🌅 Today’s stat: 8 billion

SOURCE

European Space Agency

WHAT TO KNOW

• The European Space Agency's Euclid telescope will spend the next six years mapping one-third of the sky to piece together the largest 3D map of the cosmos ever created, capturing 10 billion years of cosmic history in unprecedented detail.

WHY IT MATTERS

• The final map, which will feature around 8 billion galaxies, each with billions of their own stars, will help scientists study the hidden influence of dark energy and dark matter (sometimes collectively known as the “dark universe”), which are thought to make up around 96% of the universe.

CONNECT THE DOTS

• While scientists know dark energy accelerates the expansion of the universe and dark matter governs the growth of its cosmic structures, it’s not yet clear what dark energy and dark matter actually are. Euclid’s mission to map the cosmos will help astronomers infer properties about the dark universe, and gain new insights into the structure and history of the cosmic web.