ESA's Planck Spacecraft

ESA's Planck Spacecraft

Credit: ESA - C. Carreau

The European Space Agency's Planck observatory peered back into the universe's history to study the cosmic microwave background, the oldest light in the universe. See images from Planck's prolific mission in this Space.com gallery. Here: An artist's view of Planck with the cosmic microwave background as a backdrop.

Milky Way Galaxy in Microwaves

Milky Way Galaxy in Microwaves

Credit: ESA/NASA/JPL-Caltech

A view of the Milky Way galaxy in microwaves, captured by the European Space Agency's Planck satellite. The different colors correspond to different elements, including gas, dust, and energetic particles. Read the Full Story.

Milky Way Dust - Planck Map

Milky Way Dust - Planck Map

Credit: ESA/NASA/JPL-Caltech

This map of the Milky Way shows the distribution of interstellar dust across the galaxy as seen by the Planck space observatory, a mission by the European Space Agency. ESA and NASA unveiled the image on Feb. 5, 2015. Read the Full Story.

A View of the Milky Way in Microwaves

A View of the Milky Way in Microwaves

Credit: ESA/NASA/JPL-Caltech

Each of the four bottom) show a specific subset of Planck observations that make up the combined view (top). Of the subsets, they show: Top left is dust, top right is gas, bottom right is light from charged particle interactions, and bottom right shows charged particles moving along the galaxy's magnetic field. Read the Full Story.

All the Matter in the Universe by Planck

All the Matter in the Universe by Planck

Credit: ESA/NASA/JPL-Caltech

All of the matter between Earth and the edge of the observable universe is shown in this image based on data from the European Space Agency's Planck space observatory. This map was released on Feb. 5, 2015. Read the Full Story.

Planck's All-Sky Map: Cosmic Microwave Background

Planck's All-Sky Map: Cosmic Microwave Background

Credit: ESA and the Planck Collaboration

This image unveiled March 21, 2013, shows the cosmic microwave background (CMB) as observed by the European Space Agency's Planck space observatory. The CMB is a snapshot of the oldest light in our Universe, imprinted on the sky when the Universe was just 380 000 years old. It shows tiny temperature fluctuations that correspond to regions of slightly different densities, representing the seeds of all future structure: the stars and galaxies of today. [Full story.]

Planck's Ingredients of the Universe

Planck's Ingredients of the Universe

Credit: ESA and the Planck Collaboration

This European Space Agency graphic depicts the most refined values yet of the Universe’s ingredients, based on the first all-sky map of the cosmic microwave background by the Planck space observatory unveiled on March 21, 2013. Normal matter that makes up stars and galaxies contributes 4.9 percent of the Universe's mass/energy inventory. Dark matter occupies 26.8 percent, while dark energy accounts for 68.3 percent. [Full story.]

Planck's All-Sky Map: Cosmic Microwave Background Anomalies

Planck's All-Sky Map: Cosmic Microwave Background Anomalies

Credit: ESA and the Planck Collaboration

Two Cosmic Microwave Background anomalies hinted at by the Planck observatory's predecessor, NASA's WMAP, are confirmed in new high-precision data revealed on March 21, 2013. In this image, the two anomalous regions have been enhanced with red and blue shading to make them more clearly visible. [Full story.]

Planck's All-Sky Map vs. Standard Model

Planck's All-Sky Map vs. Standard Model

Credit: ESA and the Planck Collaboration

This European Space Agency graphic shows a map of the universe that depicts the anomalies seen when comparing the Planck space observatory's map of the universe's cosmic microwave background and the standard model of the cosmos. Image released March 21, 2013. [Full story.]

Planck All-Sky Image of Carbon Monoxide

Planck All-Sky Image of Carbon Monoxide

Credit: ESA/Planck Collaboration

This all-sky image shows the distribution of carbon monoxide (CO), a molecule used by astronomers to trace molecular clouds across the sky, as seen by Planck. Image released February 13, 2012.

Galactic Haze Seen by Planck and Galactic 'Bubbles' Seen by Fermi

Galactic Haze Seen by Planck and Galactic 'Bubbles' Seen by Fermi

Credit: ESA/Planck Collaboration (microwave); NASA/DOE/Fermi LAT/D. Finkbeiner et al. (gamma rays)

This all-sky image shows the distribution of the galactic haze seen by ESA's Planck mission at microwave frequencies superimposed over the high-energy sky, as seen by NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. Image released February 13, 2012.

Galactic Haze Seen by Planck

Galactic Haze Seen by Planck

Credit: ESA/Planck Collaboration

This all-sky image shows the spatial distribution over the whole sky of the galactic haze at 30 and 44 GHz, extracted from the Planck observations. Image released February 13, 2012.

Planck All-Sky Image Superimposition

Planck All-Sky Image Superimposition

Credit: ESA/Planck Collaboration; T. Dame et al.

This all-sky image shows the distribution of carbon monoxide (CO), a molecule used by astronomers to trace molecular clouds across the sky, as seen by Planck (blue). A compilation of previous surveys (Dame et al. (2001)), which left large areas of the sky unobserved, has been superimposed for comparison (red). The outlines identify the portions of the sky covered by these surveys. Image released February 13, 2012.

Cepheus Molecular Cloud Complex

Cepheus Molecular Cloud Complex

Credit: ESA/Planck Collaboration; T. Dame et al., 2001

This image shows the Cepheus molecular cloud complex as seen through the glow of carbon monoxide (CO) with Planck (blue). The same region is shown as imaged by previous CO surveys (Dame et al., 2001) for comparison (red). Image released February 13, 2012.

All-Sky Distribution of Carbon Monoxide

All-Sky Distribution of Carbon Monoxide

Credit: ESA/Planck Collaboration

This all-sky image shows the distribution of carbon monoxide (CO), a molecule used by astronomers to trace molecular clouds across the sky, as seen by Planck. The inserts provide a zoomed-in view onto three individual regions on the sky where Planck has detected concentrations of CO: Cepheus, Taurus and Pegasus, respectively. Image released February 13, 2012.

All-sky Distribution of Carbon Monoxide (CO).

All-sky Distribution of Carbon Monoxide (CO).

Credit: ESA/Planck Collaboration; T. Dame et al., 2001

This all-sky image shows the distribution of carbon monoxide (CO), a molecule used by astronomers to trace molecular clouds across the sky, as seen by Planck (blue). A compilation of previous surveys (Dame et al. (2001)), which left large areas of the sky unobserved, is shown for comparison (red). Image released February 13, 2012.

Taurus Molecular Cloud Complex

Taurus Molecular Cloud Complex

Credit: ESA/Planck Collaboration; T. Dame et al., 2001

This image shows the Taurus molecular cloud complex as seen through the glow of carbon monoxide (CO) with Planck (blue). The same region is shown as imaged by previous CO surveys (Dame et al., 2001) for comparison (red). Image released February 13, 2012.

Molecular Clouds in the Pegasus Region

Molecular Clouds in the Pegasus Region

Credit: ESA/Planck Collaboration

This image shows molecular clouds in the Pegasus region as seen through the glow of carbon monoxide (CO) with Planck (blue). Image released February 13, 2012.

Planck's Microwave Sky

Planck's Microwave Sky

Credit: ESA/ LFI & HFI Consortia

This multi-frequency all-sky image of the microwave sky has been composed using data from Planck covering the electromagnetic spectrum from 30 GHz to 857 GHz. This image was released on July 5, 2010.

The mottled structure of the cosmic microwave background, with its tiny temperature fluctuations reflecting the primordial density variations from which today’s cosmic structure originated, is clearly visible in the high-latitude regions of the map. The central band is the plane of our Galaxy. A large portion of the image is dominated by the diffuse emission from its gas and dust. The image was derived from data collected by Planck during its first all-sky survey and comes from observations taken between August 2009 and June 2010. This image is a low- resolution version of the full data set.

Planck's Orbit at L2

Planck's Orbit at L2

Credit: ESA

Planck's orbit around L2, the second Lagrange point of the Sun-Earth system.

Sky Tapestry by Planck Spacecraft

Sky Tapestry by Planck Spacecraft

Credit: ESA and the HFI Consortium, IRAS

The image spans about 50 degrees of the sky. It is a three-colour combination constructed from Planck’s two highest frequency channels (557 and 857 GHz, corresponding to wavelengths of 540 and 350 micrometres), and an image at the shorter wavelength of 100 micrometres made by the IRAS satellite. It was released on March 17, 2010.

The Planck Mission

The Planck Mission
Planck is Europe's first mission to study the relic radiation from the Big Bang

Credit: ESA (Image by AOES Medialab)

This artist's impression shows the focal plane unit of the Planck telescope.

Planck's instruments will operate at a few degrees above absolute zero. To achieve this, a series of cooling stages are required. Without any additional cooling, the spacecraft itself can passively cool to around 50 K (about -223ºC).

For the Low Frequency Instrument (LFI) the focal plane is cooled to around 20 K (about -253ºC). The signals received in the instrument horns are amplified and passed through waveguides to a back-end unit (which is at around 300 K, or about 27ºC) where the signals are processed.

The High Frequency Instrument (HFI) unit is more compact and sits entirely within the LFI housing at about 18 K (about -255ºC). The bolometers (devices for measuring incident electromagnetic radiation) are then stage cooled to just 0.1 K (-273.14ºC) with the detected signals again processed in a warmer back-end readout and data processing unit.

Isolating the various components and cooling only small volumes to the coldest temperatures the optimum efficiencies and mission achieve lifetime.

Planck's Space Detectors

Planck's Space Detectors

Credit: ESA (Image by AOES Medialab)

This artist's view shows the combined focal plane of the two instruments on board ESA's Planck spacecraft. The High Frequency Instrument (HFI) is visible as a circular forest of horns at the centre, surrounded by the Low Frequency Instrument (LFI) ring of horns.

The two instruments detect the collected radiation in different ways. LFI is designed to convert the lower energy microwaves into electrical voltages, rather like a transistor radio. HFI works by converting the higher energy microwaves to heat, which is then measured by a tiny electrical thermometer. The instruments share a common telescope.

Europe's High-Tech Planck Spacecraft

Europe's High-Tech Planck Spacecraft

Credit: ESA (images by AOES Medialab)

Located in the focal plane of the telescope, Planck’s Low Frequency Instrument (LFI), and the High Frequency Instrument (HFI), are equipped with a total of 74 detectors covering nine frequency channels. These detectors must be cooled to temperatures around or below 20 K so that their heat does not swamp the faint microwave signals they are designed to detect.

Planck Telescope Snaps First Images

Planck Telescope Snaps First Images

Credit: ESA, LFI & HFI Consortia, Background optical image: Axel Mellinger

One of Planck's first images is shown as a strip superimposed over a two-dimensional projection of the whole sky as seen in visible light. The strip covers 360-degrees of sky and, at its widest, is about 15 degrees across. The prominent horizontal band is light from our Milky Way galaxy.

Planck's View of Orion Nebula (Close-Up)

Planck's View of Orion Nebula (Close-Up)

Credit: ESA/LFI & HFI Consortia

An active star-formation region in the Orion Nebula, as seen By Planck. This image covers a region of 13x13 degrees. It is a three-colour combination constructed from three of Planck's nine frequency channels: 30, 353 and 857 GHz. This image was released on April 26, 2010.

New Sky Map Could Help Reveal How Universe Formed

New Sky Map Could Help Reveal How Universe Formed

Credit: ESA/ LFI & HFI Consortia

The microwave sky as seen by ESA's Planck satellite. Light from the main disk of the Milky Way is seen across the center band, while radiation left over from the Big Bang is visible on the outskirts of the image. Full story.

Planck View of Milky Way - Jan. 11, 2011

Planck View of Milky Way - Jan. 11, 2011

Credit: ESA/Planck Collaboration

This image shows the location of the first six fields used to detect and study the Cosmic Infrared Background. The fields, named N1, AG, SP, LH2, Boötes 1 and Boötes 2, respectively, are all located at a relatively high galactic latitude, where the foreground contamination due to the Milky Way's diffuse emission is less dramatic. It was released on Jan. 11, 2011.

Clumps of Star-forming Cores Across the Sky

Clumps of Star-forming Cores Across the Sky

Credit: ESA/NASA/JPL-Caltech

This map illustrates the numerous star-forming clouds, called cold cores, that Planck observed throughout our Milky Way galaxy. Planck, a European Space Agency mission with significant NASA participation, detected around 10,000 of these cores, thousands of which had never been seen before.

Planck 'Time Machine' to Study Big Bang

Planck 'Time Machine' to Study Big Bang

Credit: ESA (AOES Medialab), NASA/WMAP

In this image, Planck is superimposed on a false-colour map of the CMB charted by NASA's WMAP satellite in 2003. Planck will improve enormously the sharpness and clarity of all the features in the map.

Star-formation Region in the Constellation Perseus

Star-formation Region in the Constellation Perseus

Credit: ESA/LFI & HFI Consortia

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