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Euclid space telescope unveils first major data release, including map of 900 million galaxies

12), the European Space Agency (ESA) shared the first major data release from its Euclid space telescope, including observations of more than 900 million galaxies and 60 million black-hole-powered light sources in the early universe.

✦ Extractive summary — built from the sources' own reporting•From 1 source•1 min read•Updated November 12, 2026, 4:22 PM UTC
Key points
  • "This major Euclid data release represents the largest space-based survey of its kind, laying the foundation of future discovery." Captured over 13 months, this cornucopia of data covers a slice of sky about 9,500 bigger than the full moon — about 14% of the total sky area that Euclid will survey on its planned six-year mission.
  • In its first data release, Euclid has discovered more than 15,000 strong gravitational lensing candidates.
  • These " Einstein rings " ‪—‬ named after Albert Einstein, who predicted their existence — occur when exceptionally massive objects, like large galaxies, bend the fabric of space-time.

Scientists can now start using the 1.7 million gigabytes of Euclid data to slot those objects into a 3D model of the universe and begin to map out the vast cosmic web that underlies all galaxies.

Additional details
  • (Image credit: ESA/ Euclid Consortium) This image shows the entire sector of the Euclid Wide Survey, the telescope's mission to map vast swatches of the northern sky.
  • The galaxy is located 33 million light-years from Earth, and Euclid shows a close-up view of it here at the telescope's highest resolution, according to ESA.
  • But the data release also includes some stunning space images, which you can enjoy immediately.
  • (Image credit: ESA/ Euclid Consortium) Among the nearly 1 billion galaxies charted by Euclid is NGC 1291, also called the Golden Eye galaxy.
  • "Over 10 years ago, we forecast that Euclid would revolutionise the field of strong lens discovery," Natalie Lines, a Euclid Consortium member working at the University of Portsmouth in the UK, said in the statement.

How this summary was made: extractive summary — built from the sources' own reporting. It is drawn only from the reporting of the sources listed below — read the originals for full detail. How we summarize →

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