2023-06-22 01:34:00
Astronomy: the Euclid probe will leave on July 1 to explore the dark sector of the Universe
The European space probe Euclid will launch on July 1 from Cape Canaveral in Florida, in an attempt to shed light on two great enigmas of the Universe, dark matter and dark energy, the ESA announced on Wednesday June 21 on Twitter.
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The Euclid satellite was assembled in Cannes, in the South of France. Photo: AFP/VNA/CVN
The satellite will fly aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from the American company SpaceX that the European Space Agency (ESA) was forced to choose. Designed by Thales Alenia Space, the two-ton spacecraft, 4.7 m high and 3.5 m wide, will reach a position close to that of the James-Webb space telescope, 1.5 million kilometers from Earth. .
From this position called Lagrange point 2, Euclid – named after the father of geometry – will draw a three-dimensional map of the Universe, encompassing two billion galaxies over a portion of one third of the celestial vault. Going back in time up to 10 billion years. This unprecedented cartography aims to reconstruct the history of the Universe “by time slices”, explained astrophysicist Yannick Mellier of the Euclid consortium, during a press conference on June 13.
The main objective of this mission, according to the scientists, is to lift a corner of the veil on dark matter and energy, which make up 95% of the Universe but whose nature is completely unknown, for lack of being able to detect them. . These two dark components are purely theoretical for the time being, but scientists cannot do without them to understand the cosmos.
The dark matter, attractive, would act as a cement within the galaxies, which would explain why they do not disperse in clouds of stars. As for dark, repulsive energy, its existence is necessary to explain the accelerating expansion of the Universe.
Astronomers hope not to detect the nature of these two dark components, but to better understand how they act and evolve over time.
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