Euclid Telescope's Images Reveal Secrets of the Universe: Free Floating Planets, Galaxies & More

The European Space Agency (ESA) unveiled magnificent new images from its Euclid space telescope, representing the agency's first scientific discoveries from early observations.

The project, which began last year, seeks to understand dark matter and dark energy, which make up the majority of the cosmos but are mysterious.

Euclid, a sensitive sensor, detects dark matter's gravitational effects on distant galaxies despite its invisibility, according to The Verge.

ESA Euclid project scientists Valeria Pettorino and René Laureijs remarked that they have to "accurately measure the shapes" of more than 1.5 billion faraway galaxies.

Four times clearer than ground-based telescopes, the telescope gives precise views of galaxy clusters, star-forming areas, and the neighboring spiral galaxy NGC 6744.

For dark matter research, Euclid will gather data on celestial objects and galaxies that were challenging to detect before Euclid, which includes free-floating planets, ultra-cold stars, brown dwarfs, galaxies with very low surface brightness and extremely high redshift quasar populations, according to Laureijs added.

Massive Galaxies, Young Planets Captured By Euclid

New Euclid space telescope photographs show NGC 6744, one of the biggest spiral galaxies in the surrounding cosmos, and the Dorado group, where growing and merging galaxies produce shell-like structures and massive, curving tidal tails.

Three million-year-old rogue planets, cosmic youngsters, were discovered by Euclid. Astronomers found them free-floating because they are distant from nearby stars. Unless a star pulls them into orbit, these cosmic drifters will keep wandering the cosmos, per The Guardian.

University of Manchester extragalactic astronomy professor Christopher Conselice noted that their observations indicate that they "will see a plethora of planets" and learn more about how planets develop.

Moreover, with the latest planet discoveries, studying them in greater quantities may help astronomers understand how early solar systems expelled them.

More Mysteries of The Universe To Be Unfold by Euclid

The telescope will hunt for rogue planets, which are hard to study since they do not orbit stars. Euclid can see rogue planets four times the size of Jupiter. Galaxy clusters like Abell 2390, with over 50,000 galaxies, will be studied. Gravitational lensing by these clusters distorts distant galaxies' light, exposing dark matter.

In barely a day, Euclid's initial scans revealed millions of things, exceeding expectations. Euclid will study a third of the sky for six years, revealing more about the universe. Pettorino and Laureijs remarked that the development marks an "extraordinary journey" in understanding the cosmos.

Around 2,000 scientists from 300 institutes in 15 European nations, the US, Canada, and Japan operate the Euclid space telescope with NASA support. The Euclid Consortium handles scientific instruments and data analysis, according to ESA.

Thales Alenia Space was the main contractor for the satellite and service module, while Airbus Defense and Space built the payload module and telescope for ESA. NASA provided the NISP detectors. ESA's medium-class Cosmic Vision Program includes Euclid.