Euclid helps to better understand the universe – first results are exciting
For the first time, we’re seeing what Euclid sees. The telescope’s initial observations have provided a wealth of new information about our universe. But according to cosmologist Alessandra Silvestri, this is just the beginning. The research helps us gain a deeper understanding of the past, present, and future of our universe.
Today, the Euclid Consortium presents 34 technical and scientific papers, along with exclusive data from the European Space Agency's Euclid space telescope. These reveal many exciting discoveries, such as many powerful gravitational lensing systems and an Einstein ring.
Spectacular first observations
These publications offer a glimpse of what Euclid is capable of, explains cosmologist Alessandra Silvestri from Leiden University. ‘Euclid is our detective in the dark universe. This release focuses on three special regions in the sky, which were chosen early on as the special Euclid Deep Fields. The telescope has already made several groundbreaking discoveries in these areas. As the mission continues, Euclid will explore an even larger region and return to these three fields multiple times for deeper observations than anywhere else.’
Official ESA video: Euclid's first deep dive into the Universe
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Watch the video on the original website orSilvestri is one of the seven scientific coordinators that together lead the Euclid Consortium of around 2000 scientists, analysing the vast dataset provided by Euclid in the hope of uncovering new physics. ‘With these first, relatively simple observations of the deep fields, Euclid is already showing its unprecedented power.’
Euclid has observed around 500 strong gravitational lenses — gravity fields created by objects like galaxies or black holes, which are so massive they bend the light from objects behind them. Silvestri adds, ‘We also spotted a complete Einstein ring. This is a circle of light formed around a galaxy, caused by light bending from a galaxy precisely behind it. It's an extremely rare event.’
A preview of what Euclid will discover in the future
The area currently being studied covers 63 square degrees of the sky, an area about 300 times the size of the full moon as seen from Earth. Over the next few years, the telescope will systematically explore a much larger part of the universe — 14,000 square degrees in total. The results being published today are based on just 0.45% of the area Euclid will eventually study. This alone demonstrates the telescope’s potential.
‘This telescope is designed to provide the widest and most accurate map of the Universe to date. I am confident that it will ultimately bring many insights into open questions in Cosmology and Astronomy’
Future milestones for the Euclid mission
The next global data release from the Euclid Consortium is scheduled for October 2026. ‘This will include exciting results on the nature of dark energy, dark matter, and the nature of gravity on large scales. It’s going to be amazing — the best is yet to come,’ says a glowing Silvestri. The consortium expects at least four more data presentations before 2031, when Euclid's main mission will conclude.
About EUCLID
The Euclid mission from the European Space Agency (ESA) seeks the answer to a fundamental cosmological question: What is the universe made of, and how did it come to be?
Built and led by ESA, with contributions from the international Euclid Consortium and NASA, the mission maps the extragalactic sky and explores scientific questions about the dark universe. The telescope studies billions of galaxies to understand dark matter and dark energy.
Read the press release of ESA EUCLID.