Launched by SpaceX, Europe’s space satellite, Euclid will prove the universe and beyond, using a telescope. It will study galaxies billions of light-years away from Earth, including the Milky Way.

Euclid Explores the Universe

The European-made orbital satellite launched from Florida to venture into dark energy and dark matter and make a 3D map of the cosmos. According to scientists, these bizarre cosmic phenomena are invisible forces that constitute 95% of the known universe.

Euclid got its name from the Greek mathematician with the same moniker and who was known as the “Father of Geometry.” On Saturday, SpaceX Falcon 9 carried the satellite from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

The European Space Agency mission worth $1.4 billion will last at least six years. Researchers expect that it will reconstruct and possibly understanding of gravity’s nature. SpaceX Falcon will release the satellite for a month-long journey to its location in solar orbit.

Its destination is almost 1.6 million kilometres from Earth called L2 or Lagrange Point Two. This is what is known as the position of gravitational stability between our planet and the sun. Consequently, Euclid will start exploring the evolution of what astrophysicists call the “dark universe.” It will utilise a wide-angled telescope to examine galaxies.

Euclid is likewise equipped with instruments formed to measure the magnitude and spectrums of infrared light from galaxies. This will help in identifying their accurate distances.

The Mission

There are two foundational components of the dark universe the mission will focus on. The first is the dark matter, which is the unseen but apparently considerable cosmic scaffolding. It’s thought to provide form and texture to the cosmos. The second is dark energy, a proportionately enigmatic force assumed to demonstrate why the universe continues to expand.

“It will be like setting off on a ship before people knew where land was in different directions. We’ll be mapping out the Universe to try to understand where we fit into it and how we’ve got here – how the whole Universe got from the point of the Big Bang to the beautiful galaxies we see
around us, the Solar System and to life,” said Professor Isobel Hook.

Investigating the Dark Cosmos

The satellite will carry out a six-year, two-pronged analysis. Moreover, it will map the dispersion of dark matter, which can’t be distinguished directly. However, astronomers know its presence due to its gravitational impact on matter that the naked eye can’t perceive.

For instance, galaxies can’t hold their form, if not for the presence of some extra “framework” believed to be dark matter. Even if it can’t be detected directly, the telescope can manoeuvre its distribution by searching for insightful way its mass warps approaching light from far off galaxies.

Regarding dark energy, Euclid might be able to inform scientists that this mysterious force has a better description in a modified theory of gravity. Also, this could lead to discovery science.

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