SPACE
See Five Dazzling New Images of the Cosmos, Captured by Europe’s Space Telescope
With its visible and infrared photography, Euclid—known as the “dark universe detective”—is helping astronomers better understand dark matter and dark energy
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SMART NEWS | MAY 24, 2024
Christian Thorsberg
Daily Correspondent
SMITHSONIAN
Launched into space last summer, the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Euclid telescope is imaging the universe and shedding light on cosmological mysteries. Now, scientists have offered a new glimpse of its photographic and scientific potential.
This week, the agency released five new images—the telescope’s second batch—which included breathtaking views of galaxy clusters, a dust-wrapped stellar nursery and one of the largest spiral galaxies beyond the nearby universe.
“I’ve been absolutely amazed at the images I’ve seen,” Mark Cropper, the lead scientist on Euclid’s visual imaging camera and an astrophysicist at University College London, tells the Guardian’s Ian Sample. “These are not just pretty pictures; these images are packed with new information.”
Euclid has been nicknamed the “dark universe detective” for what astronomers hope will be its ability to glean new information about dark matter, which composes 27 percent of the cosmos and helps to bring galaxies together, and dark energy, which makes up an estimated 68 percent of the universe and is the force behind its mysterious expansion.
Over the next six years, the powerful space telescope will peer as far as ten billion light-years across the cosmos, constructing the largest 3D map of the universe to date. Because dark matter bends and warps light, a phenomenon called gravitational lensing, astronomers will study light in Euclid’s images to get a better idea of how dark matter is distributed in space.
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This distortion effect was captured in the new image of Abell 2390, a galaxy cluster 2.7 billion light-years away in the constellation Pegasus. Some 90 percent of the cluster’s mass is attributed to dark matter. Several of the 50,000 galaxies in Euclid’s photograph are impacted by the invisible substance, which can also create mirror images of a single object.
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“One of the things we see is these giant arcs here, these smooth arcs that are curved, those are actually very distant galaxies that have their shapes hugely distorted by the gravity of the dark matter in the cluster,” Jason Rhodes, a scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), said during an ESA broadcast, reports Space.com’s Robert Lea. “And some of these arcs are even multiple images of the same very distant galaxy.”
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In another scene closer to home—roughly 1,300 light-years away and still within the Milky Way galaxy—Euclid photographed newly formed planets and stars within Messier 78, a star-forming nebula in the Orion constellation. The telescope captured more than 300,000 new objects within this single image, and astronomers are now examining the ratio of newly formed stars to other objects.
Euclid’s image of the nebula also uncovered free-floating “rogue” planets just four times the mass of Jupiter, which could also shed light on the effects of dark matter. Messier 78’s dusty clouds would normally shield these subjects from view, but the telescope’s infrared vision can peer through the wispy matter.
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Euclid’s new image of star-forming region Messier 78, a nebula that lies in the constellation Orion. ESA / Euclid / Euclid Consortium / NASA; Image processing by J.-C. Cuillandre (CEA Paris-Saclay), G. AnselmiOther discoveries include a never-before-seen dwarf galaxy, found within a new image of NGC 6744, a spiral galaxy 30 million light-years away in the constellation Pavo. This discovery was “a surprise, given that this galaxy has been intensively studied in the past,” according to the ESA. The movement of NGC 6744’s dust, gas and stars will help researchers glean a better understanding of how spiral galaxies get their shape—and how these components are linked to star formation.
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Euclid’s new image of spiral galaxy NGC 6744, which is 30 million light-years away. ESA / Euclid / Euclid Consortium / NASA; Image processing by J.-C. Cuillandre (CEA Paris-Saclay), G. AnselmiFinally, Euclid imaged the Dorado galaxy group, which lies 62 million light-years away. The photograph’s centerpiece comprises the group’s two main galaxies, which are “evolving and merging… with beautiful tidal tails and shells visible as a result of ongoing interactions,” per the ESA.
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The new observations underscore how common interactions between galaxies are.
“It’s very rare to find an isolated galaxy,” Jean-Charles Cuillandre, an astronomer at CEA Paris-Saclay, tells the New York Times’ Katrina Miller. “That’s what we’re finding out.”
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These images and others were acquired in just 24 hours of observation, ahead of the telescope’s main survey of the sky. With these new views, Euclid captured 11 million objects in visible light and five million objects in infrared light. Its next batch of images is set to be released in March 2025.
“Euclid is a unique, ground-breaking mission, and these are the first datasets to be made public—it’s an important milestone,” Valeria Pettorino, a physicist and Euclid project scientist with the ESA, says in a statement. “This space telescope intends to tackle the biggest open questions in cosmology… And these early observations clearly demonstrate that Euclid is more than up to the task.”
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Christian Thorsberg is an environmental writer and photographer from Chicago. His work, which often centers on freshwater issues, climate change and subsistence, has appeared in Circle of Blue, Sierra magazine, Discover magazine and Alaska Sporting Journal.
NASA will soon provide advanced training to Indian astronauts for joint mission to International Space Station: Eric Garcetti
Garcetti made these remarks while speaking at the 'US-India Commercial Space Conference
PTI Washington Published 25.05.24
Eric GarcettiFile
NASA will soon provide advanced training to Indian astronauts to send a joint mission to the International Space Station this year or shortly thereafter, US envoy to India Eric Garcetti has said.
Garcetti made these remarks while speaking at the "US-India Commercial Space Conference: Unlocking Opportunities for US & Indian Space Startups," hosted by the US-India Business Council (USIBC) and the US Commercial Service (USCS) in Bengaluru on Friday.
“NASA will soon provide advanced training to Indian astronauts, with the goal of mounting a joint effort to the International Space Station, hopefully, this year or shortly thereafter, which was one of the promises of our leaders' visit together," Garcetti said.
"And soon we will launch the NISAR satellite from ISRO's Satish Dhawan Space Center to monitor all resources, including ecosystems, the Earth's surface, natural hazards, sea level rise, and the cryosphere,” Garcetti said, according to a USIBC press statement issued here.
NISAR is a joint Earth-observing mission between NASA and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
“You see whether it's the pursuit of peace and the peaceful use of space, things like the Artemis Accord, we are hand in hand, arm in arm. When it comes to prosperity and jobs, which is a big part of this conference today, it can be produced by startups in this sector, good-paying, high-tech jobs for Indians and for Americans. Space is right there,” Garcetti said.
The Artemis Accords lay out a framework for collaborating nations' safe exploration of the moon and beyond.
The day-long event in Bengaluru saw the participation from senior officials from both the US and Indian governments, including Garcetti, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman Dr. S Somanath, representatives from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the Government of India, as well as prominent leaders from the commercial space industry, industry stakeholders, venture capitalists, and market analysts.
“I must salute the visionary leadership that we have in both nations in India and the US for engaging in such an accord which looks at the moon as a sustainable place for all of us to come and work together,” Somnath said in his remarks.
“The connection between the Indian partners and also the US partners in critical technologies and specifically in the space sector is really becoming stronger. And I’m very happy about that type of engagement and the options available to the industries and the US business indigenous to connect with India in the emerging space sector as well,” he said.
Expressing optimism about the prospects of US-India collaboration in space, USIBC president Atul Keshap described it as a new chapter in the US-India space partnership. This week has been particularly fruitful, with USIBC and USCS joining forces to champion these two iCET space deliverables, he said.
“The conference highlights the deepening synergy between our two free nations in pioneering space exploration and innovation by the leading democracies. Through strategic alliances and collaborative efforts, we're on the brink of achieving extraordinary milestones and expanding the horizons of space exploration beyond what we once imagined," Keshap said.
The US-India Commercial Space Conference underscores the importance of fostering strategic partnerships to drive innovation and propel the space industry forward,” said USIBC managing director Alexander Slater.
“This is the next step in USIBC’s continued commitment to fostering bilateral cooperation among leading companies and startups from both countries to unlock new opportunities for economic growth, job creation and technological leadership. It builds on our work in February when we hosted the second edition of INDUS-X in New Delhi, which promoted similar opportunities for innovation and cooperation in new and emerging defence technologies,”he said.
Meanwhile, senior defence officials from India and the US have met in Washington to discuss opportunities to strengthen space cooperation and identified potential areas for collaboration with the American industry.
Meeting for the second annual US-India Advanced Domains Defence Dialogue (AD3), the officials discussed a wide range of bilateral cooperation.
The American team was led by Vipin Narang, Acting Assistant Secretary of Defence for Space Policy, and the visiting Indian delegation was led by Vishwesh Negi, India's Joint Secretary for International Cooperation.
During this year's Dialogue, Narang and Negi discussed opportunities to strengthen space cooperation and identified potential areas for collaboration with US industry, said Department of Defence Spokesperson Cmdr. Jessica Anderson.
Among a group of US and Indian defence officials, the two co-chaired the first US-India principal-level tabletop discussion that explored areas to enhance cooperation in the space domain.
They agreed to advance AD3 through regular working group discussions.
The visiting Indian Government delegation also engaged with the US Space Command, the Joint Commercial Operations Cell, and artificial intelligence experts from across the US Department of Defence, Anderson said.
Garcetti made these remarks while speaking at the 'US-India Commercial Space Conference
Eric GarcettiFile
NASA will soon provide advanced training to Indian astronauts to send a joint mission to the International Space Station this year or shortly thereafter, US envoy to India Eric Garcetti has said.
Garcetti made these remarks while speaking at the "US-India Commercial Space Conference: Unlocking Opportunities for US & Indian Space Startups," hosted by the US-India Business Council (USIBC) and the US Commercial Service (USCS) in Bengaluru on Friday.
“NASA will soon provide advanced training to Indian astronauts, with the goal of mounting a joint effort to the International Space Station, hopefully, this year or shortly thereafter, which was one of the promises of our leaders' visit together," Garcetti said.
"And soon we will launch the NISAR satellite from ISRO's Satish Dhawan Space Center to monitor all resources, including ecosystems, the Earth's surface, natural hazards, sea level rise, and the cryosphere,” Garcetti said, according to a USIBC press statement issued here.
NISAR is a joint Earth-observing mission between NASA and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
“You see whether it's the pursuit of peace and the peaceful use of space, things like the Artemis Accord, we are hand in hand, arm in arm. When it comes to prosperity and jobs, which is a big part of this conference today, it can be produced by startups in this sector, good-paying, high-tech jobs for Indians and for Americans. Space is right there,” Garcetti said.
The Artemis Accords lay out a framework for collaborating nations' safe exploration of the moon and beyond.
The day-long event in Bengaluru saw the participation from senior officials from both the US and Indian governments, including Garcetti, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman Dr. S Somanath, representatives from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the Government of India, as well as prominent leaders from the commercial space industry, industry stakeholders, venture capitalists, and market analysts.
“I must salute the visionary leadership that we have in both nations in India and the US for engaging in such an accord which looks at the moon as a sustainable place for all of us to come and work together,” Somnath said in his remarks.
“The connection between the Indian partners and also the US partners in critical technologies and specifically in the space sector is really becoming stronger. And I’m very happy about that type of engagement and the options available to the industries and the US business indigenous to connect with India in the emerging space sector as well,” he said.
Expressing optimism about the prospects of US-India collaboration in space, USIBC president Atul Keshap described it as a new chapter in the US-India space partnership. This week has been particularly fruitful, with USIBC and USCS joining forces to champion these two iCET space deliverables, he said.
“The conference highlights the deepening synergy between our two free nations in pioneering space exploration and innovation by the leading democracies. Through strategic alliances and collaborative efforts, we're on the brink of achieving extraordinary milestones and expanding the horizons of space exploration beyond what we once imagined," Keshap said.
The US-India Commercial Space Conference underscores the importance of fostering strategic partnerships to drive innovation and propel the space industry forward,” said USIBC managing director Alexander Slater.
“This is the next step in USIBC’s continued commitment to fostering bilateral cooperation among leading companies and startups from both countries to unlock new opportunities for economic growth, job creation and technological leadership. It builds on our work in February when we hosted the second edition of INDUS-X in New Delhi, which promoted similar opportunities for innovation and cooperation in new and emerging defence technologies,”he said.
Meanwhile, senior defence officials from India and the US have met in Washington to discuss opportunities to strengthen space cooperation and identified potential areas for collaboration with the American industry.
Meeting for the second annual US-India Advanced Domains Defence Dialogue (AD3), the officials discussed a wide range of bilateral cooperation.
The American team was led by Vipin Narang, Acting Assistant Secretary of Defence for Space Policy, and the visiting Indian delegation was led by Vishwesh Negi, India's Joint Secretary for International Cooperation.
During this year's Dialogue, Narang and Negi discussed opportunities to strengthen space cooperation and identified potential areas for collaboration with US industry, said Department of Defence Spokesperson Cmdr. Jessica Anderson.
Among a group of US and Indian defence officials, the two co-chaired the first US-India principal-level tabletop discussion that explored areas to enhance cooperation in the space domain.
They agreed to advance AD3 through regular working group discussions.
The visiting Indian Government delegation also engaged with the US Space Command, the Joint Commercial Operations Cell, and artificial intelligence experts from across the US Department of Defence, Anderson said.
EU Policy. Key Commission space law proposal expected in weeks
Copyright ESA-P. CarrilFirst awaited in April, the so-called 'EU space law', one of Commission president Ursula von der Leyen's priorities for 2024, will be proposed "in the coming weeks", a senior EU official told reporters during a space ministerial meeting on Thursday (23 May).
The proposal aims to create the first common rules for member states to ensure Europe's role as an enabler of space services, protect EU infrastructure against security threats and ensure safe satellite traffic to avoid increasing the risk of collisions.
Member states have urged the Commission to adopt it swiftly, given the current geopolitical context and the fact that 11 EU countries, including Belgium, France and Germany, already have space legislation at national level.
“We believe that there is clearly a momentum to reduce the heterogeneity of legal frameworks in the EU in order to create a European single market for space,” Thomas Dermine, Belgium's state secretary for recovery and strategic investment told a press conference.
But when asked for a concrete timeline for the proposal, the European Commission's director-general for space, Timo Pesonen, noted that the institution is working "intensively" to have it ready in the coming weeks.
Pesonen did not rule out the possibility of publishing it before the start of a new mandate, arguing that the EU executive has powers until the last day of the legislature, so the decision on when to table the proposal will depend on the current or next European Commission president.
Earlier in April, Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton told MEPs that the EU executive would need more time to prepare the proposal because of the election campaign, scheduled for 6-9 June.
Europe must increase investment in space
Member states also discussed competitiveness in the space sector, looking at the challenges and opportunities for Europe to secure a position in the new era of the space economy, where countries such as the US and China are leading the way.
“We have an issue. Access to money in Europe is much more difficult than in the US, for example,” European Space Agency (ESA) head Josef Aschbacher told a small group of journalists, including Euronews, on Thursday.
Aschbacher stressed his concern about not attracting funding at the same speed and scale as other global players, noting that both commercialisation and attracting capital are his top priorities for 2025.
The senior Commission official echoed the same sentiments: "We need a lot more investments in our space industry. We are still dependent on non-EU supply chains, including, for example, a temporary lack of autonomous access to space."
Since last year, Europe's access to space has relied on the services of SpaceX, a project of US billionaire Elon Musk, following repeated delays of the European launcher Ariane 6 since 2020.
At Thursday's meeting, member states agreed to call for a stronger development of Europe's space industry by increasing both public and private investment through public procurement and a good risk management framework.
"Europe has a limited capacity to rapidly upscale production when needed, and limited access to global space markets," Pesonen argued.
The ESA's director general believes the bloc's model needs a transformation that ensures speed and access to money - and relies on good ideas and talent.
“We have the last one, but the other two, we are ready to work on,” Aschbacher said.
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