Planck's first image of space, past and present

The European Space Agency today released the first image of space obtained by the Planck mission. Shown above, the image includes emissions from dust in our own galaxy and faint ripples of the cosmic microwave background that is light left behind from The Big Bang. This is the first all-sky map from the spacecraft, which will complete four surveys before its mission ends in 2012. A good explanatory article here on SpaceFlight Now. (image courtesy ESA/ LFI & HFI Consortia; Thanks, Dave Clements)

• [Anonymous]

  A question for Anon #8: How exactly would one “test faith”? Most religious people I know tell me that the whole point is that they believe without evidence (and in practice that means despite it).

  And here’s a helpful suggestion: Check out what the word “theory” really means, and you will discover why creationists make themselves sound so unbelievably stupid when they say evolution is only a theory. It’s like saying Christianity is only a belief.

  • [AnthonyC]

    “It’s like saying Christianity is only a belief.”

    Good point. Never heard it put that way before.

• [thehamsterman]

  really neat. stuff like this really gets me upset at people who are so against the idea of the big bang. i can’t comprehend why people in my area (midwest usa) firmly believe that creationism was the way that the world/universe was formed. also, i think that link to the ESA is broken

• [Anonymous]

  but what happened/existed BEFORE the big bang, friend?

  • [Ugly Canuck]

    Well, whatever happened , of course.

  • [Anonymous]

    well, whatever it was, it sure wasn’t a bearded white man

• [Anonymous]

  Breathtaking image! On that somewhat diversionary other topic, evolution has happened, is happening and will continue to happen, and attempts to prevent our schools from teaching this fact are misguided. But hey, it’s a free country! And we all have to respect Hans Kung’s query: “Why is there something instead of nothing?”

• [Anonymous]

  Now THAT would make a damn good-looking t-shirt.

• [Ugly Canuck]

  That map’s pretty far out, man.

• [Michele Lorito-Chase]

  Very beautiful. Yes, it would make an awesome T-Shirt.: ) I look forward to seeing more.

• [blackfeathers]

  the image looks like an expanded, layout view of a doctor who time vortex. awesome.

• [Anonymous]

  the bearded white man theory is for people who just want to discredit those who believe in creation. I would like to ask the “Evolutionists” a question. Why is it that science is based on experimentation of all possibilities yet they refuse to test faith? It is this point exactly that makes “evolutionist” who, by the way, are named after a theory and not a fact, look like the anti-scientists. Evolutionism is a mockery of everything that science is supposed to stand for. God made the big bang happen in one way or another. You “evolutionist” will never be able to prove that God does not exist. And, God, is not some white-bearded man. God is an entity higher than man.

  • [robulus]

    *start David Attenborough*

    And here we see the Creationist Troll in it’s natural environment. This seemingly ubiquitous organism is highly adaptable, and can bend it’s argument to fit all manner of unlikely discussion. In this case, it’s managed to gain some nutriment from a blog item that shows science gaining incremental knowledge about the origins of our universe.

    We’ll be careful not to disturb him, as he will generally flitter away quite quickly, but if agitated may stay, and adopt an aggresive stance.

    This is generally considered to part of an elaborate substitute for mating.

    *end David Attenborough*

    • [Felton]

      Mr. Attenborough, you forgot to caution against feeding this not-so-elusive animal, as it will then never go away.

  • [InfinityNow]

    Anon#8:

    Most non-believers are not claiming that God does not exist, though they obviously do not believe explicitly that he does. As the ones making the claim (as to the existence of whatever minor or major deity), creationists have the burden of proof.

    Statements like, “God made the big bang happen in one way or another” presuppose quite a lot, don’t you think? First, it presupposes the existence of a deity, presumably the Judeo-Christian God YWHW; it further goes on to posit this divine presence as being the primary mover in the known universe. Secondly, it presumes that the big bang, which happens to be a theory, just like the theory of evolution you so readily cast aside, is what actually happened. Excuse me if I say so, but I believe that you misunderstand how science works. A theory isn’t absolute truth, nor is it law. It is a picture, painted and tested from an early hypothesis, of the best explanation we have for a given thing. It is not infallible, unlike Mister YWHW, who is indeed a jealous God. It is open to change over time, to addition, to subtraction, to testable and verifiable extrapolations.

  • [Anonymous]

    You argue that scientist should test faith, what a silly concept. The point is to believe in that which you know is untestable, you believe because of faith. Creationism is untestable because there is nothing to test. Science has already shone without doubt that the Universe is more that 4 billion years old. What insults me is the requirement among creationist that God be a magic user and that we must be stupid and ignore reality. If God is all powerful then why should God have to do everything in less than 5k years. Why would God not use molecular biology, DNA to create his creation. There is a third way that I would call the Devine Designer approach where God is simply the moving force behind that actions that science has found. Instead creationists continue to require ignorance. It’s pretty pathetic.

    • [Anonymous]

      “If God is all powerful then why should God have to do everything in less than 5k years.”

      how do you know what is 5k years to God? He doesn’t even exist in out dimension.

• [davecl]

  You can read more about Planck at the Planck Mission Blog:

  planckmission.wordpress.com

• [PaulR]

  Go here:
  http://www.chromoscope.net/

  Go now. Just go there.

  Chromoscope is kindly funded by the Cardiff University Astronomy and Astronomy Instrumentation Groups.

  Just wow!

  • [imag]

    Thanks! – That is a fantastic site.