Two University of Portsmouth experts are available to react to the first images captured by the European Space Agency’s Euclid mission, which are due to be released today at 13:15 UTC – both are part of the Euclid team.
Euclid is a European Space Agency (ESA) six-year mission to map the dark universe, using the positions of galaxies and images of dark matter produced from the gravitational lensing distortions of distant galaxies.
It launched on 1 July 2023 from Cape Canaveral in Florida.
Dr Seshadri Nadathur is an Ernest Rutherford Fellow from the University of Portsmouth’s Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation. He has been working on coordinating the University’s Euclid work within the wider European team.
He said: “These fantastic images demonstrate the power of the Euclid telescope. There are many challenges to operating a telescope in space – some known, but also some unforeseen ones that arose after launch! The quality of these early data show the team has been successfully able to overcome all of them to produce some stunning images.
“We are all very pleased that Euclid is working so well, and we are very excited to see the data from the main survey operations starting next year. Euclid data will fundamentally change our view of the Universe, and it is great to be part of that adventure.”
Bio: https://www.port.ac.uk/about-us/structure-and-governance/our-people/our-staff/seshadri-nadathur
Email: seshadri.nadathur@port.ac.uk
Mobile:07763 783 474
Dr Christopher Pattison is a Research Software Engineer at the University’s Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation (ICG). He is one of a team of academics from the ICG who have spent years working on Euclid’s software, which will help the telescope achieve its goal of mapping over one billion galaxies.
He said: “We’re very excited to see the very first full colour, high resolution images from the Euclid Space Telescope. These images will represent the breadth of science that Euclid is going to do, while also being beautiful targets chosen to capture our imagination.
“Euclid is aiming to answer some of the biggest questions that we have about the Universe, including what exactly is the Universe made of, and what are dark matter and energy? These images will be the first steps to reaching these goals, and it is an incredibly exciting first step.”
Email: christopher.pattison@port.ac.uk
Mobile: 07761311018
For more information:
Please contact: Sophie Wagstaff, Media Officer, University of Portsmouth, Tel: 07966 314727 email: sophie.wagstaff@port.ac.uk
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