The spectacular first images from a dark matter-hunting telescope were unveiled Tuesday, showcasing bustling galaxies, clusters of ancient stars and wispy, dreamlike stellar nurseries. The images, from the European Space Agency's Euclid telescope that launched into space in July, were released to great fanfare. The dramatic views are a tantalizing first glimpse of what the dark universe-mapping telescope could yield over the course of its six-year mission.
The telescope’s goal is to grasp the elusive nature of dark matter and dark energy — the invisible “stuff” that are thought to make up 95% of the universe. Understanding how dark matter and dark energy work have been some of the most long-standing challenges in modern astronomy. In its first batch of full-color images, the Euclid telescope captured a cosmic portrait that officials at the space agency called “a revolution for astronomy.