(Pic) Satellite Captures ‘Afterglow’ Of The Big Bang

The European Space Agency‘s Planck satellite has captured the ‘afterglow’ of the Big Bang, the first light to be produced when matter began to form following the Big Bang some 13 billion years ago. The Planck satellite was launched to map the cosmic microwave background radiation in every part of the known universe, and the first image (see above) was produced following the satellite’s first full-scan of the entire sky. The image shows radiation from our Milky Way galaxy as a streak of white light running through the middle, while radiation given off by the dust and hot gas of interstellar space are shown as the blue and red regions.

David Parker of the UK Space Agency said that the image captures the imprint of the Big Bang from which the whole Universe emerged. This image will be used to produce the most detailed and precise picture of the background radiation left behind by the fireball of the Big Bang.

European Space Agency: Planck unveils the Universe – now and then