-
Space weather
Euclid is a space mission, for a very good reason: on the surface of Earth, “ground-based” telescopes are subject to sunlight during the day, varying temperatures, to clouds, humidity, wind, and sometimes even rain. They are subject to a constantly varying atmosphere – the consequences of ‘weather’. Euclid’s core science, cosmology, however, requires a telescope with very stable properties – not possible in ground-based weather – so Euclid had to go to space. In contrast, is the Sun-Earth-Lagrange-Point-2, where Euclid is now stationed, the most perfectly stable place? Well, not completely. We’ll tell you why.
… -
Measuring the Universe with Baryon Acoustic Oscillations
Hidden in the large-scale structure of the Universe – the so-called cosmic web, subtle waves provide a priceless view on the cosmos, helping scientists highlight some of the mysteries about its structure, evolution, and its current accelerated expansion governed by dark energy. This phenomenon is known as Baryon Acoustic Oscillations (BAOs). To understand what they are, we must travel back in time to the early Universe! Are you ready?
…Measuring the Universe with Baryon Acoustic OscillationsRead More »
-
Mapping the dark Universe with gravitational weak lensing
Gravitational lensing is a fascinating phenomenon that happens because of the way gravity works according to Einstein’s theory of General Relativity: mass curves spacetime. Imagine you have a massive object, like a star or a galaxy, sitting in space. This object has a strong gravitational pull, which means it will bend spacetime and – since light follows a path along this now bent space – it also bends the path of light that passes nearby.
…Mapping the dark Universe with gravitational weak lensingRead More »
-
Why is going to space crucial to map dark matter?
A key promise of the Euclid mission is to explore the evolution of the dark Universe. The foundation of this ambitious program is a large optical and near-infrared imaging survey. Euclid’s cosmic map will depict more than one billion galaxies out to 10 billion light-years, making it the biggest and most detailed cosmological data set of our age. How does the quality of the first Euclid images compare to another reference cosmological data set, the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) Legacy Imaging Survey?
…Why is going to space crucial to map dark matter?Read More »
-
What is and what could be dark matter?
Dark Matter is not one of the powerful sith lord in the Universe, but is one of the biggest mysteries in astrophysics. It refers to a transparent form of matter that does not interact with light, making it invisible to our telescopes. Nevertheless its presence can be inferred through its gravitational effects on usual visible matter and the large-scale structure of the Universe.
… -
What is and what could be dark energy?
There is no doubt in the science community, the expansion of the universe is accelerating! The reason behind this acceleration is one of the most challenging contemporary puzzles, and this is where the concept of dark energy comes in. Accounting for 68% of the energy in the universe, dark energy is at the same time responsible for the acceleration of the expansion of the universe. However, the crucial question remains: What could dark energy be?
…
