After Glitches, Euclid Underway For The European Space Agency…

The mapping of our "dark universe" has begun in earnest now.

To get to this moment took a tic, because it turns out that in space, even when the "can" of the scope was positioned with its back light shield directly into (and perpendicular to) the Sun's position, small amounts of light still leaked into the imaging sensors. The fix was to skew the opening at an angle, to throw an additional "porch shadow" across the imaging opening.

But it's all sorted out now, and data is flying back to Paris -- without a hitch. Here's the latest from ESA:

. . .Over the next six years, Euclid will observe billions of galaxies across 10 billion years of cosmic history.

Euclid, one of the most precise and stable space telescopes ever built, was launched on 1 July 2023. During its first months in space, teams across Europe turned on, tested, and prepared the mission for routine science observations. However, these ‘routine’ science observations are no piece of cake. . . .

To minimise the effect of ‘stray’ sunlight, the teams found out that Euclid needs to observe with a more restricted rotation angle, such that the sunshield is not directly facing the Sun, with a small but impactful tilt in one direction. . . .

Euclid is a European mission, built and operated by ESA, with contributions from NASA. The Euclid Consortium – consisting of more than 2000 scientists from 300 institutes in 13 European countries, the US, Canada and Japan – was responsible for providing the scientific instruments and will provide the scientific data analysis. . . .

Now you know. Grinning into the gray but luminous approaching dawn, about two thirds through February. . . so, Spring is not so distant.

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