The European Space Agency Euclid telescope has produced one of the most detailed images yet of the Milky Way core, showing more than 60 million stars in a single frame. The view provides an unusually clear look at the galaxy’s dense central zone, long hard to observe due to heavy dust and crowded star fields. The data set is expected to support research for many years. By charting stars, clusters and large-scale structures across a wide area, the mission supplies new information on how the Milky Way formed and developed. Launched in 2023, Euclid was built mainly to study dark matter and dark energy, yet its instruments also deliver strong results for galactic studies. The latest image covers the central bulge, where stars are tightly packed near the galaxy’s middle. Euclid scanned roughly 500 square degrees and recorded more than 60 million stars, many previously unexamined at this level of detail. Its visible and near-infrared cameras penetrate dust that blocks ground-based views, exposing stars deep inside the galaxy. Scientists anticipate the catalogue will help locate unknown clusters, map bulge structure and refine models of star formation. The large number of objects means analysts will spend years examining the material. The telescope can also spot faint sources that might be missed among brighter stars, potentially uncovering new star-forming regions or unusual events. Although the mission’s main goal is mapping the large-scale universe, the observations are proving useful for Milky Way research. Combining visible and infrared data allows construction of detailed star-distribution maps that can trace the galaxy’s assembly over time. Further images collected during the mission are expected to produce even larger catalogues. The release gives astronomers a lasting reference that may answer basic questions about the Milky Way for decades.
