ESA's Euclid space telescope transmits first test images of the cosmos
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The Euclid space telescope has gazed upon the universe for the very first time.
The European Space Agency's (ESA) newly launched space telescope beamed back its first test images to Earth on Monday, July 31.
Launched on July 1, the telescope intends to search for elusive dark matter and dark energy, which account for approximately 27 percent and 68 percent of the universe, respectively.
Euclid's mission involves observing the universe from the strategically advantageous Sun-Earth Lagrange point (L2), a gravitational sweet spot. This location is also home to James Webb, the most potent space telescope in the world.
🥁 They're here... the first test images from the #DarkUniverse 🕵️ detective give us a tantalising glimpse of what is yet to come from a fully calibrated mission later this autumn 🤩
— ESA's Euclid mission (@ESA_Euclid) July 31, 2023
Explore the #ESAEuclid images here 👉 https://t.co/InMugFwnv6 and below 👇 pic.twitter.com/ZocGqwk4ta
Extraordinary shots of the night sky
The new images are detailed shots of the night sky, portraying countless stars, star clusters, and galaxies spread across the universe. These test shots cover a swath of sky that is smaller than the full Moon.
“After more than 11 years of designing and developing Euclid, it’s exhilarating and enormously emotional to see these first images,” said Giuseppe Racca, the Euclid project manager, in an official release.
Racca added: “It’s even more incredible when we think that we see just a few galaxies here, produced with minimum system tuning. The fully calibrated Euclid will ultimately observe billions of galaxies to create the biggest ever 3D map of the sky.”
The test images captured were left unprocessed, resulting in various streaks caused by "unwanted artifacts," such as cosmic rays. However, all future science images will be carefully processed and colorized to enhance their scientific appeal.
The first sample images were taken by the telescope's two onboard cameras: the VISible instrument (VIS) and the Near-Infrared Spectrometer and Photometer (NISP).
NISP will image the galaxies in infrared light as well as measure the amount of light emitted by galaxies at various wavelengths. This data could help scientists determine how far certain galaxies are.
The VIS equipment will primarily be used to determine the shape of billions of galaxies in the universe.
The mission team highlighted in the release that these images hold even greater significance as they were captured despite encountering a glitch shortly after activating the VIS instrument for the first time. The team noticed "an unexpected pattern of light contaminating the images".
Follow-up investigations revealed it was just stray sunlight that entered the telescope, most likely through a small gap. This problem can be solved by taking photos from specific angles.
Euclid to create a 3D map of the universe
Over the next few months, the mission team will test and evaluate the overall performance of this space observatory dedicated to hunting dark matter.
Once this “commissioning and performance verification phase” ends, Euclid will kick-start its scientific observations, which will include creating a 3D map of the universe to better comprehend the enigmatic nature of dark matter and dark energy.
The recent images serve as a glimpse of the immense potential of this extraordinary telescope over the next six years.
"I have full confidence that the team behind the mission will succeed in using Euclid to reveal so much about the 95% of the universe that we currently know so little about," said General Josef Aschbacher, the director of ESA.
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