A European space telescope has captured detailed images of a massive cradle of baby stars, adding to its collection of celestial images. The European Space Agency released these photos from the Euclid observatory, which were taken after the telescope’s launch in Florida last year. The main task of Euclid is currently underway, surveying the dark universe.
Euclid, positioned 1 million miles from Earth, will spend the next few years observing billions of galaxies across more than one-third of the sky. The data collected will help scientists understand dark energy and dark matter, which dominate the universe.
Josef Aschbacher, the director general of the space agency, stated, “Euclid is at the very beginning of its exciting journey to map the structure of the universe.”
Among the newly released images is one showing a vast cradle of baby stars called Messier 78, located 1,300 light-years away. Euclid’s infrared camera was able to penetrate the dust surrounding this stellar nursery, revealing new areas of star formation.
By Marcia Dunn
