First light for Planck September 18, 2009
Posted by sarah in: new astronomy, science , trackback
First images from Planck, overlaid on an optical image of the galactic plane
The European Space Agency yesterday released first light images from its cosmic microwave background experiment, Planck. Planck was launched together with infrared observatory Herschel in May, and these first data show that the little satellite is in excellent working order.
Good news travels fast in the small world that is the astronomy community (admittedly, not as fast as bad news), and favourable noises had been circulating about Planck for a few months now. Still, it’s great to see the official news and images confirming Planck’s rude health. In the next 15 months, the satellite will complete two full scans of the sky, mapping the famed microwave signature of the Big Bang in unprecedented detail.
The data and results from Planck will only be released after the entire survey is complete and scientists have had the chance to get to grips with the data and analyse it. Publication of the first Planck science papers is planned for summer 2012, so expect cosmology to hit the headlines then. New CMB results, the Olympics in London, and maybe the end of the world - what a great summer to look forward to!
Several astronomer bloggers are directly involved with Planck and can provide more details on the experiment – so hop on over to Andrew, Peter and Stuart for more science, links, pictures and background info. You can also follow the latest from Planck on twitter.
Credits: ESA, LFI & HFI Consortia. Background optical image: Axel Mellinger
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