The image in this article showcases the universe we all live in. This full-sky image is courtesy of the European Space Agency’s Planck telescope, which was shuttled into space last year to scan the “oldest light” in the cosmos.
Dominating the foreground of the image are large segments of our Milky Way Galaxy. Looking at the bright horizontal line spanning the full length of the image is the galaxy’s main disc, the plane in which the Sun and the Earth also reside.
A press release explains: “This galactic web is where new stars are being formed, and Planck has found many locations where individual stars are edging toward birth or just beginning their cycle of development.”
ESA Director of Science and Robotic Exploration, David Southwood, is enthusiastic about Planck’s latest image: “We’re not giving the answer. We are opening the door to an Eldorado where scientists can seek the nuggets that will lead to deeper understanding of how our Universe came to be and how it works now. The image itself and its remarkable quality is a tribute to the engineers who built and have operated Planck. Now the scientific harvest must begin.”
This image also displays the oldest light in the Universe, found at the mottled backdrop at the top and bottom. They represent the “remains of the fireball out of which our Universe sprang into existence 13.7 billion years ago.”
The Planck telescope took six months to create this map of the Universe. The ESA says by the end of its mission in 2012, Planck will have completed four all-sky scans.
