Euclid telescope: Biggest snaps of universe ever taken from space
The Euclid telescope has sent back the biggest images of the universe to ever be taken from space.
- Published
The European Space Agency (ESA) launched the telescope into space from Cape Canaveral in the US last July. The telescope's mission is to try and answer one science's biggest questions - what is the universe made of?
A total of five images have been released by the space agency, they show the sky in detail that has never been seen before and offer an exciting glimpse into the past. Dr Michelle Collins from the University of Surrey said these images are "just the tip of the iceberg".
The new images show two galaxy clusters, a spiral galaxy and a stellar nursery known as Messier 78. Messier 78 is the closest to Earth - 1,300 light years away. A light year is a measure of distance, not time. One light year is the distance travelled by light in one year.
Astronomers - scientists that study the universe and the objects within it - said the images are at least four times sharper than those captured by using telescopes on the ground. The pictures were taken over just 24 hours. Scientists hope that the Euclid telescope can be used to create a 3D map of the universe.
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