Euclid Space Telescope Launches to Explore Dark Matter
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket has launched the European Space Agency’s Euclid telescope from Florida.
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket has launched the European Space Agency’s Euclid telescope from Florida.The European Space Agency’s Euclid space telescope lifted off aboard a SpaceX rocket from Florida on Saturday.
The telescope is set to explore the "dark universe" after separating from the rocket about an hour after its launch.
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After separating, Euclid sets off for a monthlong journey to its destination, known as the second Lagrange point (L2) of the solar orbit, where gravity from the sun and Earth balance the orbital motion of a satellite.
There are five so-called "Lagrange Points," according to NASA. L2 is nearly 1 million miles (1.6 million kilometers) away from Earth.
From L2, the telescope will survey galaxies as far away as 10 billion light years from Earth across an immesnse expanse of the sky beyond our own Milky Way galaxy.
The spacecraft, which weighs 2 tons, is also equipped with instruments designed to measure the intensity and spectrums of infrared light from those galaxies in a way that will precisely determine their distances.
Why exploring dark matter matters
The telescope is set to produce the largest and the most accurate map of the universe so far, including the distribution of galaxies, explained Elsa Montagnon, the head of mission operations division at NASA during a live broadcast of the launch.
That gives scientists the ability to comprehensively study the evolution and composition of the universe.
The mission is set to unravel the mysteries of the dark energy, which comprises 95% of the cosmos, Montagnon said.
The most important part of the mission are two instruments within the telescope that will take images to help scientists understand the structure of dark energy.
rm/wd (AFP, Reuters)
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 01, 2023 09:40 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).