- With the Euclid mission, scientists hope to gain insight about our expanding universe by learning more about dark energy.
- The mission is mapping the sky in 3D so that we can better understand its structure and composition.
- The first 1% of this cosmic atlas is now available, and it has captured millions of galaxies in incredible detail.
NASA/JPL published this original story on October 15, 2024. Edits by EarthSky.
Euclid mission begins its cosmic atlas
In 2023, the Euclid spacecraft launched from Florida on a mission to learn why the universe is expanding at an accelerating rate. To do so, the wide-angle space telescope is creating the most extensive 3D map of the universe yet. On October 15, 2024, the Euclid team released its first portion – just 1% – of the cosmic atlas, which covers more than 500 times the area of the full moon. The 208-gigapixel mosaic gives us a sneak peak of what’s to come in Euclid’s six-year mission.
The Euclid team released the new images at the International Astronautical Congress in Milan on October 15.
A deep view into space
The mosaic contains 260 observations in visible and infrared light made between March 25 and April 8 of this year. In just two weeks, Euclid covered 132 square degrees of the southern sky, or more than 500 times the area of the sky covered by a full moon.
The mosaic accounts for 1% of the wide survey Euclid will conduct over six years. During this survey, the telescope observes the shapes, distances and motions of billions of galaxies out to a distance of more than 10 billion light-years. By doing this, it will create the largest 3D cosmic map ever made.
This first piece of the map already contains around 100 million stars and galaxies. Some 14 million of these galaxies could be used by Euclid to study the hidden influence of dark energy on the universe.
Jason Rhodes is an observational cosmologist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. He’s also the U.S. science lead for Euclid and principal investigator for NASA’s Euclid dark energy science team. Rhodes said:
We have already seen beautiful, high-resolution images of individual objects and groups of objects from Euclid. This new image finally gives us a taste of the enormity of the area of sky Euclid will cover, which will enable us to take detailed measurements of billions of galaxies.
A closer look at our universe
Even though this patch of space shows only 1% of Euclid’s total survey area, the spacecraft’s sensitive cameras captured an incredible number of objects in great detail. Enlarging the image by a factor of 600 reveals the intricate structure of a spiral galaxy in galaxy cluster Abell 3381, 470 million light-years away.
JPL’s Mike Seiffert is project scientist for the NASA contribution to Euclid. Seiffert said:
What really strikes me about these new images is the tremendous range in physical scale. The images capture detail from clusters of stars near an individual galaxy to some of the largest structures in the universe. We are beginning to see the first hints of what the full Euclid data will look like when it reaches the completion of the prime survey.
In the new mosaic, we can also see clouds of gas and dust located between the stars in our own galaxy. Sometimes called galactic cirrus because they look like cirrus clouds at Earth, Euclid’s visible-light camera can see these clouds because they reflect visible light from the Milky Way.
Zoom in for incredible detail
More to come for the cosmic atlas
The mosaic released today is taste of what’s to come from Euclid. The mission plans to release 53 square degrees of the Euclid survey, including a preview of the Euclid Deep Field areas, in March 2025. The Euclid team will then release its first year of cosmology data in 2026.
NASA’s forthcoming Nancy Grace Roman mission will also study dark energy, in ways that are complementary to Euclid. Mission planners will use Euclid’s findings to inform Roman’s dark energy work. Scheduled to launch by May 2027, Roman will study a smaller section of sky than Euclid but will provide higher-resolution images of millions of galaxies. It will also peer deeper into the universe’s past, providing complementary information. In addition, Roman will survey nearby galaxies, find and investigate planets throughout our galaxy, study objects on the outskirts of our solar system and more.
Bottom line: The Euclid mission to survey the universe and help us understand the nature of dark energy and the expanding universe has just released the first 1% of its cosmic atlas.
The post First 1% of new cosmic atlas reveals millions of galaxies first appeared on EarthSky.
from EarthSky https://ift.tt/pqMh7wu
- With the Euclid mission, scientists hope to gain insight about our expanding universe by learning more about dark energy.
- The mission is mapping the sky in 3D so that we can better understand its structure and composition.
- The first 1% of this cosmic atlas is now available, and it has captured millions of galaxies in incredible detail.
NASA/JPL published this original story on October 15, 2024. Edits by EarthSky.
Euclid mission begins its cosmic atlas
In 2023, the Euclid spacecraft launched from Florida on a mission to learn why the universe is expanding at an accelerating rate. To do so, the wide-angle space telescope is creating the most extensive 3D map of the universe yet. On October 15, 2024, the Euclid team released its first portion – just 1% – of the cosmic atlas, which covers more than 500 times the area of the full moon. The 208-gigapixel mosaic gives us a sneak peak of what’s to come in Euclid’s six-year mission.
The Euclid team released the new images at the International Astronautical Congress in Milan on October 15.
A deep view into space
The mosaic contains 260 observations in visible and infrared light made between March 25 and April 8 of this year. In just two weeks, Euclid covered 132 square degrees of the southern sky, or more than 500 times the area of the sky covered by a full moon.
The mosaic accounts for 1% of the wide survey Euclid will conduct over six years. During this survey, the telescope observes the shapes, distances and motions of billions of galaxies out to a distance of more than 10 billion light-years. By doing this, it will create the largest 3D cosmic map ever made.
This first piece of the map already contains around 100 million stars and galaxies. Some 14 million of these galaxies could be used by Euclid to study the hidden influence of dark energy on the universe.
Jason Rhodes is an observational cosmologist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. He’s also the U.S. science lead for Euclid and principal investigator for NASA’s Euclid dark energy science team. Rhodes said:
We have already seen beautiful, high-resolution images of individual objects and groups of objects from Euclid. This new image finally gives us a taste of the enormity of the area of sky Euclid will cover, which will enable us to take detailed measurements of billions of galaxies.
A closer look at our universe
Even though this patch of space shows only 1% of Euclid’s total survey area, the spacecraft’s sensitive cameras captured an incredible number of objects in great detail. Enlarging the image by a factor of 600 reveals the intricate structure of a spiral galaxy in galaxy cluster Abell 3381, 470 million light-years away.
JPL’s Mike Seiffert is project scientist for the NASA contribution to Euclid. Seiffert said:
What really strikes me about these new images is the tremendous range in physical scale. The images capture detail from clusters of stars near an individual galaxy to some of the largest structures in the universe. We are beginning to see the first hints of what the full Euclid data will look like when it reaches the completion of the prime survey.
In the new mosaic, we can also see clouds of gas and dust located between the stars in our own galaxy. Sometimes called galactic cirrus because they look like cirrus clouds at Earth, Euclid’s visible-light camera can see these clouds because they reflect visible light from the Milky Way.
Zoom in for incredible detail
More to come for the cosmic atlas
The mosaic released today is taste of what’s to come from Euclid. The mission plans to release 53 square degrees of the Euclid survey, including a preview of the Euclid Deep Field areas, in March 2025. The Euclid team will then release its first year of cosmology data in 2026.
NASA’s forthcoming Nancy Grace Roman mission will also study dark energy, in ways that are complementary to Euclid. Mission planners will use Euclid’s findings to inform Roman’s dark energy work. Scheduled to launch by May 2027, Roman will study a smaller section of sky than Euclid but will provide higher-resolution images of millions of galaxies. It will also peer deeper into the universe’s past, providing complementary information. In addition, Roman will survey nearby galaxies, find and investigate planets throughout our galaxy, study objects on the outskirts of our solar system and more.
Bottom line: The Euclid mission to survey the universe and help us understand the nature of dark energy and the expanding universe has just released the first 1% of its cosmic atlas.
The post First 1% of new cosmic atlas reveals millions of galaxies first appeared on EarthSky.
from EarthSky https://ift.tt/pqMh7wu
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