Southampton astronomers working to solve mysteries of universe after Euclid satellite launch

Mysteries of the dark universe which have bewildered astronomers for centuries could finally be solved by Southampton scientists after a satellite was fired into space.

The £1billion Euclid rocket was launched by SpaceX in July to reveal the origins of the cosmos. The satellite, which is fitted with telescopic space cameras, is on a six-year mission to shed light on dark energy and dark matter – which scientists say account for 95 per cent of the known universe.

Professor of Astrophysics Francesco Shankar, from the University of Southampton, is part of the international consortium working on Euclid with NASA and the European Space Agency. He said the satellite will create a giant map of the structure of the universe by observing billions of galaxies.

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