Euclid Telescope: Exploring Dark Matter and Dark Energy

Discover the Euclid Telescope, a space mission by the European Space Agency (ESA) designed to study dark matter and dark energy, unlocking the mysteries of the universe.

Context: Recently the Euclid space telescope has achieved a significant milestone by capturing high-resolution images of 26 million galaxies.

About Euclid Telescope

Euclid Telescope was launched by the European Space Agency (ESA) in July 2023.
It is equipped with a 2-meter telescope, it captures high-resolution images and spectra of distant galaxies.
Instruments Onboard:
- VIS (Visible instrument): A 600-megapixel camera to record visible light.
- NISP (Near-Infrared Spectrometer and Photometer): A near-infrared camera/spectrometer to determine the redshift of detected galaxies.
It operates from the Sun-Earth L2 orbit, about 1.5 million km from Earth.
Mission Duration – 6 Years.

Mission Objectives

Explore the “dark universe”: It is designed to study the composition and evolution of the dark universe, focusing on dark matter and dark energy.
Create a 3D map: The mission will map the large-scale structure of the universe, revealing how it has expanded and evolved over billions of years.
Observe billions of galaxies: Euclid will observe billions of galaxies, some as far as 10 billion light-years away, to study their distribution and evolution.
Understand dark energy and dark matter: By studying the shapes and clustering of galaxies, Euclid will help scientists understand the role of gravity and the nature of dark energy and dark matter.