These incredibly high-resolution images provide unprecedented detail on millions of stars and galaxies.

Made over 260 observations from March 25 to April 8, the mosaic covers 132 square degrees of the southern sky, an area 500 times larger than the Moon. This is just 1% of the total sky Euclid will study during its long mission. Euclid will observe the shapes, distances and movements of billions of galaxies, up to 10 billion light-years away, in an effort to build the largest 3D map of the universe ever.

The map has recorded about 14 million galaxies and tens of millions of stars in the Milky Way. Data from Euclid not only helps to reveal the structure of the universe, but also helps scientists better understand the effects of dark matter and dark energy – two components that make up 95% of the universe but are still not fully explained.

According to Valeria Pettorino, Euclid project scientist at ESA, this mosaic opens up new opportunities for studying the universe. She emphasized that although the current image represents only 1% of the survey area, it provides a lot of important information for scientists to explore the universe further.

The Euclid images also revealed details of the galaxy cluster Abell 3381, located on the right side of the mosaic, along with stars in the Milky Way. Using optical and infrared cameras, Euclid captured stars in different colors, from red to white or blue, corresponding to their temperature. In particular, clouds of dust and gas, known as “galactic circuses,” stood out thanks to Euclid’s super-sensitive observations.

Euclid, which was launched in July 2023, officially began scientific observations in February this year. To date, the mission has completed 12% of its planned survey of the universe. Initial results from Euclid promise to bring many important discoveries, contributing to answering questions about the origin and structure of the universe.

Thanh Mai (t/h)