Recently, a mosaic was released by the Euclid space telescope. 

ESA’s Euclid Mission

• The ESA’s Euclid Mission is a space telescope designed to explore the composition and evolution of the dark universe. 
• The Euclid mission launched on July 1, 2023 from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
• The Euclid mission’s goals include:
  • Creating a 3D map of the universe’s large-scale structure
  • Observing billions of galaxies up to 10 billion light-years away
  • Exploring how the universe has expanded
  • Revealing more about the role of dark matter, dark energy, and gravity
• Destination: The Euclid mission will travel to the Sun-Earth Lagrange Point 2 (L2), 1.5 million km from Earth.

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About Lagrange Points

• Lagrange points are positions in space where the gravitational forces of two large orbiting bodies, like the Earth and Sun, create regions of equilibrium, allowing a smaller object to maintain its position with minimal fuel usage. 
• There are five Lagrange points (L1, L2, L3, L4, L5).
• • L1: Offers an uninterrupted view of the Sun, making it ideal for solar observations. It’s home to the SOHO space telescope (joint NASA and ESA mission to study the Sun) and India’s Aditya L1 mission.
  • L2: Ideal for astronomy, as spacecraft located here can communicate with Earth, harness solar power, and have a clear view of deep space. This point is home to both the James Webb Space Telescope and the Euclid Telescope.
  • L3: Located behind the Sun and is less useful due to communication challenges.
  • L4 and L5: These points are stable. Objects orbiting these points are called Trojans, after three large asteroids (Agamemnon, Achilles, and Hector) found there.

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