Euclid early commissioning test images

Euclid’s two instruments have captured their first test images. The mesmerising results indicate that the space telescope will achieve the scientific goals that it has been designed for – and possibly much more.

Although there are months to go before Euclid delivers its true new view of the cosmos, reaching this milestone means the scientists and engineers behind the mission are confident that telescope and instruments are working well.

The image on the left was taken by the VISible instrument (VIS). The image on the right was taken by the Near-Infrared Spectrometer and Photometer (NISP). They are on the same scale, with the full versions of these images each being seven by seven arcminutes. These early test images were taken to check the instruments and review how the spacecraft can be further tweaked and refined.

Because they are largely unprocessed, some unwanted artefacts remain – for example the cosmic rays that shoot straight across, seen especially in the VIS image. The Euclid Consortium will ultimately turn the longer-exposed survey observations into science-ready images that are artefact-free, more detailed, and razor sharp.

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