The Planck Mission: Looking into the Past to Learn about Our Future Courtney Nickle, Stephanie Clark and Taylor Phillips Astronomy, Spring 2011 Abstract On May 14, 2009, the European Space Agency, in part with NASA, launched the Planck Mission in hopes to answer many of the questions that still linger about our Universe. By studying the cosmic microwave background, the Planck Mission’s main goal is to determine how the Universe began, how it evolved to where it is now, and where it is headed in the future. Through the high-resolution images of the entire sky, the cosmic microwave background provides a glimpse of unknown processes, such as the complexity of star formation. By measuring the temperature variations across the microwave background with improved sensitivity, angular resolution, and frequency range than has been achieved before, Planck will provide us with a unique look into the Universe when it was just 380,000 years old. Through our research, we will examine the instruments and how they differ from past NASA and ESA missions. We will also look to study how the mission will achieve its goals and objectives. About Planck Location In orbit around the earth at a distance of 1.5 million km in the Second Lagrangian point (L2) Affiliation Funded by the European Space Agency. Objectives To accurately determine the amount and make-up of dark energy and dark matter in the Universe. To find out how and why rapid expansion of the universe occurred and why it continues today along with its effects To look for primordial gravitational waves which would present proof of the universe’s expansion To identify possible irregularities in space that would show evidence of differences in the early universe. To study the cosmic microwave background to provide insight into the early universe and the structures that were first created. The wavelengths of the microwave background should provide details about the creation of the earliest stars in the universe To examine the Milky Way and other distant galaxies to determined how they create stars. To look at how galaxies form and their path of evolution Instruments The Planck is composed of two main instruments: the Low Frequency Instrument and the High Frequency Instrument. While both instruments look at wavelengths of light, the Low Frequency Instrument is limited to light of 10.7 and 4 mm, while the High Frequency Instrument observes light wavelengths at 3 and 0.3 mm. Both instruments contain detectors which gather microwave and radio light, then change it to detailed maps of the microwave sky. The telescope is classified as a Gregorian Telescope, which reflects light using two mirrors that are off-axis The Primary mirror is 1.9 x 1.5 m The Secondary mirror is 1.1 x 1.0 m What is the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB)? Radiation that we observe from the era of Recombination, approximately 380,000 years after the Big Bang. What is the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB)? Radiation that we observe from the era of Recombination, approximately 380,000 years after the Big Bang. Miscellaneous Facts The mission, which is named after German physicist Max Planck. Planck was originally called COMBRAS/SAMBA. Planck is able to detect data in nine different wavelengths ranging from infrared to radio waves. Even though the results will not be published and made ready for public consumption for two years, certain observations and pictures are making their debut. So far Planck has observed 10,000 star forming “cold cores” and 14,000 smaller galaxy clusters. Big Bang Noise. Wikipedia. ( Cartwright, Jon. The most direct signal of dark energy?. Institute of Physics. (8 Aug 2008). ( ESAPortal. European Space Agency. (24 March 2011). ( Long, Nick. WMAP and the Cosmic Microwave Background. University of Denver. ( Minimalistic Dark Matter. Particle Theory Blog. (12 July 2007). ( NASA: More Than You Imagine. SpaceRef. (2011). ( The Planck Mission. Cardiff University. (9 March 2011). ( Research Scientific Home Page. European Space Agency. (3 Feb 2011). ( Strobel, Nick. Cosmology. Astronomy Notes. (9 June 2010). ( *Thank you to Dr. Krishna Muhkerjee and her assistance throughout the duration of this project! Top Picture (right): Clusters are going to have high temperatures and dark energy; however, Voids have lower temperatures and are composed of less dark energy. Bottom Picture (right): This figure shows the order of missions studying the Cosmic Microwave Background and their improvements on their resolution. Top Picture (right): Clusters are going to have high temperatures and dark energy; however, Voids have lower temperatures and are composed of less dark energy. Bottom Picture (right): This figure shows the order of missions studying the Cosmic Microwave Background and their improvements on their resolution. Top Picture (above): This shows if our universe were open then the angle would be smaller and therefore, curved inward. Middle Picture (above): When a photon falls into dark matter, it gains energy. When climbing out, the photon loses more power than gained due to the expansion of dark energy; often times, causing a blueshift. Bottom Picture (above): Previously observing the Cosmic Microwave Background, missions like WMAP tended to carry a large margin of error as can be seen in this figure. Planck aims to improve expanding its spectrum and reducing it’s margin of error. Top Picture (above): This shows if our universe were open then the angle would be smaller and therefore, curved inward. Middle Picture (above): When a photon falls into dark matter, it gains energy. When climbing out, the photon loses more power than gained due to the expansion of dark energy; often times, causing a blueshift. Bottom Picture (above): Previously observing the Cosmic Microwave Background, missions like WMAP tended to carry a large margin of error as can be seen in this figure. Planck aims to improve expanding its spectrum and reducing it’s margin of error. References CMB anisotropy shows us homogeneous