ESA’s Euclid space telescope launch: All you need to know

What is Euclid?

Euclid is a 1.2-meter-diameter telescope that will travel to L2, about 1 million miles away from Earth. The telescope will spend two months calibrating its instruments before commencing a six-year survey of one-third of the sky.

AP

Crowds on the beach in Cocoa Beach, Fla., watch the launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket for the European Space Agency with the Euclid space telescope on Saturday, July 1, 2023. The European space telescope blasted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Saturday on a quest to explore the mysterious and invisible realm known as the dark universe. (Malcolm Denemark/Florida Today via AP)

‘Dark side’ of universe

The Euclid mission’s main goal is to investigate the “dark side” of the universe, focusing on dark matter and dark energy. For those who don’t know, dark matter comprises 85 per cent of the universe’s matter, however, it has never been directly observed, while dark energy is a mysterious force responsible for the universe’s accelerating expansion.Euclid aims to create a highly accurate 3D map of the universe by observing billions of galaxies up to 10 billion light-years away. It will reveal how dark energy has influenced the stretching and separation of matter over cosmic time.Using visible and near-infrared measurements, Euclid will catalog 1.5 billion galaxies, providing data on their shapes, masses and star formation rates. It may also uncover new objects within our Milky Way galaxy.In 2027, the Nancy Grace Roman Telescope will join Euclid in orbit, collaborating to study cosmic acceleration and construct 3D universe maps. This joint effort will offer deeper insights into the mysteries of dark energy, providing astronomers with more precise measurements.

FAQs

1. How long will the Euclid mission last?
   The Euclid mission is scheduled to last for six years. However, the mission may be extended.
2. How will Euclid study dark matter and dark energy?
   It will create a 3D map of the universe by observing billions of galaxies up to 10 billion light-years away, which will be useful in studying dark matter closely.