First five images from Euclid probe include spiral galaxy and 'horsehead' nebula. TheStunning new photos from the European Space Agency's Euclid probe show the cosmos in 'mesmerizing' detail.
The first five images released today are the first step in Euclid's six-year mission to create the most extensive 3D map of the universe yet Euclid is stationed at L2, the 'second Lagrange point' of space – a position in space between Earth and the sun where objects sent there tend to stay put. The first image shows 1,000 galaxies belonging to the Perseus Cluster, and more than 100,000 additional galaxies further away in the background, each containing up to hundreds of billions of stars
Nebulae are enormous clouds of dust and gas occupying the space between stars and act as a 'nursery' for new stars. ESA said nebula itself is made up largely of cold molecular hydrogen, which gives off very little heat and no light. The space probe used its near-infrared instrument to peer through the dust and measure the light from the many cool and low-mass stars that dominate the galaxy's mass.
Dwarf galaxies are small galaxies composed of a few billion stars, but NGC 6822 is also described as 'irregular' because of its shape. Globular clusters are collections of hundreds of thousands of stars held together by gravity., with the highest concentration of stars towards their centres. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands ready to launch the Euclid satellite for the European Space Agency at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, July 1, 2023