Euclid: ESA's telescope captures stunning images, gives rare view of dark universe. Know about breakthrough

In what may be called a breakthrough, the Euclid space telescope has captured stunning images of the cosmos, reports 'The Washington Times'. European Space Agency launched this high-powered telescope into space last summer to take images of the deeper corner of the space. The ESA finally released five breathtaking and incredible images of the cosmos on Thursday.

Euclid releases five images
In an article published on its official website, NASA said that the Euclid mission has released five new images. These images showcase the space telescope’s ability to explore two large-scale cosmic mysteries: dark matter and dark energy. It also said that dark matter is an invisible substance five times more common in the universe than “regular” matter but with an unknown composition. NSA said that 'dark energy' is the name given to the unknown source causing the universe to expand faster and faster.


Eculid's mission is far from over
Eculid's mission is far from over, it will dive deeper into space to help astronomers. Talking to the 'New York Times', Jean-Charles Cuillandre, an astronomer at CEA Paris-Saclay, said, "Before trying to understand what it is, you have to understand how it behaves."

What is dark matter?
Space scientists have said that dark matter is a mysterious substance that can bend and distort light. This phenomenon is called 'gravitational lensing'. In extreme cases, the gravitational lensing may cause galaxies to appear warped, and can even produce mirror images of a single source.

NASA also said that the five new images feature views of varying sizes. It ranges from a star-forming region in the Milky Way galaxy to clusters of hundreds of galaxies. The US space agency also said that these images were taken shortly after Euclid’s launch in July 2023 as part of its early release observations program.

Euclid to create a cosmic map
Announcing the future of Euclid, NASA said that by 2030, the ESA telescope will create a cosmic map that covers almost a third of the sky. It will be far wider than NASA’s Hubble and James Webb space telescopes, which are designed to study smaller areas in finer detail. The US space agency also said that scientists will be able to chart the presence of dark matter with higher precision than ever before.

FAQs:

When and why was Euclid launched?
European Space Agency launched the high-powered telescope Euclid into space last summer to take images of the deeper corner of space.

What is dark matter?
Dark matter is a mysterious substance that can bend and distort light. This phenomenon is called 'gravitational lensing'. In extreme cases, the gravitational lensing may cause galaxies to appear warped, and can even produce mirror images of a single source.