‘Euclid’ Telescope Launched to Explore Dark Matter and Energy in the Universe
The Euclid telescope, designed to delve into the mysteries of dark matter and energy, has been successfully launched into space. The European Space Agency’s (ESA) Euclid space telescope lifted off at 11:12 am on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Cape Canaveral Space Force base in Florida, USA.
After approximately 2 minutes and 40 seconds, Euclid successfully separated from the rocket, marking the beginning of an exciting scientific journey. The European Space Operations Center (ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany confirmed receiving a signal from Euclid 57 minutes after liftoff.
“The successful launch of Euclid marks the commencement of a new scientific endeavor to unravel one of the most compelling questions in modern science,” stated ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher.
Over the next 4 weeks, Euclid will travel to the second Lagrangian point (L2) in space, situated approximately 1.5 million km away from Earth, where the gravitational forces of the Earth and the sun are balanced. It will then undergo seven months of trial work.
The Euclid telescope, measuring about 4.7m high and 3.5m wide, with a 1.2m diameter, is significantly smaller than NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the next-generation space telescope.
By 2029, Euclid aims to observe up to 2 billion galaxies, spanning over a third of the sky, using two advanced instruments: the Visible Light Observatory (VIS) and the Near-Infrared Spectrometer and Photometer (NISP). Through these instruments, Euclid will construct a 3D map of space.
The VIS will capture high-resolution images of galaxies across a wide expanse of the sky, while the NISP will analyze the infrared emissions of galaxies to accurately determine their distances.
The primary objective of Euclid is to unlock the secrets of how the universe has expanded and how its structure has developed. This will be accomplished by studying dark matter and dark energy, which constitute the majority of the universe.
Scientists have discovered that approximately 5% of the universe consists of ordinary matter, while the remaining 25% is invisible dark matter and 70% is dark energy. However, existing observation instruments have been unable to directly capture dark energy and dark matter.
Euclid plans to utilize the gravitational lensing effect to measure the distorted shapes of billions of galaxies, revealing the distribution of dark matter in the universe. Gravitational lensing occurs when concentrated materials act as magnifying glasses, bending and amplifying the light from galaxies and clusters.
“To comprehend the universe we inhabit, it is imperative to understand the nature of dark matter and dark energy and their influence on the formation of the universe,” explained Carol Mundell, SA’s scientific director. “Euclid will provide the most detailed sky map to aid in this understanding.”
The first image captured by Euclid will be unveiled in October. ESA intends to release the collected data annually and make it available to the global scientific community through the Science Archive.
The data collected by Euclid will be analyzed by the Euclid Consortium, comprising approximately 2,000 scientists from 300 institutions across 21 countries, including Europe, the United States, Canada, and Japan. The total budget invested in this project amounts to 1.4 billion euros (approximately 2 trillion won).
Originally scheduled to launch from ESA’s launch site in French Guiana using a Russian rocket, the plans were altered due to strained relations between Europe and Russia following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Consequently, the decision was made to launch Euclid via US SpaceX.
[Source: Yonhap News]
Euclid launches into space [사진: UPI=연합뉴스]
The ‘Euclid’ telescope was launched on the 1st (local time) to explore the unknown territory of dark matter and energy in the vast universe.
The European Space Agency (ESA) Euclid space telescope was launched into the sky at 11:12 am on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Cape Canaveral Space Force base in Florida, USA.
Euclid successfully separated from the rocket outside the atmosphere approximately 2 minutes and 40 seconds after liftoff. ESA’s European Space Operations Center (ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany confirmed it received a signal from Euclid 57 minutes after the rocket lifted off.
“The successful launch of Euclid marks the beginning of a new scientific effort to find answers to one of the most powerful questions of modern science,” said ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher.
Euclid will fly for about another 4 weeks to enter the orbit of the second Lagrangian point (L2) about 1.5 million km (about 4 times the distance between the Earth and the moon) where the Earth and the sun are gravity balancing, and then goes on trial work for 7 months.
The whole body, including auxiliary equipment and telescope, is about 4.7m high, 3.5m wide, and the diameter of the telescope is 1.2m. It is much smaller than NASA’s next generation space telescope, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).
By 2029, Euclid will observe up to 2 billion galaxies spread across more than a third of the sky using two observing instruments: the Visible Light Observatory (VIS) and the Near Infrared Spectrometer and Photometer (NISP) . 3D space map.
VIS captures clear images of galaxies over a wide area of the sky, and NISP analyzes the infrared rays of galaxies by wavelength to accurately determine their distances.
In particular, the aim is to reveal how the universe has expanded and how the structure of the universe was formed by observing dark matter and dark energy, which make up most of the universe.
The universe has continued to expand since its birth in the Big Bang 13 billion years ago. Scientists have reported, during research, that only about 5% of ordinary matter is in the universe, the 25% remaining consists of invisible dark matter. , and 70% is dark energy. However, the observing instruments developed so far cannot capture dark energy and dark matter directly.
Euclid plans to use the gravitational lensing effect to measure the distorted shape of billions of galaxies and show a three-dimensional picture of the distribution of dark matter in the universe. The gravitational lensing effect is a phenomenon where the concentrated material acts as a magnifying glass, and the light of galaxies and clusters above it is bent and magnified as if looking through a lens.
“To understand the universe we live in, we need to understand the nature of dark matter and dark energy and understand the role they played in shaping the universe,” said Carol Mundell, SA’s scientific director. It will give you the most detailed map of the Sky.”
The first image taken by Euclid will be released in October. ESA plans to release the data annually thereafter, and to the global scientific community through the Science Archive.
The data collected by Euclid is analyzed by the Euclid Consortium, which includes approximately 2,000 scientists from 300 institutions in 21 countries, including Europe, the United States, Canada and Japan. The budget invested in this project is 1.4 billion euros (about 2 trillion won).
Euclid was initially due to be launched on a Russian rocket from French Guiana, ESA’s launch site, but after Russia invaded Ukraine last year, relations between Europe and Russia were severed, and it was switched to launch by US SpaceX.
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