By ADITHI RAMAKRISHNAN, AP Science Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — A European space telescope launched to explore the dark universe has released a trove of new data on distant galaxies.
The images and other information released Wednesday by the European Space Agency’s Euclid observatory includes a preview of three cosmic areas that the mission will spy in finer detail, mapping the shapes and locations of galaxies billions of light years away. A light year is nearly 6 trillion miles.
The observatory, which blasted off in 2023 from Florida, is creating a cosmic atlas to gain clues about how our ever-expanding universe works and how mysterious forces called dark energy and dark matter may play a role. The elusive duo make up most of our universe, but researchers don’t know exactly what they are.
Over six years of observing, the mission hopes to capture glamour shots of over 1.5 billion galaxies.
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.