Planck Observatory Unravels New Map of the Universe

A new map of the Universe showing intricate details of the "cosmic light" originated after the Big Bang has been detailed by the Planck space telescope, the European Space Agency said. 

The image is based on the initial 15.5 month data from Planck. The mission has, for the time, described a complete picture of the oldest light in the Universe, the agency said in a statement.

The ancient light from the Big Bang has now stretched to microwave length. At the time of the Big Bang, the protons and electrons combined to form hydrogen atoms and released a light. The light now is equivalent to about 2.7 degrees above absolute temperature.

The "cosmic microwave background" (CMB) is one of the most studied evidence supporting the Big Bang theory. The CMB shows small temperature differences in the early Universe that represents the origins of stars and galaxies. This cosmic light is present in the entire Universe and accounts for a sizable amount of static on cable TV sets.

Planck is an observatory made by the European Space Agency and observes the Universe at wavelengths between 0.3 mm and 11.1 mm. The mission has now provided details of CMB at an unprecedented accuracy. According to the agency, the data obtained from Planck may "require new physics to understand."

"The extraordinary quality of Planck's portrait of the infant Universe allows us to peel back its layers to the very foundations, revealing that our blueprint of the cosmos is far from complete. Such discoveries were made possible by the unique technologies developed for that purpose by European industry," says Jean-Jacques Dordain, ESA's Director General.

"Since the release of Planck's first all-sky image in 2010, we have been carefully extracting and analysing all of the foreground emissions that lie between us and the Universe's first light, revealing the cosmic microwave background in the greatest detail yet," added George Efstathiou of the University of Cambridge, U.K.

The data from the observatory showed a slight deviation from the standard model, like strength of signal and average temperatures on opposite hemisphere of the sky.

The data also showed that dark matter makes up 26.8 percent of the matter in the Universe, while stars and galaxies contribute about 4.9 percent. Dark energy contributes far less to the Universe than previously thought. The age of the Universe is about 13.82 billion years, according to new data.

"With the most accurate and detailed maps of the microwave sky ever made, Planck is painting a new picture of the Universe that is pushing us to the limits of understanding current cosmological theories," said Jan Tauber, ESA's Planck Project Scientist.

Planck is the third satellite to collect data on the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). NASA had earlier sent COBE and WMAP to study the CMB. In the 1980s, Soviets had conducted a similar experiment called Relikt-1, BBC reported.