A European space mission, which is using high-tech equipment developed at The University of Manchester to unlock the secrets of the Universe, has sent back its first images from space.The Planck observatory has successfully completed its initial test survey of the sky, confirming the scientific instruments and the sophisticated cooling system, all of which the UK played a key role in building, are working well. Following the successful survey, Planck has now embarked on its 15 month mission to map the structure of the Cosmic Microwave Background radiation (CMB), the relic radiation from the Big Bang.
Engineers, technicians, academics and students at the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics designed and built super sensitive ‘cryogenic low noise amplifiers’ for the Low Frequency Instrument (LFI) on board the Planck satellite, with help from the University of Birmingham and The Rutherford Appleton Laboratory.
Planck’s ‘first light’ survey, which started in August and was a two-week period during which Planck surveyed the sky continuously, produced maps of a strip of the sky, one for each of Planck’s nine frequencies.
The plane of Milky Way galaxy can be seen running across the middle of the image, and is visible in the Planck data as the bright red regions. Away from the plane, the tiny fluctuations in the CMB can shine through, and these are the main target of the Planck mission.
The properties of these fluctuations provide information about the earliest moments of the Universe's existence and how it evolved to become what we see today.
Planck is looking with finer resolution and greater sensitivity than previous satellites, and will allow the details of the Universe's age and composition to be calculated more precisely than ever before.
Professor Richard Davis of The University of Manchester and principal investigator of Planck’s UK-built LFI instrument, said, “In the 16 years since Planck’s development started, this is the most exciting time. The wonderful thing is that Planck from its vantage point one million miles from Earth is now producing images of the creation of the Universe, the so-called Big Bang, with a clarity never seen by mankind.”
The Planck satellite was launched along with the Herschel satellite on 14 May 2009 from Kourou, French Guiana, on an Ariane 5 rocket.
Professor Keith Mason, Chief Executive of the Science and Technology Facilities Council, which provides the UK funding for Planck, said, “It’s great news that Planck is operating so effectively. UK researchers have invested a great deal of time and skill in this mission and we are all eager to find out what secrets Planck will reveal.”
The UK is playing a major role in the Planck mission, with funding from the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC).
Engineers, technicians, academics and students at the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics designed and built super sensitive ‘cryogenic low noise amplifiers’ for the Low Frequency Instrument (LFI) on board the Planck satellite, with help from the University of Birmingham and The Rutherford Appleton Laboratory.
Planck’s ‘first light’ survey, which started in August and was a two-week period during which Planck surveyed the sky continuously, produced maps of a strip of the sky, one for each of Planck’s nine frequencies.
The plane of Milky Way galaxy can be seen running across the middle of the image, and is visible in the Planck data as the bright red regions. Away from the plane, the tiny fluctuations in the CMB can shine through, and these are the main target of the Planck mission.
The properties of these fluctuations provide information about the earliest moments of the Universe's existence and how it evolved to become what we see today.
Planck is looking with finer resolution and greater sensitivity than previous satellites, and will allow the details of the Universe's age and composition to be calculated more precisely than ever before.
Professor Richard Davis of The University of Manchester and principal investigator of Planck’s UK-built LFI instrument, said, “In the 16 years since Planck’s development started, this is the most exciting time. The wonderful thing is that Planck from its vantage point one million miles from Earth is now producing images of the creation of the Universe, the so-called Big Bang, with a clarity never seen by mankind.”
The Planck satellite was launched along with the Herschel satellite on 14 May 2009 from Kourou, French Guiana, on an Ariane 5 rocket.
Professor Keith Mason, Chief Executive of the Science and Technology Facilities Council, which provides the UK funding for Planck, said, “It’s great news that Planck is operating so effectively. UK researchers have invested a great deal of time and skill in this mission and we are all eager to find out what secrets Planck will reveal.”
The UK is playing a major role in the Planck mission, with funding from the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC).
No comments:
Post a Comment