Euclid space telescope has showcased its optical prowess by generating stunning images of celestial objects spread across the vast universe.The image, captured by the Euclid satellite, depicts the Perseus cluster of galaxies bathed in a gentle, soft blue light emanating from orphan stars. These orphan stars are dispersed throughout the cluster, extending up to 2 million light-years from its centre.
The first images showcase over 1,500 billion orphan stars spread over a galactic cluster located 240 million light-years away from the Earth. Previously, these orphan stars were expected to orbit the largest galaxy in the cluster after being separated from their parent galaxies. However, the new observations revealed a surprising discovery: instead of orbiting a single dominant galaxy, the orphan stars were found to circle a position between the cluster’s two most luminous galaxies.
The Euclid Consortium, which includes astronomers from various institutes, including the University of Manchester and Nottingham, has detailed the findings in over 10 scientific papers.