

Most detailed map yet of cosmic microwave background, from Planck satellite - gjm11
http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Planck/Planck_reveals_an_almost_perfect_Universe

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gjm11
More details from the ESA:
[http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/object/index.cfm?fobjectid=...](http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/object/index.cfm?fobjectid=51551)

Brief summary of findings:

1\. Generally very good agreement with theory. (So, e.g., inflation is still
looking good.)

2\. At large angular scales (6 to 90 degrees) Planck finds slightly smaller
fluctuations than best theoretical model predicts, though in their plot the
theoretical curve goes within almost all the error bars.

3\. New improved estimate for the Hubble constant and hence the age of the
universe; Planck's estimate of the age of the universe is about 80 million
years older than WMAP's had been. (WMAP's estimate was a bit lower than other
data suggested, so this isn't a huge surprise.)

4\. There's slightly more dark matter and slightly less dark energy than
previously thought; the estimate of the amount of ordinary stuff hasn't
changed.

5\. Planck confirms the asymmetry and "cold spot" seen before by WMAP. (There
are existing models of the universe that incorporate the sort of asymmetry
Planck sees, but they don't fit the rest of the data so well.)

