Three deep-field mosaics offered an early look at the telescope's much larger mapping project.
Dated news brief · March 19, 2025
The European Space Agency released the first survey data from Euclid, including mosaics of three regions the telescope will study repeatedly. An early scan had already recorded about 26 million galaxies.
The release included a catalogue classifying more than 380,000 galaxies and 500 possible strong gravitational lenses. These candidates involve foreground matter bending light from more distant galaxies. Computer analysis, volunteers and specialists contributed to the classifications.
Euclid studies galaxy shapes and their distribution to investigate the universe, including dark matter and dark energy. This release offered an early view of that larger project, rather than a completed survey.
Illustrative photograph, not an image of the specific event or discovery reported. Photo: Scott Lord / Unsplash.
A picture worth slowing down for
Open an official mosaic and choose a small patch before zooming in. Ask what changes as the view becomes closer. An image that first seems full of dots can reveal many different shapes.
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