Īfter the guidance issues were resolved by uploading a software patch to the telescope, Euclid could finally start making scientific observations. This meant the telescope was unstable and unable to precisely point at its targets, a crucial requirement for the mission’s science goals. The biggest issue arose when the Fine Guidance Sensor was not able to reliably track guide stars. Repeating observations at a later moment could potentially negate these issues entirely. Luckily, scientists can minimize the impact to less than 1% of the data by simply removing the affected data. When X-rays from solar flares reach Euclid’s detectors, they interfere with the observations. “Fortunately, this could be moved outside the focal plane by rolling the telescope by 3 degrees, so it’s gone now.”Ī second issue was caused by the Sun, which is currently in a period of high activity. “We now know it was caused by a thruster bracket that stuck out past the sun shield and reflected light inwards,” explained Valentijn. When Euclid sent back its first images, the team noticed the telescope picked up flares of stray sunlight. A trifecta never before achieved.Įxplore these 5⃣ cosmic portraits that show Euclid's full potential and□ /viqWrx1dQ2 The first images from #ESAEuclid are here: razor-sharp, wide & looking far into the distant Universe. Welcome to the dazzling edge of darkness!□ Problems arose soon after the telescope turned on its detectors for the first time, though. With the issues resolved, the telescope can finally begin mapping a third of the sky to study dark matter and dark energy.Įuclid’s commissioning initially began without issues while the telescope was still on its way to Sun-Earth Lagrange point 2 (L2) after lifting off on July 1 atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 in Florida. The problems delayed the start of Euclid’s six-year mission by more than a month. However, this success was hardly guaranteed a few months ago when the telescope experienced issues during its commissioning phase. “It is unbelievable how well Euclid meets its specifications!” “The images exceed expectations,” said Euclid NL national project manager Edwin Valentijn of the University of Groningen, The Netherlands, in an interview with NSF. These targets were chosen to demonstrate the full potential of Euclid’s two instruments, a visible-wavelength camera called the VISible instrument (VIS) and a near-infrared camera/spectrometer called Near-Infrared Spectrometer and Photometer (NISP). The images reveal five targets at different distances, with the furthest, the Perseus Cluster of galaxies, being released first, followed by spiral galaxy IC 342, irregular galaxy NGC 6822, globular cluster NGC 6397, and finally the Horsehead Nebula. 7, scientists, engineers, and agency officials unveiled the telescope’s first five images. The European Space Agency (ESA) has released the first full-color images from Euclid, the agency’s latest space telescope designed to study the nature and distribution of dark matter and dark energy in the universe. ![]()
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