Euclid telescope captures the center of the Milky Way with over 60 million stars in a single frame

The new image obtained by the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Euclid space telescope has been recorded as the largest and most detailed photograph ever taken of the Milky Way’s central region in visible light.

In addition to more than 60 million stars, nebulae and star clusters can also be distinguished in this massive frame.

Euclid, whose primary mission is to study the invisible structures known as the “dark universe,” was pointed at the “galactic bulge” in the center of our own galaxy for just one day at the request of researchers. Xavier Dupac, a mission planning scientist for the Euclid mission, described this choice by saying, “Normally, Euclid observes the deep cosmological space. This time, we did the exact opposite.”

The telescope’s high resolution and sensitivity allowed even faint stars to be distinguished individually in this region, where stellar density is extremely high. The mosaic released by ESA was created by combining nine separate areas, each larger than the full moon.

NEW DATA FOR EXOPLANET SEARCH

One of the most important scientific results of the new image is that it could contribute to the research of planets outside the Solar System, known as exoplanets. According to NASA data, more than 6,000 exoplanets have been discovered to date. The dense star map provided by Euclid will serve as a retrospective reference, especially for studies to be conducted using the microlensing method.

Microlensing occurs when one star passes in front of or very close to another star. The gravity of the foreground star acts like a magnifying glass, bending and brightening the light coming from the background star. If there is a planet orbiting the foreground star, this small additional mass can cause a distinct change in the light.

Jean-Philippe Beaulieu from the Paris Institute of Astrophysics and the University of Tasmania stated that approximately 300 exoplanets have been discovered using this technique over the last 20 years. However, Euclid’s one-day observation alone is not enough to capture new microlensing events; tracking a star for more than 20 days is required to observe such an event.

Nevertheless, Euclid’s detailed recording of the same region could play a critical role in future observations made with other telescopes. Scientists state that Euclid data can be used as a “time reference,” especially in research to be conducted in the same areas with NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope mission.

PLANETARY MASS CAN BE MEASURED

Euclid data can help not only in finding new planet candidates but also in calculating the mass of some previously discovered planets more precisely. According to scientists, as stars move away from each other over time, the effect of the nearby star and its potential planet on the background starlight can be resolved more clearly.

The mass of a planet is one of the fundamental clues about its structure and its potential to host life. Drawing on examples from the Solar System, Dupac emphasized that high-mass planets are mostly gas or ice giants, while smaller ones closer to their stars are usually rocky planets. It is noted that rocky planets are particularly important when searching for conditions suitable for life.

According to researchers, this dataset can also be used to study brown dwarfs, binary star systems, stellar movements, and dust clouds in the Milky Way, in addition to exoplanets. Thus, by briefly departing from its planned main mission, Euclid has left behind an archive about the center of our galaxy that can be evaluated for many years to come.