Learn about the origin and expansion of the universe to unravel the mystery of dark matter. This is the objective of the new Euclid telescope of the European Space Agency (ESA) presented this Tuesday in Cannes at one of the Thales Alenia Space sites and whose launch is scheduled for July.
The machine is equipped with state-of-the-art equipment, including a 1.2-meter mirror. It is also equipped with two instruments capable of taking precise measurements of the light emitted during “more than 10 billion years of cosmic history,” explains the ESA. This telescope is “the most advanced ever developed by Europe”, said Giuseppe Racca, head of the Euclid project, in 2019 at L’Usine Nouvelle and broadcast by Ouest-France.
Better understand dark matter and energy
The Euclid mission will focus on the so-called “dark” universe, that is, the one made up of dark matter and dark energy. Although these two components remain hypothetical because they are not observed at this stage, they would represent approximately 95% of the components of the observable universe. Eventually, the telescope will create “the largest and most accurate 3D map of the Universe ever produced,” meaning more than a third of the sky.
In particular, the Euclid telescope will be able to allow scientists to estimate “the acceleration caused by mysterious dark energy to an accuracy of one percent, and any variation in acceleration” all “to an accuracy of 10%.”
Dark matter was theorized to help understand mass estimates for cosmological objects, which would be heavier than they appear. As for dark energy, it was theorized to understand that the rate of expansion of the universe is exponential contrary to accepted physical rules.
A European project
The project was developed and supported by ESA with teams from the Defense and Space branch of the European company Airbus and those from the Franco-Italian group Thales Alenia Space. An alliance was also made with the US space agency (NASA) for the supply of elements for one of the telescope’s main instruments, which makes it possible to capture the so-called “near infrared” light, invisible to the naked eye.
The telescope will be launched in July from the US base at Cape Canaveral. It will be loaded aboard a Falcon 9 shuttle of the American company SpaceX.
Source: BFM TV
