Euclid was mapping the universe. Then it found a comet
The Euclid space telescope made an accidental comet discovery as it searched the universe for evidence of dark matter and dark energy.
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The Euclid space telescope made an accidental comet discovery as it searched the universe for evidence of dark matter and dark energy. The post Euclid was mapping the universe.
Euclid took these images at 00: 41: 07, 00: 58: 53 and 01: 16: 39 UTC on September 17, 2026. Euclid makes an accidental comet discovery ESA’s Euclid space telescope is surveying the cosmos, mapping the large-scale structure of the universe in space and time.
Its goal is to observe more than 1/3 of the sky, concentrating on how galaxies have evolved over time, in the hopes of providing insight to the nature of dark matter and dark energy. But ESA said on October 19, 2026, that Euclid has made an unexpected discovery, and a first for the space telescope.
The Minor Planet Center named the comet C/2026 S1 (Euclid) in honor of the space telescope. Euclid took those images between September 16 and 24, 2026.
The Minor Planet Center confirmed the discovery of the new comet on October 8, 2026. Euclid intentionally looks away from the solar system’s plane to reduce glare from dust leftover from the creation of planets and asteroids.
Finding future targets of the Comet Interceptor ESA is planning a future mission called Comet Interceptor.
Fonte original: EarthSky