Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]

This board is closed and will be kept as an archive. Please head to our new home at tch-forum.com



(Existing members: Please check your PMs for your password on the new board. If you do not have a PM, then please send one to me)



Welcome to The Coffee House - your dose of caffeine!

The Coffee House is a friendly and informal community dedicated to having fun. We're a diverse bunch, and so we have plenty to offer, including:
  • Discussions on a wide range of subjects, from science and current events to sport and gaming (and most things in between!);
  • Community-centered forums where members can get to know each other better, and share things they've made;
  • Regularly-scheduled contests, where members can compete for awards and forum currency (Coffee Credits);
  • Shops, where members may spend the Coffee Credits they've earned;
  • A Discord server, where anyone can chat to our members in real time.
What you can see below is a snapshot of what we have to offer. To see the rest, and gain access to all of this, all you need to do is register as a member. Registration is quick, free and easy.

Join our community!

If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features:

Username:   Password:
Add Reply
Maps detail Universe's ancient light
Topic Started: Mar 21 2013, 03:11 PM (112 Views)
CJ
Member Avatar
A very minor case of serious brain damage

A spectacular new map of the "oldest light" in the sky has just been released by the European Space Agency.

Scientists say its mottled pattern is an exquisite confirmation of our Big-Bang model for the origin and evolution of the Universe.

But there are features in the picture, they add, that are unexpected and will require ideas to be refined.

The map was assembled from 15 months' worth of data acquired by the 600m-euro (£515m) Planck space telescope.

It details what is known as the cosmic microwave background, or CMB - a faint glow of microwave radiation that pervades all of space.

Its precise configuration, visible in the new Planck data, is suggestive of a cosmos that is slightly older than previously thought - one that came into existence 13.82 billion years ago.

This is an increase of about 50 million years on earlier calculations.



It's interesting how the universe is actually a bit older than previously thought. There's a nice picture in the article too!
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Michelle
No Avatar
.

That's awesome! I can't wait to find out more about this.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
CJ
Member Avatar
A very minor case of serious brain damage

Nor can I.

I should also note that this doesn't represent science "changing its mind"; it is genuinely an improvement on the previous estimate. The previous estimate was that the age of the universe was between 13.713 billion and 13.831 billion years (so, 13.772 ± 0.059 billion years). This new estimate of 13.82 billion years falls within that range.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)
« Previous Topic · Earth and Space · Next Topic »
Add Reply


Anti-Spam Bots! Mazeguy Smilies