What the first images of the 3D megamap of the universe reveal

The European Space Agency (ESA) has recently unveiled a fascinating glimpse of the three-dimensional megamap of the universe, created from observations by the Euclid space telescope. This initial image contains an incredible 100 million stars and galaxies and represents only 1% of the total area that will be mapped. Euclid began its mission this year, exploring galaxies and stars located up to 10 billion light-years away.

The ambitious project will take six years to complete and is expected to revolutionize scientific understanding of the formation and evolution of the universe. According to Bruno Altieri, ESA’s Euclid archive scientist, “this image contains tens of millions of galaxies, which will allow statistical analysis of their locations and evolution, and help answer questions about star formation.”

In this first segment, the Euclid telescope mapped 132 square degrees of the southern sky, equivalent to 500 times the apparent size of the Moon, marking the beginning of what scientists are calling the “great puzzle of the universe.” Over the years, more pieces will be added until the mission is complete, providing an unprecedented view of the cosmos.

Valeria Pettorino, another scientist involved in the Euclid Project, emphasized the significance of this first image: “It represents only 1% of the map, but already offers a variety of data that will help describe the universe in new ways.”

One of the most striking features of the image is a dark region dotted with bright points, with bluish “clouds” known as galactic cirrus, formed from dust and gas, the essential ingredients for the birth of new stars. When magnified up to 600 times, the image reveals a detailed cluster of galaxies within a tiny fragment of the vast universe, showcasing the depth and richness of the information that is still to come.

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