The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
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Exploring our Solar System and unlocking the secrets of the Universe
Go to topicProtecting life and infrastructure on Earth and in orbit
Go to topicUsing space to benefit citizens and meet future challenges on Earth
Go to topicMaking space accessible and developing the technologies for the future
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This animation explains how the wealth of information that is contained in the all-sky map of temperature fluctuations in the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) can be condensed into a curve known as the power spectrum.
The temperature of the CMB exhibits fluctuations on a variety of angular scales on the sky. The animation shows six different maps that depict the relative 'power', or strength, of the fluctuations at different angular scales. The maps correspond to different regions of the curve, starting at angles of ninety degrees on the left side of the graph, through to the smallest scales – just a fraction of a degree – on the right hand side.
By studying the peaks in the power spectrum curve, cosmologists can extract information regarding the ingredients of the Universe, such as ordinary matter, dark matter and dark energy, and the overall geometry of the Universe.
Credits: ESA and the Planck Collaboration