cosmic microwave background

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Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe

Know about the Millennium Simulation at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics and learn how to simulate the universe on a personal computer

Understand how the polarization of the light from cosmic background radiation influenced the early development of the universe

cosmic microwave background

Three views of the infrared universe by the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) satellite.In the view of the full sky (top), radiation represented by the S-shaped blue area is emitted by dust in the solar system. When that light is removed (middle), light from dust in the Milky Way (the band at the centre) and Magellanic Clouds (lower right) remains. A uniform field of cosmic infrared background radiation is revealed when the galactic light is removed (bottom); the dark line at the centre is an artifact of the filtering process.

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cosmic background radiation summary

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Galaxy clusters like Abell 2744 can act as a natural cosmic lens, magnifying light from more distant, background objects through gravity. NASA's James Webb Space Telescope may be able to detect light from the first stars in the universe if they are gravitationally lensed by such clusters. (astronomy, space exploration, galaxies)

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cosmic microwave background: Media

electromagnetic radiation

Videos

Know about the Millennium Simulation at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics and learn how to simulate the universe on a personal computer

Know about the Millennium Simulation at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics and learn how to simulate the universe on a personal computer

An overview of the Millennium Simulation run by researchers at the Max Planck Institute...

Video: © MinutePhysics (A Britannica Publishing Partner)

Understand how the polarization of the light from cosmic background radiation influenced the early development of the universe

Understand how the polarization of the light from cosmic background radiation influenced the early development of the universe

How the polarization of light influenced the birth of the universe.

Video: © MinutePhysics (A Britannica Publishing Partner)

Images

Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe

Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe

A full-sky map produced by the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) showing...

NASA/WMAP Science Team

cosmic microwave background

cosmic microwave background

Image of the cosmic microwave background, taken by the Differential Microwave Radiometer...

DMR/NASA

Planck

Planck

Map of the microwave sky constructed by using a year's worth of data from the European...

LFI and HFI Consortia/ESA

Three views of the infrared universe by the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) satellite.In the view of the full sky (top), radiation represented by the S-shaped blue area is emitted by dust in the solar system. When that light is removed (middle), light from dust in the Milky Way (the band at the centre) and Magellanic Clouds (lower right) remains. A uniform field of cosmic infrared background radiation is revealed when the galactic light is removed (bottom); the dark line at the centre is an artifact of the filtering process.

Three views of the infrared universe by the...

Photo AURA/STScI/NASA/JPL (NASA photo # STScI-PRC98-01)

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