The ESA's Euclid Space Telescope has already wowed us with some fantastic images. After launching in July 2023, the telescope delivered some stunning first images of the Perseus Cluster, the Horsehead Nebula, and other astronomical objects.
Now, the telescope has released its first images of its three Deep Fields.
Euclid features a powerful 600 MB camera that can take detailed images of objects like the Horsehead Nebula. However, its main job is to probe the history of the expansion of the Universe.
That requires many images stitched together into a map of the large-scale structure of the Universe. It'll do that by imaging billions of galaxies out to 10 billion light-years away, covering more than one-third of the sky.
The ESA just released the first survey data from Euclid, including a preview of its Deep Fields – the regions of the sky it will image repeatedly for extended periods of time.
Deep field observations can teach us a lot, as the Hubble showed, and are essential for uncovering how dark matter is distributed throughout the Universe. Euclid's deep and wide fields will provide the deepest and most detailed views of the Universe yet.
"Euclid shows itself once again to be the ultimate discovery machine. It is surveying galaxies on the grandest scale, enabling us to explore our cosmic history and the invisible forces shaping our Universe," said ESA's Director of Science, Prof. Carole Mundell, in a press release.
The images are a preview of what the telescope will provide over its mission lifetime. It used one week of observation time to scan each of its deep fields once. It's already spotted a whopping 26 million galaxies, the furthest of which are 10.5 billion light-years away.
The telescope will re-scan these regions dozens of times over the course of its mission, which is scheduled to end in 2030.
"With the release of the first data from Euclid's survey, we are unlocking a treasure trove of information for scientists to dive into and tackle some of the most intriguing questions in modern science. With this, ESA is delivering on its commitment to enable scientific progress for generations to come," said Mundell
These first initial scans of the Deep Fields have revealed gravitational lenses, galaxy clusters, and differently-shaped galaxies.
Euclid has two instruments: its visible light camera, VIS, and its near-infrared light camera, NISP. NISP allows Euclid to determine the distances and masses of galaxies, which are critical in uncovering the cosmic web, the large-scale structure of the Universe.
It consists of filaments of dark matter and regular matter along which galaxies, clusters, and groups are situated. Dark matter is mysterious, and the first step in understanding is mapping it.
"The full potential of Euclid to learn more about dark matter and dark energy from the large-scale structure of the cosmic web will be reached only when it has completed its entire survey," says Clotilde Laigle, Euclid Consortium scientist and data processing expert based at the Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris, France.
"Yet the volume of this first data release already offers us a unique first glance at the large-scale organisation of galaxies, which we can use to learn more about galaxy formation over time."
The 26 million galaxies imaged so far are just the beginning for Euclid. They're only 0.4 percent of the total number of galaxies of similar resolution that the telescope will image in its lifetime.
When Euclid's work is complete, it will have created a catalogue of galaxy morphologies that's "at least an order of magnitude more galaxies than ever measured before," according to the ESA.
"We're looking at galaxies from inside to out, from how their internal structures govern their evolution to how the external environment shapes their transformation over time," said Clotilde.
"Euclid is a goldmine of data and its impact will be far-reaching, from galaxy evolution to the bigger-picture cosmology goals of the mission."
The ESA also released a catalogue of 500 strong gravitational lenses. Almost all of them were previously unknown. It took AI, then a follow-up study by citizen scientists, and then expert vetting and modelling to find all these lenses.
"Euclid is very quickly covering larger and larger areas of the sky thanks to its unprecedented surveying capabilities," said Pierre Ferruit, ESA's Euclid mission manager, who is based at the ESA's European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC) in Spain, home of the Astronomy Science Archive where Euclid's data will be made available.
"This data release highlights the incredible potential we have by combining the strengths of Euclid, AI, citizen science and experts into a single discovery engine that will be essential in tackling the vast volume of data returned by Euclid."
There are parallels between the ESA's Euclid mission and its Gaia mission. Gaia is creating an extraordinarily precise map of the Milky Way by observing more than two billion stars and other objects.
Gaia's data has already become foundational in modern astronomy, leading to new understandings of the Milky Way's history, structure and movement. It's also discovered objects as small as asteroids, and even potential asteroid moons. Gaia's data has found its way into all kinds of research.
Euclid will probably be the same. Its deep survey of galaxies will likely become foundational in our understanding of the cosmic web, dark matter, and dark energy.
Dark matter and energy are mysterious and are two of the most pressing issues in astronomical science. Only massive amounts of observational data can help scientists make headway in understanding dark matter and dark energy.
Euclid will provide it and has already given us a taste of what's to come.
This article was originally published by Universe Today. Read the original article.