The European Space Agency’s (ESA) Euclid space telescope released its first full-color images on November 7, 2023. The images include:
- Perseus galaxy cluster: A snapshot of 1,000 galaxies in the cluster, plus over 100,000 more in the background
- NGC 6822: An irregular galaxy with purple areas of intense star formation
- Horsehead Nebula: A stellar nursery located south of a star in Orion’s Belt
- Globular cluster: A cluster with 400,000 stars in the Milky Way galaxy
- Two nearby galaxies: Two contrasting galaxies in the distant and nearby universe
The images are considered a revolution for astronomy. They are high resolution, with over 600 million pixels each. The telescope is designed to answer questions about the universe, such as what it’s made of and how dark matter came to be.
Euclid is currently at the Earth-Sun Lagrange 2 point. Operators plan to start full scientific observations in early 2024, and release the data once a year.
It’s also known as the “Hidden Galaxy,” but Euclid’s infrared imaging system makes it pop in the newly released picture. Globular clusters are also of particular interest in hunting for dark matter, and Euclid’s first crop of images contained one of NGC 6397, the second closest globular cluster to Earth.
The Perseus galaxy cluster, also known as Abell 426, is a massive group of galaxies in the constellation Perseus. It’s one of the largest objects in the observable universe
Size: The Perseus cluster is about 11 million light-years across and 240 million light-years away from Earth. It has a diameter of 863′ and a recession speed of 5,366 km/s.
Composition: The cluster contains thousands of galaxies immersed in a vast cloud of gas that’s millions of degrees. Most of the observable matter in the cluster is gas that’s so hot it only glows in X-rays.
Formation: Astronomers have shown that galaxy clusters like Perseus can only form if dark matter is present in the universe.
X-ray image: In an X-ray image of the Perseus cluster, you can see bright loops, ripples, and jet-like streaks
NGC 6822 is a barred irregular galaxy located in the constellation Sagittarius. It’s about 1.6 million light-years away from Earth and is a member of the Local Group of galaxies
NGC 6822 is also known as: Barnard’s Galaxy, IC 4895, Caldwell 57.
E. E. Barnard discovered NGC 6822 in 1884 using a six-inch refractor telescope. It’s considered a prototype of the earliest galaxies in the young universe.
NGC 6822 is a faint cluster of stars with several small nebulae. It’s one of the Milky Way’s closest neighbors
The Horsehead Nebula is a dark nebula in the Orion constellation. It’s also known as Barnard 33 or B33. The nebula is part of the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex, which is one of the closest active regions of star formation to the Sun.
The Horsehead Nebula is located about 1,375 light-years away. It’s made of cold gas and dust, and is lit from within by young, hot stars. The nebula’s complex cloud shapes, lit by nearby stars, make it appear to have the shape of a horse’s head
The Horsehead Nebula is considered one of the more difficult objects to see visually in an amateur-sized telescope. Amateur astronomers often use it as a test of their observing skills
A globular cluster is a spherical group of stars that are bound together by gravity. They can contain millions of stars, with a higher concentration of stars towards the center. Globular clusters are typically much larger than open clusters.
Globular clusters are associated with all types of galaxies. They orbit in the extended stellar halos surrounding most spiral galaxies. Globular clusters contain some of the oldest stars in a galaxy, forming early in its history.
Globular clusters can help astronomers:
- Estimate the age of the universe
- Figure out where the center of a galaxy lies
- Understand galaxy formation and evolution
Globular clusters in the Milky Way Galaxy are nearly as old as the universe, averaging perhaps 14 billion years in age.
Universe discoveries 