Key facts
- Telescope
- ESA's Euclid space telescope
- Image date
- 23 March 2025
- Stars captured
- More than 60 million
- Distance to galactic centre
- About 26,000 light-years
- Image type
- Largest high-resolution visible-light photo of the Milky Way's centre
Background
The European Space Agency's Euclid space telescope, launched to map the dark universe, has turned its gaze toward the crowded heart of our Milky Way galaxy. On 23 March 2025, Euclid captured what the agency describes as the largest high-resolution photo ever made of the galaxy's centre in visible light.
The image reveals the galactic bulge, a vast and tightly packed structure composed mainly of old, cooler stars, which gives it a characteristic yellow colour. Euclid observes this region from a distance of about 26,000 light-years, peering through a complex foreground of material along its line of sight.
Current situation
The newly released image is packed with more than 60 million stars, according to ESA. It also shows seemingly empty dark regions, which are not devoid of stars but mark dense, dust-rich molecular clouds that absorb and scatter light from the bulge behind them.
As Euclid looks through two of the Milky Way's spiral arms, it encounters regions of active star formation, traced by newly formed, massive blue stars. Their intense ultraviolet radiation ionises surrounding hydrogen gas, producing a faint red glow visible in the image.
Impacts
The image opens the door for scientists to confirm the existence of any exoplanet found in this region and measure its mass using tiny changes in starlight over time, ESA said. This capability could significantly advance the study of planets in the dense central area of our galaxy.
Astronomers studying the galactic bulge will benefit from this ultra-wide view, which reveals both the structure of the bulge and the intervening dust clouds. The image may also help refine models of star formation and the interstellar medium in the Milky Way's inner regions.
Future outlook
Scenario analysis: The possibilities below are not certain predictions.
If scientists identify exoplanet candidates in the image, they could use the recorded starlight variations to measure their masses, potentially leading to the first confirmed exoplanets in the galactic bulge. This would depend on follow-up observations and analysis.
Further studies of the dark molecular clouds and star-forming regions may yield new insights into the processes shaping our galaxy. However, the full scientific return will depend on continued data processing and collaboration among researchers.
Should the technique prove effective, Euclid's observations could pave the way for similar surveys of other crowded star fields, though such applications remain speculative at this stage.
Source: European Space Agency
