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.

The stunning pictures from the $810m (£595m) 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.

In about 10 hours of observations, the observatory spotted 2,104 previously unspotted 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.

“I’m so delighted that they chose Virgo for the ‘first look’ as it celebrates a key moment in humanity’s dark matter story. 

It was 1930s observations of the Virgo and Coma clusters that prompted Fritz Zwicky to conclude there must be extra invisible dark matter out there.

Source: Theguardian