Clash of the Titans: Galaxy NGC 3256 | James Webb Space Telescope

Clash of the Titans: Galaxy NGC 3256 | James Webb Space Telescope

The peculiar galaxy NGC 3256 dominates this image from the NASA/European Space Agency/Canadian Space Agency James Webb Space Telescope. This Milky Way-sized galaxy lies about 120 million light-years away in the constellation Vela, and is a denizen of the Hydra-Centaurus Supercluster.

NGC 3256 may seem peaceful, a swirl of tightly entwined spiral arms set in a hazy cloud of light, but this image shows the aftermath of an ancient cosmic clash. This distorted galaxy is the wreckage of a head-on collision between two equally massive spiral galaxies which astronomers estimate to have met around 500 million years ago. The tumultuous past of NGC 3256 is captured in the long tendrils of shining dust and stars which extend outwards from the main body of the galaxy. The striking red and orange regions spread across the galaxy contain young stars created in the merger that are irradiating small dust grains, which then emit infrared light that is captured in astonishing detail by Webb’s instruments. Further out, there are extended tidal features, which are mostly stars pulled out of the galaxies when they collided.

Image Description: A large, face-on spiral galaxy. The core is radiating very brightly. Streaks of dust glow intensely red, in the center and across most of the galaxy. This gas is surrounded by a dark grey halo made of the galaxy’s stars. The halo stretches out into a tidal tail at the upper-left, and another at the bottom. Small stars and galaxies surround the spiral galaxy, on a black background.

If you were asked to picture a galaxy collision, you might picture stars careening into one another with catastrophically explosive results. In reality, the spaces between the stars in a galaxy are vast; when galaxies collide, their clouds of stars pass through one another and mingle like two clouds of smoke. The gas and dust in colliding galaxies does interact, however, and with spectacular results. The galactic collision that created NGC 3256 triggered a luminous burst of star formation that can be seen in the brightest portions of this image. These infant stars shine most brightly at infrared wavelengths, light which can penetrate through obscuring dust in the galaxy, and which makes the stars perfect subjects for Webb.

This observation is one of several which take a detailed look at the physics of star formation and black hole growth in nearby merging galaxies, hoping to transform astronomers' understanding of galactic evolution. Capturing a selection of luminous infrared galaxies like NGC 3256 will help the astronomical community to understand how Webb can unravel the complex histories of nearby star-forming galaxies.

This image contains data from Webb’s Near-InfraRed Camera and Mid-InfraRed Instrument, which—as the names suggest—capture NGC 3256 in stunning detail at infrared wavelengths. 

Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, L. Armus, A. Evans

Release Date: July 3, 2023

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #JWST #Galaxies #Galaxy #NGC3256 #Vela #Constellation #HydraCentaurusSupercluster #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #CSA #Canada #Europe #STEM #Education

Planetary Nebula NGC 2346 in Monoceros | Kitt Peak National Observatory

Planetary Nebula NGC 2346 in Monoceros | Kitt Peak National Observatory

Butterfly in the sky . . . but why? It is thought that this intriguing shape was formed by two different processes. First of all there are two stars that play the "starring" role. This pair used to orbit one another at a casual distance, but then one of them evolved into a red giant star and enveloped the other one. This means the swallowed star orbited inside of the red giant! This process both caused the two to move close together and eject a ring of gas in the process. Then strong winds from the stars blew gas perpendicular to the ring to form the wings of the "butterfly." Currently these two stars are so close they orbit each other in a period of 16 days. NGC 2346 is between 2000-3000 light years away (and perhaps 1/2 light year in extent).

This image was taken as part of Advanced Observing Program (AOP) program at Kitt Peak Visitor Center during 2014. Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO) in Arizona is a program of the National Science Foundation’s NOIRLab.

Credit: KPNO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/Doug Matthews and Charles Betts/Adam Block

Release Date: June 19, 2014

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Hubble #Nebulae #Nebula #PlanetaryNebula #Stars #RedGiantStar #WhiteDwarfStar #BinaryStarSystem #Monoceros #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #KPNO #Arizona #NOIRLab #NSF #AURA #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Planetary Nebula NGC 2346 in Monoceros | Schulman Telescope

Planetary Nebula NGC 2346 in Monoceros | Schulman Telescope

NGC 2346 is a so-called "planetary nebula," which is ejected from Sun-like stars near the ends of their lives. NGC 2346 is remarkable because its central star is known to be actually a very close pair of stars, orbiting each other every 16 days. It is believed that the binary star was originally more widely separated. However, when one component of the binary evolved, expanded in size, and became a red-giant star, it literally swallowed its companion star. The companion star then spiralled downwards inside the red giant, and in the process spewed out gas into aring around the binary system. Later on, when the hot core of the red giant was exposed, it developed a faster stellar wind, which emerged perpendicularly to the ring and inflated two huge "bubbles". This two-stage process is believed to have resulted in the butterfly-like shape of the nebula. NGC 2346 lies about 2,000 light-years away from us, and is about one-third of a light-year in size.

The 0.81 m (32 in) Schulman Telescope is a Ritchey-Chrétien reflector built by RC Optical Systems and installed in 2010. It is operated by the Mount Lemmon SkyCenter and is Arizona's largest dedicated public observatory. The Schulman Telescope was designed from inception for remote control over the Internet by amateur and professional astrophotographers worldwide. It is currently the world's largest telescope dedicated for this purpose.

Credit: Adam Block

Release Date: Nov. 1, 2012

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Hubble #Nebulae #Nebula #PlanetaryNebula #Stars #RedGiantStar #WhiteDwarfStar #BinaryStarSystem #Monoceros #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #UA #MountLemmonObservatory #SchulmanTelescope #Arizona #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education

Planetary Nebula NGC 2346 in Monoceros | Hubble

Planetary Nebula NGC 2346 in Monoceros | Hubble

NGC 2346 is a so-called "planetary nebula," which is ejected from Sun-like stars which are near the ends of their lives. NGC 2346 is remarkable because its central star is known to be actually a very close pair of stars, orbiting each other every 16 days. It is believed that the binary star was originally more widely separated. However, when one component of the binary evolved, expanded in size, and became a red-giant star, it literally swallowed its companion star. The companion star then spiralled downwards inside the red giant, and in the process spewed out gas into aring around the binary system. Later on, when the hot core of the red giant was exposed, it developed a faster stellar wind, which emerged perpendicularly to the ring and inflated two huge "bubbles". This two-stage process is believed to have resulted in the butterfly-like shape of the nebula. NGC 2346 lies about 2,000 light-years away from us, and is about one-third of a light-year in size.

Credit: NASA/European Space Agency and The Hubble Heritage Team (AURA/STScI)

Release Date: Oct. 7, 1999

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Hubble #Nebulae #Nebula #PlanetaryNebula #Stars #RedGiantStar #WhiteDwarfStar #BinaryStarSystem #Monoceros #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #HST #SpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education

A Cosmic Butterfly’s Delicate Wings: Planetary Nebula NGC 2346 | NOIRLab

A Cosmic Butterfly’s Delicate Wings: Planetary Nebula NGC 2346 | NOIRLab

The Gemini Observatory 8-meter telescope in Chile obtained this high resolution infrared image of the bipolar planetary nebula NGC 2346 and its molecular hydrogen gas. The image is about 1 arc minute on a side: north is up, east is to the left. In contrast, the size of the full moon is 30 arc minutes. 

NGC 2346 is informally known as the Butterfly Nebula. Its most remarkable characteristics are its unusually cool central star, which is a spectroscopic binary, and its unusual shape—like an hourglass. This object is at a distance of 2,300 light-years from our Sun in the constellation Monoceros.

This pair of stars used to orbit one another at a casual distance, but then one of them evolved into a red giant star and enveloped the other one. This means the swallowed star orbited inside of the red giant! This process caused the two to move close together and to eject a ring of gas in the process. Then strong winds from the stars blew gas perpendicular to the ring to form the wings of the "butterfly." Currently these two stars are so close they orbit each other in a period of only 16 days. The two stars are closer together than our Sun and planet Mercury.

Credit: NOIRLab

Release Date: July 9, 2015

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Nebulae #Nebula #PlanetaryNebula #Stars #RedGiantStar #WhiteDwarfStar #BinaryStarSystem #Monoceros #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #GeminiSouthObservatory #Chile #Telescope #Infrared #AdaptiveOpticsImager #NOIRLab #AURA #NSF #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Zooming into Galactic Home of Gamma-ray Burst 151229A | NOIRLab

Zooming into Galactic Home of Gamma-ray Burst 151229A | NOIRLab

The Gemini North telescope has revealed the previously unrecognized galactic home of the gamma-ray burst identified as GRB 151229A. Astronomers calculate that this gamma-ray burst, which lies in the direction of the constellation Capricornus, occurred approximately 9 billion years ago.

The Gemini North telescope is located on Hawaii‘s Maunakea as part of the international community of observatories built to take advantage of the superb atmospheric conditions on this long-dormant volcano which rises about 4214 meters (13,825 feet) into the dry, stable air of the Pacific.

Credit: NOIRLab/NSF/AURA

Image Processing: M. Zamani (NSF’s NOIRLab) & D. de Martin (NSF’s NOIRLab)

Duration: 1 minute, 13 seconds

Release Date: June 29, 2023

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxy #GammaRayBurst #GRB151229A #Capricornus #Constellation #Astrophysics #Cosmos #Universe #GeminiTelescope #NOIRLab #NSF #AURA #Hawaii #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Hidden Galaxy Home to Gamma-ray Burst 9 Billion Years Ago | NOIRLab

Hidden Galaxy Home to Gamma-ray Burst 9 Billion Years Ago | NOIRLab

This image captured by the Gemini North telescope reveals the previously unrecognized galactic home of the gamma-ray burst identified as GRB 151229A. GRBs are the most powerful class of explosions in the universe. Astronomers calculate that this gamma-ray burst, which lies in the direction of the constellation Capricornus, occurred approximately 9 billion years ago.

The Gemini North telescope is located on Hawaii‘s Maunakea as part of the international community of observatories built to take advantage of the superb atmospheric conditions on this long-dormant volcano which rises about 4214 meters (13,825 feet) into the dry, stable air of the Pacific. 

Credit: International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/National Science Foundation (NSF)/Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA)

Image Processing: T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage/NSF’s NOIRLab), M. Zamani (NSF’s NOIRLab) & D. de Martin (NSF’s NOIRLab)

Release Date: July 26, 2022

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxy #GammaRayBurst #GRB151229A #Capricornus #Constellation #Astrophysics #Cosmos #Universe #GeminiTelescope #NOIRLab #NSF #AURA #Hawaii #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

NASA's SpaceX Crew-7 Training Views & Portraits | International Space Station

NASA's SpaceX Crew-7 Training Views & Portraits | International Space Station

(From left to right) Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov of Russia, European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Andreas Mogensen of Denmark, NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli (USA), and astronaut Satoshi Furukawa from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)

These are portraits and views of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 during training with SpaceX. NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli will be the spacecraft commander of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 mission—the agency’s seventh rotational mission to the International Space Station. This will be the first spaceflight for Moghbeli, who became a NASA astronaut in 2017.  

NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli will join European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Andreas Mogensen of Denmark, Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov of Russia and astronaut Satoshi Furukawa from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). 

Mogensen will be the spacecraft pilot of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 mission—the first non-US astronaut assigned in this capacity. This will be the first long-duration mission for Mogensen. He previously served as a flight engineer on a ten-day mission to the International Space Station in 2015. Crew-7 will be his second trip to space.

NASA and SpaceX are targeting no earlier than mid-August 2023 for the launch of Crew-7, aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The four astronauts will join an expedition crew aboard the International Space Station.

Astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli Official NASA Biography:

https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/jasmin-moghbeli

https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/jasmin-moghbeli/biography

Image Credit: Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX)/NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)/Bill Stafford & Robert Markowitz

Image Capture Dates: June 23, 2023

#NASA #Space #Earth #ISS #SpaceX #SpaceXCrew7 #CrewDragonSpacecraft #Astronauts #JasminMoghbeli #Commander #ESA #AndreasMogensen #Pilot #Denmark #Danmark #Europe #KonstantinBorisov #Russia #Россия #Роскосмос #SatoshiFurukawa #Japan #日本 #JAXA #HumanSpaceflight #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

European Astronaut Andreas Mogensen: NASA Crew-7 Pilot in EMU Spacesuit

European Astronaut Andreas Mogensen: NASA Crew-7 Pilot in EMU Spacesuit

View of Earth taken by European Space Agency Astronaut Andreas Mogensen on Sept. 8, 2015, during his first mission to the International Space Station

These are portraits of European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Andreas Mogensen from Denmark in an Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU)—the spacesuit worn by astronauts during spacewalks on the International Space Station. Mogensen will be the spacecraft pilot of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 mission—the first non-US astronaut assigned in this capacity. Crew-7 will be NASA’s seventh rotational mission to the International Space Station.

Andreas Mogensen will join NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov of Russia, and astronaut Satoshi Furukawa from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

This will be the first long-duration mission for Mogensen. He previously served as a flight engineer on a ten-day mission to the International Space Station in 2015. Crew-7 will be his second trip to space.

Andreas Mogensen Official European Space Agency Biography

https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/Astronauts/Andreas_Mogensen

Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Release Date: June 30, 2023

#NASA #ESA #Space #Earth #ISS #Moon #ArtemisProgram #SpaceX #SpaceXCrew7 #CrewDragonSpacecraft #EMUSpacesuit #Spacewalks #EVA #Astronaut #AndreasMogensen #SpacecraftPilot #Engineer #Denmark #Danmark #HumanSpaceflight #Houston #Texas #JSC #UnitedStates #Expedition70 #STEM #Education

Milky Way & Aurora over Antarctica

Milky Way & Aurora over Antarctica

"It was one of the better skies of this long night. In parts of Antarctica, not only is it winter, but the Sun can spend weeks below the horizon. At China's Zhongshan Station, people sometimes venture out into the cold to photograph a spectacular night sky. The featured image from one such outing was taken in mid-July of 2015, just before the end of this polar night. Pointing up, the wide angle lens captured not only the ground at the bottom, but at the top as well. In the foreground, a colleague is taking pictures." 

"In the distance, a spherical satellite receiver and several windmills are visible. Numerous stars dot the night sky, including Sirius and Canopus. Far in the background, stretching overhead from horizon to horizon, is the central band of our Milky Way Galaxy. Even further in the distance, visible as extended smudges near the top, are the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, satellite galaxies near our huge Milky Way Galaxy."

Image Credit & Copyright: Li Hang

Li Hang on Weibo: 

https://www.weibo.com/lihang999

Image Date: July 2015

Release Date: July 2, 2023

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Planet #Earth #Antarctica #ZhongshanStation #China #中国 #AuroraAustralis #Aurora #Stars #Sirius #Canopus #MilkyWayGalaxy #Galaxies #LMC #SMC #Astrophotography #LiHang #Astrophotographer #STEM #Education #APoD

Launch of Europe's Euclid Space Telescope to Explore The Dark Universe | SpaceX

Launch of Europe's Euclid Space Telescope to Explore The Dark Universe | SpaceX

The European Space Agency’s latest astrophysics mission, Euclid, was successfully launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral in Florida, USA, at 11:12 am ET on July 1, 2023. Euclid has now started its month-long journey to Sun-Earth Lagrange point L2, located 1.5 million kilometers from Earth, in the opposite direction from the Sun. The space telescope will survey one third of the sky with unprecedented accuracy and sensitivity. By observing billions of galaxies out to 10 billion light-years, it will create the most extensive 3D-map of the Universe, with the third dimension representing time.

The European Space Agency’s Euclid Mission is designed to explore the composition and evolution of the dark Universe. Euclid will chart how the Universe has expanded and how large-scale structure is distributed across space and time, revealing more about the role of gravity and the nature of dark energy and dark matter.

Four weeks after launch, Euclid will enter its orbit around L2. Once in orbit, mission controllers will start the activities to verify all functions of the spacecraft, check out the telescope and finally turn the instruments on.

Following this, scientists and engineers will be engaged in an intense two-month phase of testing and calibrating Euclid’s scientific instruments, and preparing for routine observations. The telescope begins its early phase of the survey of the Universe three months after launch.

Find out more about the Euclid Mission: 

https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Euclid

Image Credit: SpaceX

Release Date: July 1, 2023

#NASA #ESA #Space #Astronomy #Science #SpaceX #Falcon9Rocket #Launch #EuclidMission #EuclidSpacecraft #SpaceTelescope #3DMapping #Galaxies #GalaxyClusters #Cosmos #Universe #Cosmology #Astrophysics #Gravity #DarkMatter #DarkEnergy #Europe #Spaceport #CapeCanaveral #Florida #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Planet Mars: Colorful Bedrock Layers | NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

Planet Mars: Colorful Bedrock Layers | NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

Much of Mars’ surface is covered by fine-grained materials that hide the bedrock, but elsewhere, such as in this scene, the bedrock is well exposed (except where covered by sand dunes).

Colors are enhanced in the cutout of a pit exposing reddish layers. 

The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) captured these images.

Local Mars time: 14:13

Latitude (centered): -27.797°

Longitude (East): 203.166°

Spacecraft altitude: 255.2 km (158.6 miles)

MRO is led by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), which is a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California.

For more information, visit:

https://mars.nasa.gov/mro

https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/MRO/mission/index.html

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

Caption Credit: Alfred McEwen

Narration: Tre Gibbs

Duration: 34 seconds

Image Date: Jan. 9, 2017

Release Date: Feb. 23, 2017

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Mars #Planet #RedPlanet #Science #Geology #Landscape #Terrain #Geoscience #Bedrock #MRO #Orbiter #Spacecraft #HiRISE #Camera #JPL #Caltech #UniversityOfArizona #BallAerospace #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Planet Mars: Colorful Bedrock Layers | NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

Planet Mars: Colorful Bedrock Layers | NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

Much of Mars’ surface is covered by fine-grained materials that hide the bedrock, but elsewhere, such as in this scene, the bedrock is well exposed (except where covered by sand dunes).

Colors are enhanced in the cutout of a pit exposing reddish layers. 

The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) captured these images.

Local Mars time: 14:13

Latitude (centered): -27.797°

Longitude (East): 203.166°

Spacecraft altitude: 255.2 km (158.6 miles)

MRO is led by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), which is a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California.

For more information, visit:

https://mars.nasa.gov/mro

https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/MRO/mission/index.html

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

Caption Credit: Alfred McEwen 

Image Date: Jan. 9, 2017

Release Date: Feb. 23, 2017

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Mars #Planet #RedPlanet #Science #Geology #Landscape #Terrain #Geoscience #Bedrock #MRO #Orbiter #Spacecraft #HiRISE #Camera #JPL #Caltech #UniversityOfArizona #BallAerospace #STEM #Education

1968 Photo from Space Changed Our Earth Views | National Air & Space Museum

1968 Photo from Space Changed Our Earth Views | National Air & Space Museum

During NASA's Apollo 8 mission (December 21–27, 1968), the combination of everyday photography technology and out-of-this-world space technology led to the iconic Earthrise photo. It transformed how we think about our home planet.

To learn about how NASA studies the Earth, check out: https://nasa.gov/earth

Read about NASA's Apollo 8 Mission:

https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/apollo-8.html

Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum: 

https://airandspace.si.edu/

Credit: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum

Duration: 1 minute, 23 seconds

Release Date: June 28, 2023

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Planet #Earth #Environment #ClimateChange #GlobalWarming #GlobalHeating #Earthrise #Moon #ApolloProgram #Apollo8 #Astronauts #FrankBorman #JimLovell #BillAnders #History #OverviewEffect #OrbitalPerspective #Technology #HasselbladCamera #Photography #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Three Galaxies in Draco

Three Galaxies in Draco

This tantalizing trio of galaxies sometimes called the Draco Group, is located in the northern constellation of (you guessed it) Draco, the Dragon. From left to right are face-on spiral NGC 5985, elliptical galaxy NGC 5982, and edge-on spiral NGC 5981, all found within this single telescopic field of view that spans a little more than the width of the full moon. While the group is far too small to be a galaxy cluster, and has not been cataloged as a compact galaxy group, the three galaxies all do lie roughly 100 million light-years from planet Earth. Not as well known as other tight groupings of galaxies, the contrast in visual appearance still makes this triplet an attractive subject for astroimagers. 

On close examination with spectrographs, the bright core of striking spiral NGC 5985 shows prominent emission in specific wavelengths of light, prompting astronomers to classify it as a Seyfert, a type of active galaxy. This impressively deep exposure hints at a faint dim halo along with sharp-edged shells surrounding elliptical NGC 5982, evidence of past galactic mergers. It also reveals many even more distant background galaxies.

Image Credit & Copyright: David Vernet, Jean-François Bax, Serge Brunier, OCA/C2PU

Team Omicron's Website:

http://www.astrosurf.com/topic/162191-new-apodteam-omicron-le-trio-du-dragon/

Côte d'Azur Observatory:

https://www.oca.eu/fr/c2pu-accueil

Release Date: July 1, 2023

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Galaxies #NGC5985 #SeyfertGalaxy #NGC5982 #NGC5981 #DracoGroup #Draco #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #CôtedAzurObservatory #CôtedAzur #FrenchRiviera #France #STEM #Education #APoD

Lift-off of Europe's Euclid Space Telescope to Explore The Dark Universe | SpaceX

Lift-off of Europe's Euclid Space Telescope to Explore The Dark Universe | SpaceX

The European Space Agency’s latest astrophysics mission, Euclid, lifted off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral in Florida, USA, at 11:12 am ET on July 1, 2023. Euclid has now started its month-long journey to Sun-Earth Lagrange point L2, located 1.5 million kilometers from Earth, in the opposite direction from the Sun. The space telescope will survey one third of the sky with unprecedented accuracy and sensitivity. By observing billions of galaxies out to 10 billion light-years, it will create the most extensive 3D-map of the Universe, with the third dimension representing time.

The European Space Agency’s Euclid Mission is designed to explore the composition and evolution of the dark Universe. Euclid will chart how the Universe has expanded and how large-scale structure is distributed across space and time, revealing more about the role of gravity and the nature of dark energy and dark matter.

Four weeks after launch, Euclid will enter its orbit around L2. Once in orbit, mission controllers will start the activities to verify all functions of the spacecraft, check out the telescope and finally turn the instruments on.

Following this, scientists and engineers will be engaged in an intense two-month phase of testing and calibrating Euclid’s scientific instruments, and preparing for routine observations. The telescope begins its early phase of the survey of the Universe three months after launch.

00:00 - 01:05 Lift-off

01:05 - 02:28 MAX-Q

02:28 - 03:20 First Stage Engine Cutoff

03:20 - 05:20 Fairing deployment

05:20 - 06:02 Booster landing in the ocean

Find out more about the Euclid Mission: 

https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Euclid

Video Credit: SpaceX

Duration: 6 minutes

Release Date: July 1, 2023

#NASA #ESA #Space #Astronomy #Science #SpaceX #Falcon9Rocket #Liftoff #EuclidMission #EuclidSpacecraft #SpaceTelescope #3DMapping #Galaxies #GalaxyClusters #Cosmos #Universe #Cosmology #Astrophysics #Gravity #DarkMatter #DarkEnergy #Europe #Spaceport #CapeCanaveral #Florida #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video