Latest news with #ValeriaPettorino
Yahoo
22-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Into the deep (field) with ESA's Euclid 'dark universe' telescope: Space photo of the day
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. The European Space Agency's (ESA) Euclid mission released its first batch of survey data on Wednesday (March 19), including a preview of its deep fields revealing hundreds of thousands of galaxies in different shapes and sizes. This image, which is just one zoomed-in area from three released mosaics, represents a data release from ESA's Euclid spacecraft that includes numerous galaxy clusters, active galactic nuclei and transient phenomena, as well as the first classification survey of more than 380,000 galaxies and 500 gravitational lens candidates compiled using both artificial intelligence and human efforts."With the release of the first data from Euclid's sky survey, we are unlocking a treasure trove of information for scientists to dive into and tackle some of the most intriguing questions in modern science," said Carole Mundell, ESA's Director of Science, in a statement. "With this, ESA is delivering on its commitment to enable scientific progress for generations to come." This is from Euclid's Deep Field South, a first glimpse of 63 square degrees of the sky, the equivalent area of more than 300 times the full moon. By comparison, when complete, Euclid's atlas will cover one-third of the entire sky – 14,000 square degrees – in this high-quality this particular view, galaxies can be identified by their elongated shape or spiral arms. Some are viewed edge-on, while one prominent spiral galaxy at the bottom center is face-on. At the far right, between the middle and top of the image, are galaxies interacting with each clusters are also seen near the bottom center, where features that are smeared into arcs represent gravitational lensing. The Euclid spacecraft has already seen 26 million galaxies with the farthest up to 10.5 billion light-years away. Through its survey, astronomers will learn more about galaxy shapes and star formation, among other subjects of study."We will observe each deep field between 30 and 52 times over Euclid's six year mission, each time improving the resolution of how we see those areas, and the number of objects we manage to observe. Just think of the discoveries that await us," said Valeria Pettorino, ESA's Euclid project scientist. You can read more about Euclid's first data release and learn about how the space telescope sees into the dark universe. You can also read about Euclid's history, beginning with its launch in 2023.
Khaleej Times
19-03-2025
- Science
- Khaleej Times
'Dark universe detective' telescope releases first data
Europe's Euclid space telescope, which is on a mission to shed light on the mysteries of dark matter and dark energy, released its first data on Wednesday with a little help from volunteers and artificial intelligence. The telescope launched in 2023, aiming to chart one third of the sky — encompassing 1.5 billion galaxies — to create what has been billed as humanity's most accurate 3D map of the universe. Euclid, which is now hovering 1.5 million kilometres from Earth, has previously released images of a range of strange galaxies, colourful nebulas and shining stars. But the first release of astronomical data is "a new milestone for our dark universe detective," the European Space Agency's science director Carole Mundell told a press conference. The huge amount of data — which was accompanied by 27 scientific papers — still only covers less then 0.5 per cent of the sky that Euclid will scan over its six-year mission. Snagging the 'cosmic web' Yet the early data already offers hints about the overall structure of the universe known as the "cosmic web," project scientist Valeria Pettorino said. Between large empty spaces, there are massive clusters of galaxies connected by filaments of material which make up this web, she explained. This unimaginably massive structure cannot be explained by visible matte alone, so scientists believe dark matter and dark energy must play a role. These invisible forces are thought to make up 95 percent of the universe yet remain shrouded in mystery. Dark matter is believed to be the glue that holds galaxies together, while dark energy pulls them apart by making the universe expand faster and faster over time. Because looking into distant space also means looking back in time, Euclid allows scientists to track this cosmic tussle over most of the history of the universe — and hopefully discover more about their true nature. "Ultimately, we want to test the laws of gravity," Mundell said. Einstein's theory of relativity has passed every test thrown at it, "but it does not yet, in its current form, explain the accelerated expansion of the universe", which is driven by dark energy, she explained. However the new data did not contain any major revelations about dark matter and dark energy. That will have to wait until closer to the end of Euclid's mission, the scientists said. Capturing the galactic zoo The Euclid Consortium, which brings together more than 2,000 researchers from Europe, the United States, Canada and Japan, sorted through the new data. Wednesday's release contained 35 terabytes of data — the equivalent of streaming 4K video for 200 days — yet represented just a week of Euclid's observation time. This "allows to us see whether the machinery is working", the consortium's deputy scientific director Francis Bernardeau told AFP. The new data covered three areas of the sky containing 26 million galaxies. The most distant was 10.5 billion light years away, which is fairly early on in the 13.8 billion-year history of the universe. The consortium then had to catalogue all the galaxies, quasars and other cosmic oddities captured by the telescope. This includes what are known as gravitational lenses, which is when a massive object such as a galaxy bends the light of something else huge and bright behind it, creating a kind of magnifying glass. In just a week, Euclid spotted around 500 gravitational lenses, which is "way more than we expected," said consortium member Mike Walmsley from the University of Toronto. To help crunch the data, the Euclid consortium used an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm as well as more than 10,000 keen-eyed human volunteers. The AI model selected possible gravitational lenses from the data, which were then verified by humans. More citizens scientists then identified the shapes of the galaxies, which was in turn used to train the AI algorithms to repeat this process, Walmsley said. But this is all just "a taste of things to come", Mundell added, with Euclid planned to release its first full catalogue of data next year.
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
'Dark universe detective' telescope releases first data
Europe's Euclid space telescope, which is on a mission to shed light on the mysteries of dark matter and dark energy, released its first data Wednesday with a little help from volunteers and artificial intelligence. The telescope launched in 2023, aiming to chart one third of the sky -- encompassing 1.5 billion galaxies -- to create what has been billed as humanity's most accurate 3D map of the universe. Euclid, which is now hovering 1.5 million kilometres (932,0000 miles) from Earth, has previously released images of a range of strange galaxies, colourful nebulas and shining stars. But the first release of astronomical data is "a new milestone for our dark universe detective," the European Space Agency's science director Carole Mundell told a press conference. The huge amount of data -- which was accompanied by 27 scientific papers -- still only covers less then 0.5 percent of the sky that Euclid will scan over its six-year mission. - Snagging the 'cosmic web' - Yet the early data already offers hints about the overall structure of the universe known as the "cosmic web," project scientist Valeria Pettorino said. Between large empty spaces, there are massive clusters of galaxies connected by filaments of material which make up this web, she explained. This unimaginably massive structure cannot be explained by visible matte alone, so scientists believe dark matter and dark energy must play a role. These invisible forces are thought to make up 95 percent of the universe yet remain shrouded in mystery. Dark matter is believed to be the glue that holds galaxies together, while dark energy pulls them apart by making the universe expand faster and faster over time. Because looking into distant space also means looking back in time, Euclid allows scientists to track this cosmic tussle over most of the history of the universe -- and hopefully discover more about their true nature. "Ultimately, we want to test the laws of gravity," Mundell said. Einstein's theory of relativity has passed every test thrown at it, "but it does not yet, in its current form, explain the accelerated expansion of the universe", which is driven by dark energy, she explained. However the new data did not contain any major revelations about dark matter and dark energy. That will have to wait until closer to the end of Euclid's mission, the scientists said. - Capturing the galactic zoo - The Euclid Consortium, which brings together more than 2,000 researchers from Europe, the United States, Canada and Japan, sorted through the new data. Wednesday's release contained 35 terabytes of data -- the equivalent of streaming 4K video for 200 days -- yet represented just a week of Euclid's observation time. This "allows to us see whether the machinery is working", the consortium's deputy scientific director Francis Bernardeau told AFP. The new data covered three areas of the sky containing 26 million galaxies. The most distant was 10.5 billion light years away, which is fairly early on in the 13.8 billion-year history of the universe. The consortium then had to catalogue all the galaxies, quasars and other cosmic oddities captured by the telescope. This includes what are known as gravitational lenses, which is when a massive object such as a galaxy bends the light of something else huge and bright behind it, creating a kind of magnifying glass. In just a week, Euclid spotted around 500 gravitational lenses, which is "way more than we expected," said consortium member Mike Walmsley from the University of Toronto. To help crunch the data, the Euclid consortium used an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm as well as more than 10,000 keen-eyed human volunteers. The AI model selected possible gravitational lenses from the data, which were then verified by humans. More citizens scientists then identified the shapes of the galaxies, which was in turn used to train the AI algorithms to repeat this process, Walmsley said. But this is all just "a taste of things to come", Mundell added, with Euclid planned to release its first full catalogue of data next year. pcl-dl/phz
Euronews
12-02-2025
- Science
- Euronews
Europe's Euclid space telescope discovers rare 'Einstein ring'
The European Space Agency's (ESA) Euclid mission is on a six-year mission to explore the evolution of the dark universe. ADVERTISEMENT Europe's Euclid space telescope has detected a rare ring of bright light around a nearby galaxy, astronomers have said. The halo, known as an "Einstein ring," encircles a galaxy 590 million light-years away, considered close by cosmic standards. Astronomers have known about this galaxy for more than a century and so were surprised when Euclid revealed the bright glowing ring which was reported in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics. "I find it very intriguing that this ring was observed within a well-known galaxy, which was first discovered in 1884," Valeria Pettorino, the Euclid project scientist at the European Space Agency (ESA), said in a statement. "The galaxy has been known to astronomers for a very long time. And yet this ring was never observed before," she added. "This demonstrates how powerful Euclid is, finding new things even in places we thought we knew well". Euclid's six-year mission An Einstein ring is light from a much more distant galaxy that bends in such a way as to perfectly encircle a closer object, in this case, a well-known galaxy in the constellation Draco. The faraway galaxy creating the ring is more than 4.4 billion light-years away. Gravity distorted the light from this more distant galaxy, thus the name honouring Albert Einstein. The process is known as gravitational lensing. "All strong lenses are special, because they're so rare, and they're incredibly useful scientifically. This one is particularly special, because it's so close to Earth and the alignment makes it very beautiful," lead author Conor O'Riordan of Germany's Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics said in a statement. Euclid was launched on a six-year mission from Florida to explore the dark universe in July 2023. According to ESA, the telescope will map a third of the sky and observe billions of galaxies.
Euronews
11-02-2025
- Science
- Euronews
Europe's Euclid space telescope captures rare 'Einstein ring' of light in nearby galaxy
Europe's Euclid space telescope has detected a rare ring of bright light around a nearby galaxy, astronomers have said. The halo, known as an "Einstein ring," encircles a galaxy 590 million light-years away, considered close by cosmic standards. Astronomers have known about this galaxy for more than a century and so were surprised when Euclid revealed the bright glowing ring which was reported in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics. "I find it very intriguing that this ring was observed within a well-known galaxy, which was first discovered in 1884," Valeria Pettorino, the Euclid project scientist at the European Space Agency (ESA), said in a statement. "The galaxy has been known to astronomers for a very long time. And yet this ring was never observed before," she added. "This demonstrates how powerful Euclid is, finding new things even in places we thought we knew well". Euclid's six-year mission An Einstein ring is light from a much more distant galaxy that bends in such a way as to perfectly encircle a closer object, in this case, a well-known galaxy in the constellation Draco. The faraway galaxy creating the ring is more than 4.4 billion light-years away. Gravity distorted the light from this more distant galaxy, thus the name honouring Albert Einstein. The process is known as gravitational lensing. "All strong lenses are special, because they're so rare, and they're incredibly useful scientifically. This one is particularly special, because it's so close to Earth and the alignment makes it very beautiful," lead author Conor O'Riordan of Germany's Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics said in a statement. Euclid was launched on a six-year mission from Florida to explore the dark universe in July 2023.
