Euclid space telescope will produce the largest map of the universe ever
Euclid captures a vast cosmic map, covering just 1% of its six-year mission.
The European Space Agency (ESA) has unveiled a preliminary slice of data from the Euclid space telescope, showcasing a mosaic of the night sky. Captured between March 25 and April 8, 2024, the mosaic was derived from 260 distinct observations and encompasses a remarkable 132 square degrees of the southern sky.
This represents more than 500 times the area covered by the full Moon but merely accounts for one percent of Euclid’s anticipated six-year survey. Euclid, which launched from Cape Canaveral on July 1, 2023, hopes to map over a third of the sky, reaching distances up to 10 billion light-years, thus creating the most expansive 3D universe map yet.
The extraordinary image is home to 100 million stars and galaxies, weighing in at a staggering 208 gigapixels. As the ESA maintains that this is just the beginning, a new release in March 2025 will feature 53 square degrees of surveyed space and offer a peek at the Euclid Deep Field areas.