Artist's view of the Planck satellite and telescope

This artist's view shows the Planck satellite and a sketch of the microwave radiation being collected and focussed by the telescope’s primary and secondary mirrors.

The radiation is then conveyed to the focal planes of the two instruments (LFI Low Frequency Instrument and the HFI High Frequency Instrument). 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.