Surveying the Entire Universe: The Space Telescope’s Quest to Comprehend Dark Matter and Dark Energy

Over the weekend, the European Space Agency (ESA) successfully launched its Euclid mission. Euclid, a space telescope weighing 2.2 tons with a 1.2 meter telescope, aims to unravel the mysteries of dark matter and dark energy. Originally scheduled to launch using a Russian Soyuz rocket, the mission had to be relocated to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida due to the halt in cooperation between ESA and Russia following the Ukraine invasion.

Euclid is headed towards an orbit known as L2, the same orbit used by the James Webb Space Telescope and other space telescopes. This orbit provides high stability, crucial for Euclid’s mission to collect detailed observations of the universe. It is expected to arrive at L2 within four weeks and begin scientific observations in early October after two months of preparations.

The telescope will conduct both wide and deep surveys of the universe, creating a map to aid in understanding dark matter and dark energy. Dark matter constitutes about 27 percent of the universe, while dark energy accounts for approximately 68 percent. The remaining 5 percent is ordinary or baryonic matter, which includes everything we can observe. These elusive concepts are challenging to study due to dark matter’s lack of interaction with light and the mystery surrounding dark energy.

Euclid’s wide angle telescope design allows for comprehensive observation of the cosmos. It will survey 36 percent of the sky during its six-year mission. In comparison, the Hubble Space Telescope has a field of view that is just 1/12th the size of the moon. While Hubble can capture detailed images of galaxies and nebulae, it would take it around 1,000 years to survey an equivalent area to Euclid.

The Euclid telescope is equipped with two instruments: the visible instrument (VIS), operating in visible light, and the Near-Infrared Spectrometer and Photometer (NISP), operating in the near-infrared. By combining observations from both instruments, Euclid will create a 3D map showing the distribution of visible matter in the universe. Although dark matter cannot be directly observed, its presence can be inferred by studying the distribution of visible matter.

Euclid will employ two main methods to study dark matter and dark energy: weak lensing and galaxy clustering. Weak lensing relies on the gravitational effect of large objects to warp spacetime, magnifying the light from distant objects behind them. By measuring the strength of this lensing effect, scientists can calculate the mass of the foreground object and compare it to the observed mass of visible matter. Significant differences indicate the presence of dark matter.

Galaxy clustering examines the distribution of galaxies in three dimensions throughout the universe. As the universe expands, galaxies appear to move away, resulting in redshift. Scientists can analyze the redshift of galaxies using baryon acoustic oscillations to determine the expansion rate of the universe, directly related to dark energy.

Combining these methods will provide cosmologists with unprecedented insights into dark matter and dark energy. Euclid will capture approximately 1 million images of 12 billion objects throughout its mission, bringing us closer to detecting and understanding these enigmatic phenomena and shedding light on the composition of our universe. Euclid is more than just a space telescope; it is a dark energy detector.

 

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Denial of responsibility! Samachar Central is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.