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TheEuropean Space Agency(ESA ) has just eject the first wad of data from the groundbreakingEuclid space telescope , which was build to canvass the mystery of disconsolate thing and dismal energy throughout the cosmos .

The survey data point , released March 19 , includes initial scans of three regions that Euclid will observe regularly , as well as detailed classifications of more than 380,000galaxies — a mere 0.4 % of the galaxies scientists expect to catalog over the mission ’s planned six - year lifespan .

An image with many panels showing galaxies of different shapes

Some of the many differently-shaped galaxies captured by Euclid during its first observations of the deep-field areas.

" With the release of the first datum from Euclid ’s survey , we are unlock a hoarded wealth treasure trove of information for scientists to dive into and take on some of the most challenging interrogation in New science,“Carole Mundell , ESA ’s manager of science , said in astatement .

Euclid , which launch in July 2023 and began collecting information in February 2024 , aims tomap the large - scale body structure of the cosmos . empathize this structure through the pattern , sizes and distribution of coltsfoot could help scientists determine the nature ofdark matteranddark energy — two mysterious phenomenon that together make up an guess 95 % of the universe but do not interact with light and so can not be studied like a shot .

" The full electric potential of Euclid to learn more about dark matter and dark get-up-and-go from the gravid - scale body structure of the cosmic web will be reached only when it has complete its full survey,“Clotilde Laigle , a Euclid Consortium scientist at Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris , said in the statement . " Yet the intensity of this first datum release already offers us a unique first coup d’oeil at the large - scale brass of galaxies , which we can use to memorize more about galaxy formation over time . "

a deep field image showing many stars and galaxies

This zoomed-in image of Euclid’s Deep Field South contains a tiny fraction of the galaxies the telescope will image during its six-year mission.

Related:‘The universe has throw us a curveball ' : large - ever map of space let on we might have gotten dark energy completely faulty

The March 19 release includes a single scan of each of the inscrutable - discipline regions , three areas of the sky that Euclid will revisit multiple times to observe far into theuniverse . In these initial image , the telescope captured 26 million extragalactic nebula , the most removed of which are 10.5 billion light - old age away . ( Alight - yearis the space light can jaunt in one year — around 5.9 trillion international mile or 9.5 trillion kilometer . )

" We will honour each inscrutable landing field between 30 and 52 prison term over Euclid ’s six yr missionary station , each fourth dimension improving the resolution of how we see those areas , and the number of objects we deal to observe,“Valeria Pettorino , Euclid projection scientist at ESA , said in the statement . " Just think of the discovery that wait us . "

SPHEREx�s complete field of view spans the top three images, the same region of sky is captured in different wavelengths in the bottom three.

— Euclid telescope reveals 1st section of declamatory - ever 3D map of the world — and there ’s still 99 % to go

— Euclid telescope recognize rare ' Einstein ring ' hiding near Earth — and an ancient , nameless galaxy behind it

— Euclid space telescope divulge more than 300,000 new objects in 1st 24 hour of observation ( photos )

an illustration of the Gaia space telescope with the Milky Way in the background

Over the track of its planned charge , Euclid will likely capture images of 1.5 billion galax , sending about 100 gigabyte of data back to Earth each sidereal day . To process this tsunami of data , Euclid scientist are turn toartificial intelligence(AI ) . Last year , nearly 10,000 Volunteer with citizen skill projectGalaxy Zoohelped train the " ZooBot " AI algorithm to recognize various lineament of galaxies , such as spiral arms , in early Euclid image .

" We ’re depend at galaxies from at bottom to out , from how their national structure order their evolution to how the international environment shapes their shift over time , " Laigle said in the statement . " Euclid is a goldmine of data point and its wallop will be far - reaching , from galaxy organic evolution to the bigger - movie cosmology goals of the mission . "

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a deep field image of thousands of galaxies

A computer simulated image of a purple and orange web-like structure

On the left is part of a new half-sky image in which three wavelengths of light have been combined to highlight the Milky Way (purple) and cosmic microwave background (gray). On the right, a closeup of the Orion Nebula.

a photo of a very large orange galaxy next to other smaller galaxies

a photo of the Milky Way reflecting off of an alpine lake at night

A composite image of the rings on Saturn, Uranus and Jupiter

an illustration of Mars

An artist�s illustration of a satellite crashing back to Earth.

An illustration of a satellite crashing into the ocean after an uncontrolled reentry through Earth�s atmosphere

Split image of the Martian surface and free-floating atoms.

Circular alignment of stones in the center of an image full of stones

Three-dimensional rendering of an HIV virus

three prepackaged sandwiches

Tunnel view of Yosemite National Park.