An innovative space telescope called Euclid is scheduled to launch in July, in a joint effort between the European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA. intend study the dark matter of the universe.
Originally planned to launch atop a Russian Soyuz rocket, plans were revised as Russia attacked Ukraine in March 2022. Instead, the spacecraft will take to the skies on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Saturday, July 1. NASA TV will broadcast the launch live.
After launch, the telescope will travel to the Sun-Earth Lagrangian Point (L2), which is about 10 million miles behind Earth in terms of the Sun. It will now join forces with ESA’s Gaia satellite. Creating a 3D map of millions of stars in the Milky Way.
Over the course of six years, he will meticulously study the positions, shapes and distances of more than a billion galaxies spanning more than a third of the night sky. Over a decade in development, this ambitious project aims to solve the mystery behind the accelerating expansion of the universe, often attributed to the mysterious dark matter.
Additionally, by May 2027, NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will join forces with Euclid to explore this cosmic puzzle in unprecedented ways.
Although Euclid and Roman share the common goal of studying cosmic acceleration, they use different and complementary strategies. Both missions will create 3-D maps of the universe that provide answers to fundamental questions about the structure and history of the universe. The combined power of telescopes is far beyond their individual capabilities..
Jason Rhodes, senior research fellow at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, stressed the importance of this effort, saying, “Twenty-five years after its discovery, The accelerated expansion of the universe remains one of the most intriguing mysteries in astrophysics.“.
According to NASA, the current cosmological model suggests that only 5% of the universe is visible matter, with dark matter and dark energy accounting for 27% and 68% respectively.
Source: Tec Mundo
I’m Blaine Morgan, an experienced journalist and writer with over 8 years of experience in the tech industry. My expertise lies in writing about technology news and trends, covering everything from cutting-edge gadgets to emerging software developments. I’ve written for several leading publications including Gadget Onus where I am an author.
