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FBM
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by FBM » Thu Sep 17, 2009 1:57 pm
Shit, this is gonna be good!!
Planck telescope's first glimpses
The European telescope sent far from Earth to study the oldest light in the Universe has returned its first images.
The Planck observatory, launched in April, is surveying radiation that first swept out across space just 380,000 years after the Big Bang.
The light holds details about the age, contents and evolution of the cosmos.
The new images show off Planck's capabilities now that it has been set up, although major science results are not expected for a couple of years.
"The images show first of all that we are working and that we are able to map the sky," said Planck project scientist Dr Jan Tauber.
"They show that in areas where we expect to see certain things, we do indeed see them, that we are able to image very faint emission, and finally that the two instruments are working in tandem well," he told BBC News.
Background information
Planck is a European Space Agency (Esa) endeavour.
It was launched on an Ariane rocket and thrown out to an observing position some 1.5 million km from Earth.
PLANCK SPACE TELESCOPE
Planck is now the "coolest thing in space"
Planck will survey the famous Cosmic Microwave Background
This ancient light's origins date to 380,000 years after the Big Bang
It informs scientists about the age, shape and evolution of the cosmos
Planck's measurements will be finer than any previous satellite
Planck achieves ultra-cold state
It is trying to make the finest-ever measurements of what has become known as the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB).
This is light that was finally allowed to move out across space once a post-Big-Bang Universe had cooled sufficiently to permit the formation of hydrogen atoms.
Before that time, scientists say, the Universe would have been so hot that matter and radiation would have been "coupled" - the cosmos would have been opaque.
Researchers can detect temperature variations in this ancient heat energy that give them insights into the early structure of the Universe.
With Planck, they also hope to find firm evidence of "inflation", the faster-than-light expansion that cosmologists believe the Universe experienced in its first, fleeting moments.
Theory predicts this event ought to be "imprinted" in the CMB and the detail should be retrievable with sufficiently sensitive instruments. Planck is designed to have that capability.
Its detectors, or bolometers, are the most sensitive ever flown in space, and operate at a staggering minus 273.05C - just a tenth of a degree above what scientists term "absolute zero".
"In terms of the instrumental performance, we are getting what we expected from ground testing," explained Dr Tauber.
Stripped-down
The work to fully commission and optimise Planck for science was completed in mid-August. It was then immediately followed by the "first light" survey that produced the new images.
The pictures are essentially maps of a strip of the sky, one for each the nine frequencies Planck uses. Each map is a ring, about 15 degrees wide, stretching across the full sky.
It's been an unexpectedly smooth ride
Jan Tauber
Planck project scientist
The telescope has now begun routine operations. It will take the observatory roughly six months to assemble a complete map of the sky. The mission objectives call for at least two of these maps to be made.
It will be at least a couple of years before the Planck research teams are able to present some of their major scientific findings.
"The mission has gone much better than I expected so far," said Dr Tauber.
"It's been an unexpectedly smooth ride. We've had the usual minor hitches here and there, but I think overall it is doing fantastically well. Everything is chugging away and we are collecting data."
Planck's co-passenger on April's Ariane launch was the Herschel Space Observatory.
It views the cosmos at shorter wavelengths, in the far-infrared, allowing it to peer through clouds of dust and gas to see stars at the moment they are born.
It is currently still in its demonstration phase, collecting images designed to show off its capabilities.
Two of its instruments are working well. A third, however, is currently down after experiencing a fault.
Engineers can switch to a back up system to reactivate the Heterodyne Instrument for the Far Infrared (HiFi) but they do not intend to do that until they can understand the cause the anomaly.
HiFi is a spectrometer that will identify elements and molecules in the clouds of gas and dust which give rise to stars.
"A philosopher is a blind man in a dark room looking for a black cat that isn't there. A theologian is the man who finds it." ~ H. L. Mencken
"We ain't a sharp species. We kill each other over arguments about what happens when you die, then fail to see the fucking irony in that."
"It is useless for the sheep to pass resolutions in favor of vegetarianism while the wolf remains of a different opinion."
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Rum
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by Rum » Thu Sep 17, 2009 1:59 pm
It is amazing and I really don't want to add a 'but'...but I want to see the big bang!
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FBM
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by FBM » Thu Sep 17, 2009 2:02 pm
Rumertron wrote:It is amazing and I really don't want to add a 'but'...but I want to see the big bang!
No sweat. I'll meet you in Bangkok. Bring at least USD300, not including accomodations.
"A philosopher is a blind man in a dark room looking for a black cat that isn't there. A theologian is the man who finds it." ~ H. L. Mencken
"We ain't a sharp species. We kill each other over arguments about what happens when you die, then fail to see the fucking irony in that."
"It is useless for the sheep to pass resolutions in favor of vegetarianism while the wolf remains of a different opinion."
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Rum
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by Rum » Thu Sep 17, 2009 2:14 pm
FBM wrote:Rumertron wrote:It is amazing and I really don't want to add a 'but'...but I want to see the big bang!
No sweat. I'll meet you in Bangkok. Bring at least USD300, not including accomodations.
OK - how much if I want a peep *past* the big bang - 'pre' it as it were?
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FBM
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by FBM » Thu Sep 17, 2009 2:17 pm
Rumertron wrote:FBM wrote:Rumertron wrote:It is amazing and I really don't want to add a 'but'...but I want to see the big bang!
No sweat. I'll meet you in Bangkok. Bring at least USD300, not including accomodations.
OK - how much if I want a peep *past* the big bang - 'pre' it as it were?
Honestly? About the same price, really. We're talking Bangkok, so...market rules.
"A philosopher is a blind man in a dark room looking for a black cat that isn't there. A theologian is the man who finds it." ~ H. L. Mencken
"We ain't a sharp species. We kill each other over arguments about what happens when you die, then fail to see the fucking irony in that."
"It is useless for the sheep to pass resolutions in favor of vegetarianism while the wolf remains of a different opinion."
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Gawdzilla Sama
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by Gawdzilla Sama » Thu Sep 17, 2009 2:19 pm
FBM wrote:Rumertron wrote:FBM wrote:Rumertron wrote:It is amazing and I really don't want to add a 'but'...but I want to see the big bang!
No sweat. I'll meet you in Bangkok. Bring at least USD300, not including accomodations.
OK - how much if I want a peep *past* the big bang - 'pre' it as it were?
Honestly? About the same price, really. We're talking Bangkok, so...market rules.
Ein Ubootsoldat wrote:“Ich melde mich ab. Grüssen Sie bitte meine Kameraden.”
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Rum
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by Rum » Thu Sep 17, 2009 2:21 pm
FBM wrote:Rumertron wrote:FBM wrote:Rumertron wrote:It is amazing and I really don't want to add a 'but'...but I want to see the big bang!
No sweat. I'll meet you in Bangkok. Bring at least USD300, not including accomodations.
OK - how much if I want a peep *past* the big bang - 'pre' it as it were?
Honestly? About the same price, really. We're talking Bangkok, so...market rules.
Wow - so they can introduce me to God if he's on the other side of the BB? ..or the uber-ultradimension?
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FBM
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by FBM » Thu Sep 17, 2009 2:22 pm
Rumertron wrote:FBM wrote:Rumertron wrote:FBM wrote:Rumertron wrote:It is amazing and I really don't want to add a 'but'...but I want to see the big bang!
No sweat. I'll meet you in Bangkok. Bring at least USD300, not including accomodations.
OK - how much if I want a peep *past* the big bang - 'pre' it as it were?
Honestly? About the same price, really. We're talking Bangkok, so...market rules.
Wow - so they can introduce me to God if he's on the other side of the BB? ..or the uber-ultradimension?
For USD300 they'll deliver the Tooth Fucking Fairy, if that's what you want.
"A philosopher is a blind man in a dark room looking for a black cat that isn't there. A theologian is the man who finds it." ~ H. L. Mencken
"We ain't a sharp species. We kill each other over arguments about what happens when you die, then fail to see the fucking irony in that."
"It is useless for the sheep to pass resolutions in favor of vegetarianism while the wolf remains of a different opinion."
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Rum
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by Rum » Thu Sep 17, 2009 2:44 pm
FBM wrote:
For USD300 they'll deliver the Tooth Fucking Fairy, if that's what you want.
No thanks - the answer to life, the universe and everything will do just fine..300 bucks you say?
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by FBM » Thu Sep 17, 2009 2:49 pm
Rumertron wrote:FBM wrote:
For USD300 they'll deliver the Tooth Fucking Fairy, if that's what you want.
No thanks - the answer to life, the universe and everything will do just fine..300 bucks you say?
We may be able to talk them down a bit, of course. Maybe hit the market towards the end of the day, find someone who hasn't had a good day...y'know...like that.
"A philosopher is a blind man in a dark room looking for a black cat that isn't there. A theologian is the man who finds it." ~ H. L. Mencken
"We ain't a sharp species. We kill each other over arguments about what happens when you die, then fail to see the fucking irony in that."
"It is useless for the sheep to pass resolutions in favor of vegetarianism while the wolf remains of a different opinion."
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by Gawdzilla Sama » Thu Sep 17, 2009 2:56 pm
I'm I the only one who thinks "Max Planck" sounds like a porn star?
Ein Ubootsoldat wrote:“Ich melde mich ab. Grüssen Sie bitte meine Kameraden.”
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FBM
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by FBM » Thu Sep 17, 2009 3:01 pm
Gawdzilla wrote:I'm I the only one who thinks "Max Planck" sounds like a porn star?
In all these years, it never crossed my dirty mind even once.
"I got 'yer Max Planck hangin', baby!"
Gawd, you are a
constant source of amusement, no matter the
distance...
"A philosopher is a blind man in a dark room looking for a black cat that isn't there. A theologian is the man who finds it." ~ H. L. Mencken
"We ain't a sharp species. We kill each other over arguments about what happens when you die, then fail to see the fucking irony in that."
"It is useless for the sheep to pass resolutions in favor of vegetarianism while the wolf remains of a different opinion."
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Gawdzilla Sama
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by Gawdzilla Sama » Thu Sep 17, 2009 3:10 pm
FBM wrote:Gawdzilla wrote:I'm I the only one who thinks "Max Planck" sounds like a porn star?
In all these years, it never crossed my dirty mind even once.
"I got 'yer Max Planck hangin', baby!"
Gawd, you are a
constant source of amusement, no matter the
distance...
"Max Planck stars in the new XXX video 'Thai-ght Pussies'."
I think I have that one already.
Ein Ubootsoldat wrote:“Ich melde mich ab. Grüssen Sie bitte meine Kameraden.”
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by maiforpeace » Thu Sep 17, 2009 3:12 pm
Gawdzilla wrote:I'm I the only one who thinks "Max Planck" sounds like a porn star?
When I first saw the subject I thought it was about Dental Hygiene.
How exciting! It's amazing how far we can see. Sounds like they have some ambitious projects ahead of them, I look forward to what they discover.
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FBM
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by FBM » Thu Sep 17, 2009 4:14 pm
maiforpeace wrote:Gawdzilla wrote:I'm I the only one who thinks "Max Planck" sounds like a porn star?
When I first saw the subject I thought it was about Dental Hygiene.
How exciting! It's amazing how far we can see. Sounds like they have some ambitious projects ahead of them, I look forward to what they discover.
Plaque...
But yeah, it looks like a lot of good science is going to come out of this.
"A philosopher is a blind man in a dark room looking for a black cat that isn't there. A theologian is the man who finds it." ~ H. L. Mencken
"We ain't a sharp species. We kill each other over arguments about what happens when you die, then fail to see the fucking irony in that."
"It is useless for the sheep to pass resolutions in favor of vegetarianism while the wolf remains of a different opinion."
