New telescope sheds light on galaxies far, far away

Spectacular views of distant galaxies, giant dust clouds and hurtling asteroids have been revealed in the first images captured by a groundbreaking telescope that is embarking on a 10-year survey of the cosmos.

- Ian Sample

The stunning pictures from the $810m Vera C Rubin observatory in Chile mark the start of what astronomers believe will be a gamechanging period of discovery as the telescope sets about compiling the best view yet of the universe in action.

The picture seen here combines 678 separate images taken in just over seven hours of observing time. Clouds of gas and dust that comprise the Trifid nebula (top right) and the Lagoon nebula, which are several thousand light years away from Earth, can be seen.

In about 10 hours of observations, the observatory spotted 2,104 previously undetected asteroids in our solar system, including seven near-Earth asteroids, which were said to pose no danger to the planet.

"I'm absolutely blown away. Just look, it's teeming with gorgeous glittering galaxies!" said Prof Catherine Heymans, an astrophysicist at the University of Edinburgh and Scotland's astronomer royal.