How ESA's Euclid mission will map ten billion years of cosmic history

The European Space Agency's Euclid mission is building a massive 3D map of the Universe to decode dark matter and dark energy. This video previews the Euclid Flagship simulation, a sophisticated digital model used to prepare for the vast, complex data the telescope will soon collect.

Euclid aims to cover over one-third of the sky, creating a map that spans 10 billion years of cosmic time. By measuring the shapes and redshifts of galaxies and clusters out to a redshift of approximately 2, the mission will investigate the period when dark energy began accelerating the expansion of the Universe. This data is essential for understanding the geometry of the cosmos and the mysterious components that dominate its energy budget.

To handle the immense volume of incoming data, the Euclid Consortium developed the Flagship simulation. This high-accuracy model uses advanced processors to replicate the formation of large-scale structures, such as galaxies and the filamentary cosmic web. By simulating the gravitational behavior of dark-matter particles, researchers can predict how galaxies evolve and distribute themselves across the celestial sphere, providing a vital laboratory for interpreting the mission's future observations.

Source: How Euclid will map the Universe