Euclid’s close-up view of NGC 1291

ensci_euclid20261112h November 12th, 2026

Credit: ESA/Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA, image processing by J.-C. Cuillandre and E. Bertin, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO

On 12 November 2026, ESA’s Euclid space telescope released its first major batch of data: DR1-Foundation. As part of this very large data release Euclid observed NGC 1291, a striking ring galaxy lying around 33 million light-years away from us.

This image took Euclid about 70 minutes to acquire and covers a sky area of 0.11 deg2 (around half the size of the full Moon).

It shows Euclid’s powers at maximum resolution; the ethereal disc and centre of NGC 1291 are captured in great detail, set against a backdrop of far more distant galaxies (the most distant of which show up in red). Stars are still actively forming within NGC 1291, and can be seen as small blue-hued dots.

Provider: Euclid

Image Source: https://euclid.caltech.edu/image/euclid20261112h-euclid-s-close-up-view-of-ngc-1291

Image Use Policy: CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO or ESA Standard Licence