Take a look at this baby picture of the universe
A new image reveals what the universe looked like shortly after the Big Bang
The European Space Agency on Thursday released an image that depicts what the universe looked like a mere 380,000 years after the Big Bang. While that may sound like a fair amount of time, the universe was virtually an infant then, giving scientists new insight into its origins.
Using its Planck space telescope, the ESA was able to compose a map from the "Cosmic Microwave Background, or CMB, the ambient thermal radiation that's left over from the birth of the universe," says Scott Neuman at NPR. Think of it as the Big Bang's "afterglow" or "heat map." It is considered the oldest light in our universe, and it has left its imprint on the Earth's sky. This is how it works, according to ESA:
But the image is more than just a pretty picture. The map shows that the universe is actually 13.82 billion years old, which is about 80 million to 100 million years older than previous estimates. It contains more dark matter — the mysterious glue that holds the universe together — than previously thought. The image also shows less dark energy — the mysterious force that theoretically causes the universe to expand.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The map has also raised some new questions about the universe, according to Dennis Overbye at The New York Times:
However, the image largely affirms scientists' previous theories about the universe and its creation, even if our picture of the Big Bang is still very much incomplete. "You can see the seeds from which galaxies were coming," said ESA chief Jean Jacques Dordain. "Planck reveals an almost perfect universe."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Ryu Spaeth is deputy editor at TheWeek.com. Follow him on Twitter.
-
Fallout: one of the 'most faithful – and best – video game adaptations'
The Week Recommends This 'genre-bending' new Amazon series is set in a post-apocalyptic wilderness where survivors shelter below ground
By Adrienne Wyper, The Week UK Published
-
'Test of faith for Trump Media's investors'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
Will Iran attack hinder support for Ukraine?
Today's Big Question Pro-Kyiv allies cry 'hypocrisy' and 'double standards' even as the US readies new support package
By Elliott Goat, The Week UK Published