The European space telescope Euclid has released its first images, offering a glimpse of distant galaxies and stars. The telescope was launched on 1 July, with the aim of mapping billions of galaxies and exploring the distribution of dark matter and dark energy.
The images include a detailed view of the spiral galaxy IC 342, which had previously been difficult to observe so clearly in one shot. “This is the first telescope which can capture in one single exposure the entire galaxy and the surroundings with this exquisite resolution,” said Francis Bernardeau, deputy lead of the Euclid Consortium at CEA Paris–Saclay, a research centre of the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission, during an online presentation on 7 November.
Magnificent!
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