Friday, March 22, 2013 4:52:10 AM
Mapping the Early Universe
The Planck satellite has taken the most detailed images yet of the early universe. (Related Article) [insert heading]
Universe as an Infant: Fatter Than Expected and Kind of Lumpy
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/22/science/space/planck-satellite-shows-image-of-infant-universe.html
Published: March 21, 2013
EARLY LIGHT
Planck studies minute fluctuations in the temperature of light from when the universe was 370,000 years old.
Orange areas are slightly warmer than average, and blue areas are slightly cooler.
Mass and gravity
As ancient light travels toward Earth, it is warped and distorted by gravity. Planck measured this distortion to create a map of mass in the universe. Areas with more mass appear darker, while areas of the universe with less mass appear lighter. Gray areas are obscured by the disk of the Milky Way.
Temperature anomalies
The new map confirms that temperature patterns in the early universe were slightly asymmetrical. The northern hemisphere of the universe (above the Sun) appears slightly cooler than the southern hemisphere (below the Sun), as shown in this enhanced image. An unexpectedly large cold spot is circled in black.
PREVIOUS MISSIONS
Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE)
Launched in 1989, COBE was the first satellite to search for this ancient light, called cosmic microwave background. Measurements taken during the mission hinted at how matter was distributed in the early universe and lent support to the Big Bang theory.
Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP)
A second mission, launched in 2001, measured the cosmic background radiation in detail, and contributed to the understanding of dark matter and the early expansion of the universe. Images taken by the Planck satellite, launched in 2009, have more than twice the resolution of WMAP.
Images by ESA, NASA, JPL-Caltech and the WMAP mission
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/03/21/science/space/0321-universe.html
======
A Journey of Light Through Space and Time
WaspieDwarfWaspieDwarf·193 videos
Published on Mar 21, 2013
This artist's animation depicts the 'life' of a photon, or particle of light, as it travels across space and time, from the very early universe to the Planck satellite. By creating maps of the oldest light in the universe, Planck scientists are learning about the epic journey of light through the cosmos. The mission's maps showing this ancient light, called the cosmic microwave background, have revealed the most precise information yet about the universe's fundamental traits, such as its age, contents and the seeds of all structure, without which we would not exist.
The light's journey begins just moments after the big bang that created our universe 13.8 billion years ago. At that time, the universe was a hot plasma of electrons, protons and photons (green and red balls, and blue linear particles, respectively). The light repeatedly bounces off electrons, and as result can't travel very far. Later, about 370,000 years after the big bang, the universe cools enough for the electrons and protons to get together to form hydrogen atoms. Electrons no longer get in the way of the light, and it is free to travel.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6KVYGDLw44
The Planck satellite has taken the most detailed images yet of the early universe. (Related Article) [insert heading]
Universe as an Infant: Fatter Than Expected and Kind of Lumpy
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/22/science/space/planck-satellite-shows-image-of-infant-universe.html
Published: March 21, 2013
EARLY LIGHT
Planck studies minute fluctuations in the temperature of light from when the universe was 370,000 years old.
Orange areas are slightly warmer than average, and blue areas are slightly cooler.
Mass and gravity
As ancient light travels toward Earth, it is warped and distorted by gravity. Planck measured this distortion to create a map of mass in the universe. Areas with more mass appear darker, while areas of the universe with less mass appear lighter. Gray areas are obscured by the disk of the Milky Way.
Temperature anomalies
The new map confirms that temperature patterns in the early universe were slightly asymmetrical. The northern hemisphere of the universe (above the Sun) appears slightly cooler than the southern hemisphere (below the Sun), as shown in this enhanced image. An unexpectedly large cold spot is circled in black.
PREVIOUS MISSIONS
Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE)
Launched in 1989, COBE was the first satellite to search for this ancient light, called cosmic microwave background. Measurements taken during the mission hinted at how matter was distributed in the early universe and lent support to the Big Bang theory.
Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP)
A second mission, launched in 2001, measured the cosmic background radiation in detail, and contributed to the understanding of dark matter and the early expansion of the universe. Images taken by the Planck satellite, launched in 2009, have more than twice the resolution of WMAP.
Images by ESA, NASA, JPL-Caltech and the WMAP mission
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/03/21/science/space/0321-universe.html
======
A Journey of Light Through Space and Time
WaspieDwarfWaspieDwarf·193 videos
Published on Mar 21, 2013
This artist's animation depicts the 'life' of a photon, or particle of light, as it travels across space and time, from the very early universe to the Planck satellite. By creating maps of the oldest light in the universe, Planck scientists are learning about the epic journey of light through the cosmos. The mission's maps showing this ancient light, called the cosmic microwave background, have revealed the most precise information yet about the universe's fundamental traits, such as its age, contents and the seeds of all structure, without which we would not exist.
The light's journey begins just moments after the big bang that created our universe 13.8 billion years ago. At that time, the universe was a hot plasma of electrons, protons and photons (green and red balls, and blue linear particles, respectively). The light repeatedly bounces off electrons, and as result can't travel very far. Later, about 370,000 years after the big bang, the universe cools enough for the electrons and protons to get together to form hydrogen atoms. Electrons no longer get in the way of the light, and it is free to travel.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6KVYGDLw44
It was Plato who said, “He, O men, is the wisest, who like Socrates, knows that his wisdom is in truth worth nothing”
Join the InvestorsHub Community
Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
