Dozens of planets, without a home star, were discovered by astronomers using the Euclid space telescope. They found these free-floating planets in the Orion nebula, which is a massive cloud of dust and gas located 1,500 light years away. These findings are the first scientific results shared by the Euclid mission researchers.
Last summer, the European Space Agency (ESA) launched a €1 billion (£851 million or $1 billion) observatory. This observatory will spend six years creating a 3D map of the cosmos. With these images, scientists aim to learn more about the mysterious 95 percent of the universe that remains largely unexplained.
Astronomers believe most of the universe consists of dark matter and dark energy. Dark matter is an invisible substance that surrounds galaxies, acting like cosmic glue. Dark energy is thought to be the force behind the universe’s accelerating expansion.
11 million objects in visible light, 5 million in infrared
From only 24 hours of observations, the first batch of scientific findings is already impressive. Astronomers spotted eleven million objects in visible light and five million in infrared. Apart from the rogue planets, they also identified new star clusters, dwarf galaxies, and incredibly distant, bright galaxies dating back to the universe’s earliest years.
These initial observations also treated researchers to a flurry of new images, the largest ever captured in space. These images showcase the wide-field views that astronomers can expect from Euclid in the years ahead.
This breathtaking image, showing the star nursery Messier 78, is one of the five new cosmic views released today by #ESAEuclid space mission.
The other images show: Abell 2390, NGC 6744, Abell 2764, Dorado Group. (You will find their detailed description in the ESA press release… pic.twitter.com/Vw1saNrJfV
— Nereide (@Nereide) May 23, 2024
Among the latest releases is a striking image of Messier 78, a vibrant star-forming region veiled in interstellar dust. This image reveals intricate gas and dust filaments with unprecedented clarity.
“I’ve been absolutely amazed at the images I’ve seen,” said Professor Mark Cropper, the lead scientist on Euclid’s VIS camera at UCL. “These are not just pretty pictures, [but] these images are packed with new information.”
A giant gathering of more than 50,000 Milky Way-like galaxies
One of the recently revealed images showcases Abell 2390, a colossal gathering of over 50,000 galaxies similar to our Milky Way. These galaxy clusters hold an immense amount of mass, up to 10 trillion times that of our sun, much of which is believed to be mysterious dark matter.
Another image features the Abell 2764 galaxy cluster, displaying hundreds of galaxies encircling a halo of dark matter.
Additional images capture NGC 6744, one of the largest spiral galaxies nearby, and the Dorado group of galaxies. Here, galaxies evolve and merge, creating shell-like structures and expansive tidal tails.
The rogue planets spotted by Euclid are relatively young, around three million years old in cosmic terms. These planets, at least four times larger than Jupiter, were identified because of the heat they emit.
Astronomers determined they are untethered to any stars since they are far from the nearest ones. These celestial wanderers roam the galaxy unless they come across a star that pulls them into its orbit.
See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!
