A professor who developed a new satellite called it "mind-blowing" to watch it launch on a million-mile journey.
Adam Amara, a professor at Hampshire, developed Euclid, which was launched on Saturday from Cape Canaveral in Florida.
It was breathtaking to watch it rise, according to Prof. Amara. It was similar to a major goal occurring in the World Cup final. though for nerds.
The journey should take a month, and once there, it will begin collecting data for a 3D map of the cosmos.
Elon Musk's Space X company launched it after 18 years of planning by Prof. Amara.
It was his first personal launch, he said. It's mind-blowing that that mission is one in which I have played such a significant role.
Imagine not just one day, but 18 birthdays and 18 Christmases arriving in a matter of seconds. It was completely bizarre. ".
He said, looking back on the successful takeoff, "Everything went exactly as it was supposed to.
"This is the beginning of a long journey; I feel as though Euclid has grown up and is now leaving its mark on the world. ".
It will conduct a number of tests once it reaches its destination, the second Lagrange point, where the gravitational pulls of the Earth and the sun are roughly equal.
The University of Portsmouth professor, who also serves as the Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation's director, declared: "Then discoveries will start coming in for the next 10 years.
"It was an idea 18 years ago. Hey, wouldn't it be cool if we created something that could capture images of the entire sky?
After 2,500 people, 18 years of laborious engineering work, and nearly 1 point 5 billion euros, it is finally on its way, according to Prof. Amara.
The mission's goal is to shed light on dark energy and dark matter, two of the universe's greatest mysteries.
The high-quality images will enable astronomers to learn more about the elusive dark matter—particles that do not absorb, reflect, or emit light, according to the ESA, which is funding the project.
According to experiments, the cosmic contents consist of:.
- approximately 5%. normal substance. - atoms, the building blocks of which we are all composed.
- roughly 27 percent. dark energy. - as of this point unseen and defying description.
- 68 percent or so. dark power. – the enigmatic factor speeding up cosmic expansion.
According to calculations, the universe is 13.8 billion years old.
