Into the deep (field) with ESA's Euclid 'dark universe' telescope: Space photo of the day

The European Space Agency's (ESA) Euclid mission released its first batch of survey data on Wednesday (March 19), including a preview of its deep fields revealing hundreds of thousands of galaxies in different shapes and sizes.

Why is it amazing?

This image, which is just one zoomed-in area from three released mosaics, represents a data release from ESA's Euclid spacecraft that includes numerous galaxy clusters, active galactic nuclei and transient phenomena, as well as the first classification survey of more than 380,000 galaxies and 500 gravitational lens candidates compiled using both artificial intelligence and human efforts.

"With the release of the first data from Euclid's sky survey, we are unlocking a treasure trove of information for scientists to dive into and tackle some of the most intriguing questions in modern science," said Carole Mundell, ESA's Director of Science, in a statement. "With this, ESA is delivering on its commitment to enable scientific progress for generations to come."

What does it show?

This is from Euclid's Deep Field South, a first glimpse of 63 square degrees of the sky, the equivalent area of more than 300 times the full moon. By comparison, when complete, Euclid's atlas will cover one-third of the entire sky – 14,000 square degrees – in this high-quality detail.

In this particular view, galaxies can be identified by their elongated shape or spiral arms. Some are viewed edge-on, while one prominent spiral galaxy at the bottom center is face-on. At the far right, between the middle and top of the image, are galaxies interacting with each other.

Galaxy clusters are also seen near the bottom center, where features that are smeared into arcs represent gravitational lensing.

What can astronomers learn from this?

The Euclid spacecraft has already seen 26 million galaxies with the farthest up to 10.5 billion light-years away. Through its survey, astronomers will learn more about galaxy shapes and star formation, among other subjects of study.

"We will observe each deep field between 30 and 52 times over Euclid's six year mission, each time improving the resolution of how we see those areas, and the number of objects we manage to observe. Just think of the discoveries that await us," said Valeria Pettorino, ESA's Euclid project scientist.

Where can I read more?

You can read more about Euclid's first data release and learn about how the space telescope sees into the dark universe.

You can also read about Euclid's history, beginning with its launch in 2023.