AI Insight
ESA's Euclid space telescope captured the largest high-resolution image of the Milky Way's galactic center in visible light on March 23, 2025, containing over 60 million stars. The image reveals the galactic bulge, a dense central region dominated by old, cooler stars located approximately 26,000 light-years away, along with dark molecular clouds that obscure background starlight and regions of active star formation marked by young blue stars. The detailed stellar data will enable scientists to confirm exoplanet discoveries in this crowded region and measure planetary masses through detection of minute variations in starlight over time.
Why it matters
This unprecedented view provides astronomers with a comprehensive catalog of stars in the Milky Way's core, enabling exoplanet detection and characterization in a previously difficult-to-study region due to stellar crowding. The dataset will advance understanding of galactic structure, stellar populations, and the distribution of dust and star-forming regions in our galaxy's central bulge.
Understand the Science
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This is the largest high-resolution photo ever made of our Milky Way galaxy’s centre in visible light. It was taken on 23 March 2025 by the European Space Agency’s Euclid space telescope. Packed with more than 60 million stars, this image opens the door for scientists to confirm the existence of any exoplanet found in this region and measure its mass using tiny changes in starlight over time.
The galactic bulge – the central region of our galaxy – is a vast, tightly packed structure filled mainly with old, cooler stars, giving it its characteristic yellow colour. Seen from some 26 000 light-years away, Euclid observes the galaxy’s centre through a complex foreground of material along its line of sight.
This ultra-wide view towards the bulge reveals not only stars, but also seemingly empty dark regions. The dark patches are not devoid of stars: they mark dense, dust-rich molecular clouds that absorb and scatter light from the bulge behind them. As Euclid looks through two of the Milky Way’s spiral arms, it also encounters regions of active star formation, traced by newly formed, massive blue stars. Their intense ultraviolet radiation ionises surrounding hydrogen gas, producing the faint red glow.