New full-colour images will be unveiled by Euclid ‘dark universe’ telescope team on May 23

The European Space Agency (ESA) is all set to release five new images from the Euclid space telescope on May 23 (Thursday). Space fans can expect an absolute treat if previous set of pictures is anything to go by. “Five new portraits of our cosmos were captured during Euclid’s early observations phase, each revealing amazing new science,” ESA officials informed through a statement. “Euclid’s ability to unravel the secrets of the cosmos is something you will not want to miss.” The new images is scheduled to be revealed at 05:00 EDT (3:30 IST) and will be supplemented by an incredible 10 science papers. Opportunity to watch the data release live will be available on the ESA’s YouTube channel.

Euclid’s story so far

Launched on July 1, 2023 atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral in Florida, Euclid is a wide-angle space telescope carrying a photometer that is used to determine the redshift of galaxies, a near-infrared spectrometer anda 600-megapixel camera that observes the universe in visible light. Knowing about redshift enables scientists to figure out how fast distant galaxies are moving away from our planet. Euclid’s main mission is to investigate the cosmos’s two most mysterious elements: dark matteranddark energy. These phenomena together make up what’s often called the “dark universe.”

Whatever force is causing the expansion of the cosmos to accelerate is termed as dark energy. On the other hand, dark matter is a form of matter that is effectively invisible as it doesn’t interact with light. This means researchers are aware it isn’t “ordinary” matter made of electrons, protons and neutrons that includes stars, planets, moons and our bodies. Dark matter can make its presence apparent only through its interactions with gravity, which can, in turn, influence lightand ordinary matter. To be clear, nonetheless, neither dark matter nor dark energy are essentially made of one thing. Both can be made of whole lot of things — or, perhaps they are indeed each made of one homogenous thing. The point is, we simply are unaware.

Nevertheless, dark energy is believed to make up around 68% of the cosmos’s energy and matter budget, while dark matter comprises about 27%. That implies the dark universe accounts for 95% of the stuff in the cosmos and things we in fact do understand account for paltry around 5%.

Euclid is dubbed as a “dark-universe detective” by virtue of its specific packet of instruments. It clearly has its work cut out. But certainly, the first official images from the space telescope released on Nov. 7 last year, after its initial four months in space, showed it is up to the task.