Overview
- ESA published an infrared view of the LDN 1641 dark cloud on November 5, 2025, using data gathered during Euclid’s September 2023 guidance tests.
- The observation spans about 0.64 square degrees, exceeding three times the full Moon’s area, and was assembled from 16 detectors in just under five hours.
- NISP imaging in the Y, J and H bands penetrates dust that blocks visible light, bringing a multitude of previously hidden stars into view.
- Magenta spots and coils trace protostellar outflows, while a thinning dust window in the upper left reveals distant galaxies beyond the Milky Way.
- The successful pointing trials demonstrate Euclid’s readiness for its wide cosmology survey to build a 3D map of galaxies and probe dark matter and dark energy.