Covering an area 9,500 times the size of the full Moon, the European Space Agency released its first major data set, capturing over one billion celestial objects to build a three-dimensional map of the universe.
The release, designated as DR1-Foundation, contains data gathered over roughly 13 months following the launch of the Euclid space telescope in mid-2023, as asharq.com reported. The collection includes high-resolution images, spectroscopic measurements, and panoramic sky maps that give scientists a new baseline for studying galaxy distribution.
New Data Set Covers 1,900 Square Degrees of Sky
The new data set spans approximately 1,900 square degrees of the night sky and holds nearly 1.7 million gigabytes of information. This volume lets researchers study massive numbers of galaxies and rare phenomena that were difficult to find in previous surveys.
Space outside Earth’s atmosphere shields the hardware from the distortions that weaken incoming light on ground-based instruments, according to dakahliya.com. The telescope operates in both visible light and near-infrared wavelengths to capture wide areas.
The project represents a vast expansion from initial observations that covered only 60 square degrees over several days.
Euclid Maps Dark Matter and Dark Energy Through Galaxy Distribution
The primary mission of the telescope involves tracking dark matter and dark energy, two components that scientists cannot observe directly. Researchers infer their presence through gravitational effects on galaxy movement and the rate of cosmic expansion.
Dark matter emits no detectable light, but its gravity holds galaxies and galaxy clusters together. Dark energy refers to the unknown force driving the accelerated expansion of the universe.
Euclid maps the distribution of billions of galaxies out to distances of roughly 10 billion light-years.
Identifying Strong Gravitational Lenses
Researchers identified about 15,000 candidate systems for strong gravitational lensing, a phenomenon where the gravity of a foreground galaxy bends light from a more distant object. These warped images appear as luminous arcs or rings.
The data release includes the largest catalog of strong lensing candidates assembled to date, surpassing all previous collections combined. Machine learning and thousands of volunteers participating in the Space Warps project via the Zooniverse platform helped identify these rare systems.
“Strong lenses provide a unique way to measure galaxy masses and study how the universe expands,” said Natalie Lines, a researcher at the University of Portsmouth and member of the Euclid Consortium, told asharq.com.
Detecting Distant Quasars
The catalog includes more than 60 million candidates for quasars, which are the bright centers of galaxies powered by supermassive black holes. These objects let scientists study early galaxy formation and black hole growth.
The European Space Agency said that Euclid spotted ancient quasars dating back to an era when the universe was only about five percent of its current age. Spectroscopic analysis breaks incoming light down into distinct wavelengths to measure cosmic distances.
The release features spectra for hundreds of millions of light sources, helping scientists locate hydrogen gas inside distant star-forming regions. The first full data release, known as DR1, is scheduled for mid-2027.
Earlier coverage: ESA Euclid Telescope Releases First Major Data Collection of Galaxies
