Euclid Space Telescope Unveils First Major Data Batch Covering Billions of Objects

The European Space Agency space telescope has released its first major batch of data, capturing the light of more than a billion objects over an area of sky as big as 9,500 full moons. The data release lays the foundation for one of the largest-ever 3D maps of the cosmos and potential discoveries about the nature of dark energy and dark matter.

The observatory has been called the Dark Universe Detective because of its capability to investigate the dual mysteries of dark matter and dark energy. The new data release, designated DR1-Foundation, was built from 13 months of observations and is accompanied by a multitude of images and large sky mosaics following its mid-2023 launch.

“These are far more than beautiful pictures; today marks a scientific milestone in our study of the cosmos,” Carole Mundell said in a statement.

The data release includes light spectra from 160 million sources, over 900 million galaxies, and 60 million candidates for quasars. The observations help scientists study the cosmic web of gas, dust, and dark matter.

Mapping Gravitational Lenses and the Expanding Universe

Another exciting element of the new data release is the 15,000 strong gravitational lensing candidates catalogued by the space telescope. Gravitational lensing relates to how mass warps the fabric of space and bends light.

“Strong lensing provides unique insight into the dark universe, allowing us to 'weigh' individual galaxies, including their invisible dark matter, and explore how the universe is expanding,” Natalie Lines said.

The area of sky covered from spring 2024 to spring 2025 represents just 14% of the target for the entire six-year survey.