Earlier this year, Euclid—a European telescope tasked to create the largest 3D map of the universe—sent back troves of cosmic data from deep space. Astronomers have since been hard at work picking through the stars, with one team arriving at a surprising conclusion about the fate of the universe .

By studying both Euclid’s optical measurements and far-infrared data from the now-concluded Herschel mission, a team of 175 astronomers constructed the most detailed heat map of the universe. The temperature map strongly suggests that star formation in our universe has already passed its peak rates and that galaxies have begun to cool down. In short, our universe is “already past its prime,” the researchers noted in a statement .

“The Universe will just get colder and deader from now on,” a

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