![Image description: The focus of the image is a portion of LDN 1641, an interstellar nebula in the constellation of Orion. In this view, a deep-black background is sprinkled with a multitude of dots (stars) of different sizes and shades of bright white. Across the sea of stars, a web of fuzzy tendrils and ribbons in varying shades of orange and brown rises from the bottom of the image towards the top-right like thin coils of smoke.] CREDIT ESA/Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA, image processing by M. Schirmer (MPIA, Heidelberg)](https://www.openaccessgovernment.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Euclid_peers_through_a_dark_cloud_s_dusty_veil-scaled.jpg "Euclid_peers_through_a_dark_cloud_s_dusty_veil")
An incredible view of a stellar nursery was captured by Euclid when its infrared camera peered through the LDN 1641 dark cloud in Orion. This ability to see past obscuring dust demonstrates the telescope’s power as it embarks on its primary mission: mapping the dark Universe
European Space Agency’s (ESA) Euclid space telescope has offered a new look inside the heart of a stellar nursery, peering through the obscuring dust of the LDN 1641 dark cloud in the Orion constellation. The stunning image, captured during a routine guiding test, showcases the mission’s remarkable ability to penetrate stellar veils, promising continuing galactic observations in addition to its primary mission to map the “dark Universe.”
Infrared instruments and uncovering hidden stars
In visible light, the LDN 1641 region, situated about 1300 light-years from Earth, appears mostly vacant, a dark curtain dotted with only a few foreground stars. However, Euclid’s Near-Infrared Spectrometer and Photometer (NISP) instrument was able to cut through the dusty gas, revealing a multitude of stars and a complex tapestry of dust.
This is possible because interstellar dust efficiently blocks visible light but is significantly less effective at dimming the longer wavelengths of near-infrared light.
The resulting image, which covers an area more than three times the size of the full Moon, is teeming with very young stars. Embedded within the orange and brown tendrils of dust, many objects exhibit magenta-coloured spots and coils—powerful material outflows that are a clear sign of stars actively forming. Towards the upper left of the image, where the dust obstruction lessens, the view opens up to the distant Universe, showcasing countless galaxies lurking beyond the stars of our Milky Way.
Precision pointing leads to stellar views
The extraordinary image was collected in just under five hours of observation in September 2023. The observation was originally intended not for a science image, but for a pointing test to fine-tune the telescope’s guidance system. The operations team specifically chose this portion of LDN 1641 because its visually dark nature made it an ideal field where only a sparse few stars would be detectable in visible light, a key requirement for the test.
The successful tests confirmed that Euclid can point reliably and with high precision, an ability key to delivering extremely sharp astronomical images across vast patches of the sky, and at a fast pace.
Mapping the dark universe
While observations of regions like LDN 1641 provide new avenues for investigating stellar formation within our own galaxy, Euclid’s main objective is a monumental one: creating the most extensive 3D map of the extragalactic Universe ever made. By surveying billions of galaxies, the mission aims to help scientists pin down the mysterious nature and properties of dark matter and dark energy, which together make up about 95% of the cosmos. The exceptional quality of this early image confirms that the telescope is well-equipped to deliver the sharp, wide-field data necessary to complete its ambitious cosmological survey.
