Euclid space photos give humanity its first glimpse into dark matter

Stunning images from the Euclid space telescope have given scientists and humanity a historic first glimpse into the way dark matter shapes the universe.

The Euclid telescope was launched into orbit in July to search for dark matter and dark energy, hidden forces that scientists believe affect the rotation of galaxies and how quickly the universe is expanding.

The telescope is powerful enough to capture images of galaxies up to 10 billion light years away.

It was launched into orbit on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket 1.5 million km from Earth and will spend the next six years capturing images in order to create a 3D map that scientists will use to monitor changes in dark matter.

The European Space Agency (ESA) said the images were the sharpest of their kind, showcasing the telescope’s ability to monitor billions of galaxies up to 10 billion light years away.

The photos showed four areas of the nearby universe, including 1000 galaxies in the massive Perseus cluster 240 million light years away from Earth. The photos also captured more than 100,000 galaxies spread out in the background, ESA said.

Other images showed an irregular galaxy that could give clues about how early galaxies were formed, and a spiral formation known as the “Hidden Galaxy”, which looks just like our home galaxy.

“You’ll also see lots of background galaxies there as well, which is phenomenal,” ESA’s science director Professor Carole Mundell told Reuters. “I think I spotted a new one there last night.”

Scientists believe large clusters like Perseus could only have formed if dark matter exists.

“We think we understand only 5 per cent of the universe: that’s the matter that we can see,” Prof Mundell said.

“The rest of the universe we call dark because it doesn’t produce light in the normal electromagnetic spectrum. But we know its effect because we see the effect on visible matter.”

Scientists believe dark matter is present when galaxies rotate more quickly than expected based on the amount of visible matter.

Dark energy is more of a mystery.

Scientists in the 1990s came up with the theory of dark energy by studying exploding stars called supernovas.

Using images from the earlier Hubble Space Telescope, they concluded that the universe was not only expanding, but that the pace at which it was expanding was getting faster and faster.

Scientists now believe this is because of dark energy.

By studying dark energy and matter, scientists hope to better grasp the way galaxies are formed and spread out across the universe.

POLL

GLOSSARY

• dark matter: stuff in space that has gravity but doesn’t produce light in a form that humanity knows of
• humanity: the human race
• pace: speed
• dark energy: energy that scientists believe is making the universe expand
• Perseus cluster: a cluster of galaxies in the Perseus constellation
• irregular galaxy: a galaxy with no particular shape that is full of dust and gas
• phenomenal: amazing
• electromagnetic spectrum: different forms of light that we know about

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QUICK QUIZ
1. From how far away can the Euclid telescope capture images?
2. What are scientists studying by using the telescope?
3. How far from Earth is Euclid in orbit?
4. When did scientists come up with the theory of dark energy?
5. How many galaxies were spotted in the background of the Perseus Cluster photos?

LISTEN TO THIS STORY

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Choose the most amazing images
Look carefully at the amazing images that the Euclid space telescope has taken. Choose the three images that you think are the most amazing. For each image, write a special caption that sums up what you see in the image. Then, write a paragraph explaining why you chose it.

Time: allow at least 30 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Science

2. Extension
Create a diagram that would help younger kids understand how dark matter and dark energy might shape the universe. Use information in the story, your own ideas and possibly your research skills to help you.

Time: allow at least 30 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Science

VCOP ACTIVITY
Vocabulary recycle
There is some vivid vocabulary being used in the article, and I am not just talking about the glossary words. Go through the article and highlight the high-level language that you are impressed by in yellow.

See if you can borrow two of these wow words to reuse in your own way.

Remember vocabulary is a great way to connect with the audience, but you need to think about who your audience is so you make great word choices.

Who will the audience be in your recycled sentences?