An Expansive View of Galaxies Captured by the Euclid Space Telescope
Remarkable new images from the Euclid space telescope have identified 26 million galaxies, with some located as far away as 10.5 billion light years.
Launched by the European Space Agency in July 2023, Euclid began transmitting its first images in November of the same year. Over a six-year mission, it aims to map approximately one-third of the sky, creating the most comprehensive 3D map of the universe to date. This project will provide crucial insights into the behavior of dark matter and dark energy on a cosmic scale.
Recently, the first large-scale data from Euclid’s mission has been unveiled, starting with three “deep fields”—areas where the telescope will observe in greater detail than in the rest of its survey. These three regions cover just 63 square degrees of the sky, roughly the size of the full moon multiplied by 300. In the upcoming years, Euclid will revisit these areas between 30 and 52 times, progressively enhancing the detail of the images captured.
The current release of images represents less than half a percent of the total data Euclid is set to collect throughout its mission, yet already provides ample material for researchers. With this survey, astronomers can investigate individual galaxies and their properties with remarkable insight, thanks to a pioneering space-based survey in the near-infrared and optical wavelengths. While not quite matching the quality of the Hubble Space Telescope, the results are closely comparable and encompass a broader scope of the universe.
Euclid’s data has enabled researchers to discover hundreds of strong gravitational lenses, which occur when the gravity of a foreground object warps the light from a distant galaxy, creating distinctive arc shapes or full rings. Traditionally, such lenses were identified individually, necessitating targeted imaging by telescopes. Now, astronomers can efficiently search the survey data for multiple instances at once, providing enhanced understanding of galaxy evolution and the universe’s structure.
Utilizing an AI model, scientists cataloged 500 galaxies exhibiting strong gravitational lensing in the initial data release, effectively doubling the number previously identified. “The statistics are phenomenal,” noted a leading researcher. “Euclid will ultimately generate 200 times this amount of data.”
The initial data set comprises only a single week of images from Euclid, yet totals approximately 35 terabytes—the equivalent of 200 days of high-resolution video streaming. The next data release, anticipated late next year, will encompass an entire year’s worth of imaging, covering 2000 square degrees and requiring over 2000 terabytes of storage.
Given the vast number of galaxies, a manual analysis could take over a century. Thus, AI technology has been implemented to accelerate the research process dramatically. “We can ask new questions in weeks, rather than years,” explains one researcher involved in the project.
Topics:
