Euclid telescope releases exciting new images of ‘dark universe’ | Space

Let the sunshine in…

Stunning new space images captured by the new Euclid telescope are revealing secrets of the “dark universe,” a mystery-filled combination of dark matter and dark energy believed to make up 95% of the cosmos.

The one-of-a-kind photos have been released by the European Space Agency, which launched the groundbreaking tech into the final frontier from Florida’s Cape Canaveral last July.

Euclid’s task is to observe and then eventually help the consortium create a groundbreaking 3D map that would “uncover some of [the universe’s] hidden secrets,” according to the organization.

“Dark matter pulls galaxies together and causes them to spin more rapidly than visible matter alone can account for; dark energy is driving the accelerated expansion of the Universe. Euclid will for the first-time allow cosmologists to study these competing dark mysteries together,” said professor Carole Mundell, the ESA’s director of science.

Five images have been unveiled so far, offering just a glimpse of various “hidden” galaxies, nebulas and Jupiter-size worlds left to conquer. The awe-inspiring snaps are but a tease to the astounding breakthroughs yet to come, during what the ESA estimates to be a six-year span of exploration from the space scope.

“Euclid will make a leap in our understanding of the cosmos as a whole, and these exquisite Euclid images show that the mission is ready to help answer one of the greatest mysteries of modern physics,” Mundell said.

What a cluster

Euclid captured a magnificent group shot on more than a thousand galaxies located within the Perseus cluster — one of the universe’s most massive structures — 240 million light-years away. Some of the 100,000 background galaxies shown are…

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