Euclid Releases 1 Billion-Object Dataset for 3D Universe Map

3 articles · Updated · European Space Agency · Nov 1

DR1-Foundation packages 13 months of Euclid observations into the mission’s first major data release, covering a sky area equal to 9,500 full Moons and giving scientists the first building blocks for a 3D cosmic map.
160 million spectra in the release will let researchers measure galaxy distances and place them within the cosmic web, a key step in probing dark matter, dark energy and large-scale structure.
Around 15,000 strong gravitational lens systems were identified in the dataset—the largest such catalogue yet, exceeding all previous catalogues combined and opening population-scale studies of dark matter and cosmic expansion.
The archive also adds more than 60 million quasar candidates and observations of galaxy clusters and protoclusters, while covering only about 14% of the total sky Euclid plans to survey.
ESA said the roughly 1.7 million-GB release marks a shift from earlier preview datasets, with the full Data Release 1 due in mid-2027 to add weak-lensing measurements and more of the mission’s map.