Space telescope Euclid sets the new standard for cosmology

Key Points:

• The European Space Agency launched the Euclid space telescope on July 1, 2023, aiming to create the largest and most detailed map of the universe by mapping a third of the sky over six years.
• The first major data release includes images covering an area nearly 10,000 times the size of the full moon, capturing around 900 million galaxies and 60 million quasars, totaling approximately 2.5 trillion pixels and 1.7 million gigabytes of data.
• Euclid’s mission focuses on understanding dark matter and dark energy, which together make up 95% of the universe's content, by mapping billions of galaxies and measuring gravitational lensing effects to reveal invisible matter.
• Researchers will use Euclid’s data to test fundamental physics questions, including the completeness of current gravity theories on cosmic scales, with initial results expected in June 2027.
• While the first data release is a significant milestone with around 20 scientific papers published, the main scientific analyses and discoveries are anticipated to begin in earnest as the mission progresses.