Millions of stars seen in the largest picture of the Milky Way's centre

The bright image from the European Space Agency’s Euclid telescope is the start of a new time for finding planets.

Published 24 June 2026 356 words
SCIENCE B1
Millions of stars seen in the largest picture of the Milky Way's centre

A space telescope has captured a very bright view of over 60 million stars at the centre of our galaxy, the Milky Way. This telescope is designed to study dark energy and dark matter, which are mysterious forces that shape the universe.

The European Space Agency’s Euclid telescope took the biggest and most detailed picture ever of the light from the Milky Way’s centre. The telescope's camera is special because it can see individual stars, even in the very crowded area called the galactic bulge.

Scientists say this amazing image starts a new period for discovering planets outside our own solar system. They think we will find many more planets than the few thousand known today.

One scientist, Dr Eamonn Kerins, said that the Euclid telescope was not built for this kind of science, but it works very well. He believes this information will help find over 100,000 new planets, a big increase from the 6,000 we know about.

The Euclid telescope, which cost €1bn, was launched in 2023. Its main goal is to create an accurate 3D map of space and learn more about dark forces. Most of the universe is thought to be made of dark energy and dark matter, not normal matter.

Astronomers took this picture in March last year. They pointed the telescope at the Milky Way’s centre for 26 hours. The image is made from nine different shots. Each shot shows a large area of the sky.

This image will help scientists search for exoplanets, which are planets that orbit stars outside our solar system. One way to find them is by watching how a nearby star passes in front of a faraway star. The gravity of the nearer star can bend the light from the distant star, making it look brighter. If a planet is orbiting the nearer star, it can cause a temporary extra brightness.

The Euclid image is useful because it shows the stars before they overlap. This helps astronomers measure how fast they are moving and confirm if a planet exists and how heavy it is. NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman telescope, launching soon, is expected to find about 1,500 exoplanets using a similar method.

Vocabulary

mysterious — strange and difficult to understand or explain.
galactic bulge — a large, rounded collection of stars at the centre of a spiral galaxy like the Milky Way.
solar system — the Sun and all the planets and other bodies that orbit it.
exoplanets — planets that orbit stars outside our own solar system.
launched — sent into space or into the air.
ordinary matter — the normal stuff that makes up stars, planets, and people, as opposed to dark matter or dark energy.
microlensing — a method used to find exoplanets by observing how gravity bends light from distant stars.
mosaic — a picture made by joining many smaller pieces or images together.

Discussion Questions

  1. What is the main purpose of the Euclid telescope?
  2. How does the Euclid telescope help in finding new planets outside our solar system?
  3. Why is the new image of the Milky Way’s centre considered important for astronomers?

Based on an article from The Guardian.

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