The Euclid space telescope will launch this week. Here's what you need to know.

The European Space Agency's Euclid space telescope is set to launch atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket this Saturday . Blasting off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 11:11 a.m. EDT , the space telescope will hunt for clues about two of the universe's greatest mysteries: dark matter and dark energy.

What is Euclid?Named after the ancient Greek mathematician who's considered the"father of geometry," Euclid is a space telescope that is 14.7 feet tall and 10.2 feet in diameter. The telescope is mounted with just two instruments: a near-infrared camera that will measure the distance and brightness of galaxies, and a visible-light camera that will study their shapes.

The second will use so-called baryon acoustic oscillations, gigantic matter shock waves created when the universe was hot and now frozen in time, as cosmic tree rings to study the universe's accelerating growth and its suspected cause: dark energy.

Energy Energy Latest News, Energy Energy Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Two New Space Telescopes Will Bring Dark Energy Into FocusThe ESA's Euclid and NASA's Nancy Grace Roman space telescope will work together to resolve the mystery of cosmic expansion!
Source: universetoday - 🏆 297. / 63 Read more »

Decoding Dark Matter and Energy: What You Need to Know About the Euclid Mission Launching This WeekendDark matter and dark energy are the focus of this cutting edge space telescope. Here's our primer on this historic mission.
Source: Gizmodo - 🏆 556. / 51 Read more »