A spiral-shaped galaxy called "Hidden Galaxy" captured by Euclid telescope, designed and built by European Space Agency to explore dark matter and dark energy, is seen in this undated handout image.
Scientists believe vast, seemingly organised structures such as Perseus could only have formed if dark matter exists. Tell-tale signs of the hidden force exerted by dark matter include galaxies rotating more quickly than scientists would expect from the amount of visible matter that can be detected. By gaining new insights into dark energy and matter, scientists hope to better grasp the formation and distribution of galaxies across the so-called cosmic web of the universe.
The release of the images in Darmstadt, Germany, coincided with the second of two days of European space talks in Spain dominated by Europe's continued dependency on foreign launches.