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Euclid 'dark universe' telescope reveals its 1st sparkling images of the cosmos (photos)
By Monisha Ravisetti published about 2 hours ago
The European Space Agency's ambitious Euclid space telescope is on its way to decoding the secrets of dark matter and dark energy.
On the left, a black and white image showing tons of glimmering spots representing stars and galaxies taken by Euclid's VIS instrument. On the right, a reddish version of a similar scene, taken by NISP.
Two images taken by Euclid's instruments. The left was taken by VIS and the right by NISP. (Image credit: ESA/Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA)
On Monday (July 31), the European Space Agency's Euclid telescope sent its first images back to Earth. And while these seminal portraits are certainly mesmerizing, they also confirm that the space observatory's instruments are working in tip-top shape.
Euclid's success so far is really exciting because, to put it simply, this machine's purpose is to map out the dark side of our universe by analyzing billions of galaxies that reside up to about 10 billion light-years away. Better yet, the agency also says this ambitious map will be in "3D," because it'll include the element of time to show how those realms evolved in tandem with a maturing cosmos.
"The outstanding first images obtained using Euclid's visible and near-infrared instruments open a new era to observational cosmology and statistical astronomy," Yannick Mellier, astronomer at the Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris and Euclid Consortium lead, said in a statement. "They mark the beginning of the quest for the very nature of dark energy."
Euclid launched on July 1 from Cape Canaveral in Florida. Now floating about a million miles (1.6 million km) from Earth, it joined the James Webb Space Telescope on July 28 at what's known as the second Lagrange point. Over the next few months, scientists will continue testing the machine until it starts officially developing its epic cosmic survey.
More:
https://www.space.com/euclid-dark-universe-telescope-1st-sparkling-images-cosmos